Conserving the Bloedel Conservatory

3 Notes

I was on a walk with my dad yesterday in Queen Elizabeth Park and we stumbled upon the Bloedel Conservatory, which neither of us had visited in many years. We decided to go in (and it was just before a torrential downpour, so what better time to step into a tropical rainforest).

Photo c/o DangerGardener

The Bloedel Conservatory was opened in 1969 with a donation from Prentice Bloedel, a magnate in BC’s timber industry. Fourty years later in 2009, rather than celebrate its anniversary, the Conservatory was on the City of Vancouver’s chopping block due to a budget shortfall.

Thankfully, it was saved when several groups formed the Friends of the Bloedel Association in order to lobby both the Vancouver Parks Board and City Council. By the end of January 2010, they had helped raise enough funding for the Parks Board to vote to keep the facility open. The Bloedel Conservatory is now run by the VanDusen Botanical Garden Association as part of the VanDusen Botanical Gardens.

It is hard to believe that anyone could conceive of taking apart this space. If you haven’t seen it for yourself, you should because it is only $5.60 and it offers a peaceful tropical escape that you will not find anywhere else in the city.

Photo c/o Kyle Pearce

The Bloedel Conservatory is home to 500 species and varieties of plants from deep jungle to desert clime and over 100 birds reside within the dome, flying about freely (we were there at their lunch time, which makes for extra cuteness - talking to parrots and watching them eat peanut butter!).

Wandering around the towering plantains, palm and coffee trees, feeling the humid air and listening to the exotic birds makes for a perfect rainy day escape. My Dad and I sat on a bench and hung out with some birds and almost forgot the Vancouver downpour outside.

I took me a long time to come back here, but it won’t take me as long to return.

More photos can be viewed here