It was a cold morning in February when I popped into the Thunder Bay Botanical Conservatory, and two things immediately stood out.
1) It was beautifully warm and tropical in there, and
2) It was packed with people.
Neither surprised me.
“It’s always packed,” says Karen Nadeau, Lead Hand Curator for the Conservatory. “We see usually 100 visitors a day, from school-aged to seniors.”
That’s a lot of visitors.
Still, it’s one of Thunder Bay’s hidden gems, and unbeknownst to many, the Conservatory is more than a tropical escape from our cold climate. It’s a functioning greenhouse, growing many of the plants, grasses and flowers for 114 public flower beds that beautify our city parks and adorn our public buildings. It’s three staff members and stalwart seasonal team are in charge of weeding, watering and general care of these beds, including those at Hillcrest’s Sunken Gardens and Friendship Gardens. But the Conservatory is more than just making the city pretty. It’s making the city green, and, with City Council recently declaring a Climate Change Emergency, the Botanical Conservatory is the perfect example of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
“We are almost fully sustainable,” says Nadeau proudly. “Not only do we seed and cultivate our own plants, I have almost a thousand cuttings/seedlings from existing plants ready to go this
year. We’re the ultimate in Green programs.”
The Conservatory is also tasked with Low Impact Development, or LID. Popping up everywhere on previously ignored tracts of city property, LIDs trade cracked asphalt, untended weeds and stagnant rainwater pools for trees, grasses, perennials and hardscaping. They not only beautify but help with rainwater drain off and storm sewer infrastructure.
“The city aims to better manage stormwater to protect waterways, homes, roads and foundations,” says Nadeau. “LID projects are one part of reaching this goal and are an important piece of green infrastructure. The Conservatory is capable of supplying, planting and maintaining the plants for the city’s LIDs, and with considerable savings too. It’s all here, already thriving, under one roof.”
With mandates from Green Infrastructure of Ontario, the Botanical Conservatory has upped their game to include Butterfly and Pollinator gardens all over the city to help with the growing global threat to bees and other pollinators. The knowledgeable staff is experienced in managing plant diversity and plays a critical role in managing invasive plant species like Himalayan Balsam and Invasive Phragmites.
“These species threaten our natural ecosystem,” says Nadeau, “And with our experience in monitoring site plant diversity, we will play a key role in municipal invasive plant management strategies.”
The Botanical Conservatory was a Centennial project and opened in Sept 1967. In those 53 years, it has seen a lot of history and Nadeau is proud of the steady attendance and tours.
“The grounds themselves are well-visited,” she says. “We had a recent event that attracted over 500 people through the course of one afternoon. During the year, groups of school children, professional organizations and local individuals schedule tours of the facilities. And we also host weddings and photography sessions. We are poised to do so much more.”
Nadeau envisions a future for the Conservatory that includes partnerships with Lakehead University, in the provision of educational opportunities for the public. Seminars, workshops and programs on a wide variety of environmental topics, from How to Ecologically Deer-Proof a Yard, to Building Your Own Bird House. She’d also love to embrace the recent resurgence in Farm to Table trends, and tap community experts to run programs on building residential green houses, purchasing and planting seeds for a limited growing season, teaching principles of canning, etc. In fact, she sees the Conservatory as strategically placed to become the centre of environmentalism in Thunder Bay.
“We have a vision,” says Nadeau. “And it’s a Green One.”