U of A expands Devonian facilities

Paul Swanson

The University of Alberta will be constructing a new ecological learning centre at the Devonian Botanic Garden to provide more classroom and laboratory space for students, faculty, and the surrounding community.

Bruce Dancik, director of the Devonian Botanic Garden and professor emeritus in renewable resources at the U of A, explained that the new centre will help serve all visitors.

"The ecological learning centre will add dramatically to the Devonian Botanic Garden by broadening our reach, better serving our visitors and students, and providing a nice space for the them to learn and enjoy the world of plants and our natural environments," he said.

Dancik said that part of the focus of the centre would be to add classroom space for a variety of audiences: children in early grades, high school, regular university courses, and adult education.

"The Devonian Botanic Garden currently has very limited all-weather classroom space, so we are not able to respond to the current demand for educational programs. The ecological learning centre would give us some much needed year-round capacity to offer a variety of courses at all levels."

Dancik added that the courses will be open to all students, not only those in the environmental sciences areas.

"We want to offer regular university courses where there would be demand for courses in the west-end of Edmonton. Some students could have a class in a classroom adjacent to an outdoor laboratory setting, while others might be able to take advantage of an evening course that was offered near their west-end residence."

Dancik feels that the surrounding community can greatly benefit from the centre, and he hopes it will serve as a hub of learning in the future.

The Devonian Botanic Garden, located in Devon, was established in 1959. It's a 190-acre property made up of manicured gardens, mixed woodland vegetation, and an extensive nature trail system. It features 80 acres of display gardens and 110 additional acres of natural areas and ecological preserves.

The design of the ecological learning centre has not yet been chosen. The U of A has issued a request for proposals from design consultants for the construction of the centre. The expected cost will be anywhere from $16-20 million.