Botanic Gardens & Constructed Wetlands
The Botanic Gardens and Constructed Wetlands at Olds College truly offer something for everyone regardless of the season. In spring you’ll be treated to flowering trees and shrubs, early blooming perennials, swaths of spring bulbs and the sound of water starting to move through the constructed wetlands. Summer brings fabulous displays of annuals in select beds, and in containers strategically placed throughout the gardens. Not just a walk down the garden path, the gardens are designed to meet the instructional needs of courses and programs on campus, and are used as the location and subject matter for research projects and community learning opportunities. The Botanic Garden highlights include our collections of hardy peonies, lilies and roses, natural areas, a wide variety of aquatics, herb garden, fabulous annual displays and much more.
The Gardens are comprised of three phases spread over 20 acres and are populated with a wide ranging collection of prairie hardy plant material, both native and ornamental. The most established part of the garden is the Central Portion, opened in 2002. The third and most recent phase of our Botanic Gardens is the East Portion which contains the Constructed Wetlands, opened in September 2013.
Together, the three phases include naturalized landscapes, specialty gardens, walking trails, demonstration plots, an arboretum and 19 constructed wetlands and display ponds. The area is complete with two public gazebos, an amphitheatre and event area. The Botanic Gardens and Constructed Wetlands has the ability to host weddings, reunions, graduations, workshops, and boasts over two kilometres of trails throughout the gardens and wetlands.
What are Botanic Gardens?
Botanic gardens are quite different from other public garden spaces or show gardens. To be able to be identified as a botanic garden, several criteria must be met. For example, botanic gardens must be open to the public, exhibit a degree of permanence, use a scientific basis as the foundation for their collections, document and monitor the collection and communicate information to other gardens, institutions and the public.
The Botanic Gardens and Constructed Wetlands at Olds College is dedicated to meeting all criteria and continuing to expand its value to the College and extended community. To learn more about the standards to which botanic gardens adhere, and the history of botanic gardens, visit Botanic Gardens Conservation International.
Our Mission
Our goal is to maintain a Botanic Garden that introduces and conserves a diverse, well documented and accurately labeled collection of prairie hardy plants. Our collections preserve our natural heritage and expand the role of Olds College as a Centre of Excellence in Horticulture. Olds College's Botanic Gardens enhance and support education, training, demonstration, and applied research programs that span generations and encourage the exchange of information and ideas with industry, students, other botanical gardens and the public. The Botanical Garden also raises awareness with the public regarding the importance of sustainable environments.
Our Botanic Gardens have received formal recognition with the Canadian Botanical Conservation Network (CBCN) and the American Public Gardens Association (APGA).
The Buck Godwin Herbarium at Olds College
A herbarium is a collection of dried plants, especially one in which the plants have been mounted, systematically classified, and labeled for use in scientific studies. Most botanical gardens and educational institutions that provide courses in botany, horticulture and other related subjects have herbariums on site. In 1964 the horticulture program at Olds College was launched due in large part to the initiative of B.J. ‘Buck’ Godwin, an instructor at the College from 1963 to 1988. At the same time, he founded the herbarium.
In 1969 the sign outside the door indicated that the collection consisted of 5,045 sheets of plant material of prime interest to horticulture and agriculture with the oldest specimens being collected in 1904. As of 2016 the collection houses approximately 3,000 folders and 30,000 mounts, filed alphabetically by family, genus, species and cultivar. The plant material includes native and ornamental plant material from Alberta, Alaska, the Yukon, the northern U.S.A. and from most Canadian provinces. A number come from foreign countries including the former Soviet Union.
Anyone wishing to learn more of visit the herbarium please e-mail OCBotanicGardens@oldscollege.ca