Douglas Fir Teaching Garden

The Douglas Fir Teaching Garden was planted in Oct 2021, thanks to funding from Park People, Neighbourhood Small Grants, Kinross Creek Co-op, and Free the Fern’s Art for Plants Fundraiser.

Flowers

• baldhip rose
• Douglas aster
• false Solomon’s seal
• frinegecup
• goatsbeard
• inside out flower
• Pacific bleeding heart
• red columbine

Berries

• black huckleberry
• dull Oregon grape
• evergreen huckleberry
• gooseberry
• red huckleberry
• salal
• tall Oregon grape
• woodland strawberry

Ferns

• bracken fern
• deer fern
• lady fern
• Northern maidenhair fern
• oak fern
• spiny wood fern
• sword fern

Trees

• 23 Douglas fir
• 23 Western red cedar
• 6 Big leaf maple
• 2 Paper birch
• 2 Western yew
• 2 Scouler’s willow
• 1 Black cottonwood
• 1 Japanese maple
• and more!

The Douglas Fir Teaching Garden main sign was made by local artist, Kiki Nombrado, from a repurposed pergola, in May 2022. Kiki created the lettering on the sign using ductape and mounted it on donated corrugated plastic & plywood.

An artist interprative sign featuring 3 examples of ferns, flowers, and berries, was created by artist, Valentina Pagetto, and installed in June 2024. The framing for the sign was built by carpenter, Gordon Bednard.

The National Healing Forest logo was painted on a rock at the center of the garden by Artist Kiki Nombrado in May 2024.

Metal plant signs in English & Latin label the ferns, flowers and berries in the garden.

A sacred circle of carved seating was created by Squamish carver, John Spence, and his son Koda in April 2024. Cedar wood was salvaged from the nearby Fir Trail, cut into pieces, and rolled down the Red Alder Trail and into the Douglas Fir Teaching Garden.

John Spence also carved a teacher’s seat as part of the sacred circle. Artist Kiki Nombrado, woodburned an acknowledgment and a Healing Forest logo on the seat.

1. Doug Hollick

The originally landscaping of the garden plots was done by Doug Hollick, who lived in the adjacent Kinross Creek Co-op from 1984-2006. He had a passion for gardening. With the help of his physical assistant, Jules, Doug helped plan and move rocks to create garden plots on the edge of the Red Alder Trail.

Sadly, Doug passed away in 2006. Local residents began to refer to the garden he had landscaped as “Doug’s Garden” in his honour.

2. Invasives

Unfortunately, in the 15 years after Doug’s passing, the garden became neglected and invasive plants, such as English ivy, Italian arum, and common periwinkle, began moving and taking over.

3. Removal

On January 15 2021, after a windstorm, local resident, Grace Nombrado, was outside raking up fallen branches when she looked around and noticed how many invasive plants had taken over Doug’s garden. She became determined to take them out. Grace soon joined together with other locals and formed the group Free the Fern.

4. Soil

After 9 months of hard work, Doug’s garden was cleared of all invasive plants by October 2021. Kinross Creek Co-op donated a truck of soil to help remediate the garden and 224 native plants were delivered from Nats Nursery.

5. Planting

On October 24, 2023, 38 eager volunteers came out to our Free the Fern Community Planting Event.

6. Name

The name “Douglas Fir Teaching Garden” was chosen to honour the legacy of Doug Hollick and to celebrate the beautiful 23 Douglas fir trees that grow within the garden (In 2021, the Douglas fir tree pictured was estimated to be 162 years old).