Greenspace Support

Like many activities at the Horticulture Centre of the Pacific, greenspace development is supported by a combination of volunteer work and special grants. By the early 1990's, landuse planners had documented the need for greenspace restoration and preservation, but until the spring of 1997 no work had been done on the site.

In that spring, a small group of volunteers began clearing Scotch broom and Himalayan blackberries from several of the small Garry oak glades located on the site. The group became formalized as one of the nine partnership groups working on HCP projects. Known as the Native Plant Restoration Group, members do habitat restoration work as well as look after the development and maintenance of the two native plant gardens. Currently they contribute over 1,800 hours of volunteer work a year.

During the first three years of operation, the volunteers were supported by several grants that matched the scale of work being done by volunteers within the fenced portion of the HCP site. These grants came from Friends of the Environment Foundation (Canada Trust), B.C. Hydro, the Provincial Capitol Commission, Investor's Group, Golden Gardens Program (Canadian Wildlife Federation), and the Capital Regional District Water Department WaterWise program.

A great deal was accomplished by this combination of volunteer work and small grants, but the massive restoration work that was needed for the area outside of the fence was beyond the reach of this effort. In the fall of 2000, the HCP received major funding from Forest Renewal B.C.'s Terrestrial Ecosystem Restoration Project and worked out a partnership agreement with the Veins of Life Watershed Society for E-Team crews (funded by the Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks) to remove invasive, exotic plants and to plant native species. This funding and partnership has enabled the HCP to begin major restoration work on this valuable, urban, native habitat.

Anyone interested in working with the volunteers on any of these projects can contact Paul Gareau at (250) 592-9089 or
email Hoke Holcomb at (250) 652-5201