Photo of: Elder Deb Anderson-Pratt speaking at the floral conservatory
Photo by: Danielle Dufour
On Sunday, September 13th the Regina Floral Conservatory welcomed Elder Deb Anderson-Pratt of George Gordon First Nation to offer a blessing while she shared her culture, knowledge and Indigenous traditions with the community, including a smudge.
The event was intended to promote inclusion, diversity and multiculturalism in the space.
“This is the very first time for us, and we just thought it was the natural thing to do,” said Ron Sharp President of the Regina Garden Associates. “Plants and people and the Indigenous people, it speaks volumes of where we’ve come from, but where we’re headed.”
The Regina Floral Conservatory is operated and maintained by volunteers of the Regina Garden Associates (RGA), a non-profit, charitable organization, in partnership with the City of Regina. The RGA started with a group of 12 members and has grown to more than 200 volunteer gardeners.
The facility was established by the City of Regina in the 1950s. This indoor garden is open seven days a week from September to June. The venue is enjoyed by many and used for various social events including small weddings. From September to June this year, the conservatory has had over 28,000 visitors.
The RGA has signed a letter of intent with SaskBuilds and Procurement and plans to build a new facility north of Wascana park that would be open year-round.
“We would love to have a healing garden, because there’s so much history there and things that our people don’t know anything about. Science tells us one thing, but there’s another way of doing things too,” said Sharp.
Since last December, Sharp said their membership has grown from 300 to 600 members.
The RGA hired a project manager in May of this year to help with the development of a new 42,000 square foot facility with an estimated cost of $48 million. They plan to open in 2030 to coincide with the provinces 125th anniversary.
Sharp said the RGA is hoping to have the support of both the federal government, provincial government and the City of Regina to fund the project.
“We’re just at the process right now where we’re applying for grants,” said Sharp. “So far, we are just using volunteer funds that we’ve saved for the last number of years to go towards the project.
The RGA is seeking support from the community and plans to launch capital fundraising projects starting this fall.
“I hope that we can continue building a stronger alliance and embrace this part of the community, so they feel welcomed, loved, seen and heard in the floral conservatory,” said Mariana Hinojosa Centella RGA Vice President.