机构概况与 VIU 隶属关系
Milner Gardens & Woodland（米尔纳花园与林地）位于加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省温哥华岛东海岸的 Qualicum 海滩镇（Qualicum Beach），由 Vancouver Island University（VIU，温哥华岛大学）持有并管理，是 BC 省海滨地区最具代表性的公共植物园之一。园区总面积约 70 英亩（约 28 公顷），其中约 10 英亩为人工雕琢的正式花园区，其余为沿海道格拉斯冷杉林地与原生灌木带。Milner 花园由 VIU 直接运营，同时与 2000 年正式注册成立的 Milner Gardens and Woodland Society（米尔纳花园与林地协会）共同推进筹资、教育与志愿项目，慈善注册号 # 88733 3482 RR0001。自 2001 年向公众开放以来，Milner 花园每年接待数千名访客及学校团体，园方还通过 Camellia Tea Room（茶室）、Gift Shop（礼品店）、Digital Guide（数字导览）以及与 Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association 的长期合作，为公众提供持续的园艺教学与体验空间。
历史沿革与皇族访问纪事
Milner 花园的起源可追溯至 1929 年。当年 Emily Louisa Money 与女儿 Hilda Bayley 委托当地建筑师 Alex Fraser 在俯瞰佐治亚海峡的海边林地上设计建造 Milner House，1931 年落成后因 Emily 健康恶化转手出售。1954 年，Horatio Ray Milner 与第二位妻子 Veronica Fitzgerald 购入此庄园作为夏季居所，Veronica 把爱尔兰”野趣花园”理念与英国贵族园艺经验引入这片北美林缘，先后邀请都柏林 Mount Usher 资深园艺家 Sir Frederick Moore 与杜鹃花育种专家 Ted 与 Mary Grieg 协助，逐步塑造出今日园中以杜鹃花科植物为主体、点缀松柏与高山花卉的混栽风格。1996 年 5 月，Veronica 在逝世前两年将庄园正式移交给当时的 Malaspina College（VIU 前身），园方为纪念 Milner 夫妇将其命名为 The Milner Gardens 并承诺永久维护。1986 年 5 月 5 日 Prince Charles（查尔斯王子，后来的 King Charles III）与 Princess Diana（戴安娜王妃）乘水上飞机抵达园下海岸短暂到访；1987 年 10 月 9 至 11 日 Queen Elizabeth II 与 Prince Philip 三天驻留园中，Queen 在园中种下一棵 Spanish Chestnet（西班牙栗树）、Philip 在园门外种下一棵 Maple（枫树），园方至今保留此区域并命名为 The Queen’s Garden。
园区布局与林地保育
Milner 花园按区域可分为正式花园区与原始林地区两大板块。正式花园区沿 Milner House 主楼呈阶梯状展开，含 Reflecting Pool（倒影池，原为皇室访问时引入海水的咸水池）、The Queen’s Garden（皇后花园，纪念 1987 年伊丽莎白二世手植树）、Camellia Tea Room（茶室，由原 Drawing Room 改建而成，每周四至周日 12:00 至 14:45 开放）、Children’s Food Garden（儿童食育菜园，提供儿童与园艺志愿者耕作实践）以及 Orchard（果园，种植传统苹果与温带果树）。林地区属沿海 Douglas-fir 生物气候带，主要由高大 Douglas-fir（花旗松）、Western redcedar（西部红雪松）与 Grand fir（大冷杉）构成，园方将其划分为 East Trail 与 West Trail 两条自然步道，鼓励访客进行森林浴与原生植物观察，并保留 snags（站干枯木）与 nurse logs（保育倒木）以维护完整的森林养分循环与生物多样性。
教育项目与本土知识整合
Milner 花园长期与 Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association 合作，为社区提供免费园艺答疑、本地植物种植建议与季节性园艺课堂，并推出面向学校的 Shoots with Roots（根苗计划）K-12 校外教学项目。项目涵盖 Nature Observers（自然观察者，4 至 8 月开放）、Birding for Beginners（观鸟入门，3 年级以上，访问中采集的鸟类数据将上传至 eBird 公民科学数据库）、Junior Gardeners（少年园丁，含播种、堆肥与采收等环节）以及 Plant Detectives（植物侦探，3 年级以上）等主题课程，每组最多 30 人，4 至 8 月提供周四与周五时段。园方亦遵循 VIU 2025-2029 战略计划中”将原住民知识与西方知识相结合”的承诺，正式承认 Milner 园区为 Qualicum First Nation（克瓦利库姆原住民部族）的传统领地，相关语言 Pentlach 与”以文化理解与家庭和谐为基础”的文化叙事正逐步嵌入园区解说与教学项目。
协会治理与支持网络
Milner Gardens and Woodland Society（米尔纳花园与林地协会）于 2000 年依《Society Act》正式注册成立，2001 年取得联邦慈善资格，2009 年修订章程向年满 18 岁的公众开放个人或家庭会员资格，会费分 Individual（个人，1 年 40 加元 / 2 年 70 加元）与 Household（家庭，1 年 65 加元 / 2 年 100 加元）两档，VIU 教职员可享特别优惠。会员享有营业时段内不限次入园、旺季携伴优惠票价、Gift Shop & Nursery 全单九折、春秋 Plant Sale 优先入场及 Society 投票权。协会每年 6 月前后召开 Annual General Meeting（年度大会），会议记录、董事会名单与战略文件 Milner Gardens & Woodland Strategic Plan 2025-2029（聚焦 People / Place / Potential 三大方向）均通过园方主站公开披露。
Organisation Overview and VIU Stewardship
Milner Gardens & Woodland is a 70-acre public garden and coastal forest estate situated on the eastern shore of Vancouver Island in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia, Canada. The site has been held and operated by Vancouver Island University (VIU) since 1996 and opened to the public in May 2001, with roughly 10 acres of formal horticultural beds complemented by ancient Douglas-fir woodland, a reflecting pool, the Camellia Tea Room and a heritage orchard. Day-to-day operations are shared between VIU staff and the Milner Gardens and Woodland Society, a registered charity (registration number 88733 3482 RR0001) originally incorporated in 2000 under the Society Act of British Columbia. Annual visitor programmes are supported by the Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association, an in-house volunteer cohort, and the Pool House Gift Shop, alongside a free Bloomberg Connects digital guide that allows self-guided exploration throughout the open season.
Historical Development and Royal Visits
The estate traces its origins to 1929, when Emily Louisa Money and her daughter Hilda Bayley commissioned local architect Alex Fraser to design a cottage on an oceanside forest clearing above the Strait of Georgia; construction completed in 1931 and the property changed hands shortly afterwards. In 1954 Horatio Ray Milner and his second wife Veronica Fitzgerald, the former wife of the 28th Knight of Glin and a descendant of the first Duke of Marlborough, purchased the estate as a summer retreat and transformed its glades into a hybrid wild garden informed by William Robinson and Sir Frederick Moore at Mount Usher. In May 1986 Prince Charles and Princess Diana arrived by seaplane for a private visit that is widely regarded as the only fully private stop of their 1986 Canadian tour, and in October 1987 Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip stayed at Milner House for three days, planting a Spanish Chestnut now at the heart of The Queen’s Garden and a maple just outside the gates. The estate was transferred to VIU (then Malaspina College) in 1996, two years before Veronica Milner’s death in 1998, and dedicated as The Milner Gardens in honour of Ray and Veronica Milner.
Garden Layout and Forest Conservation
The horticultural core is arranged in a sequence of terraces descending from Milner House towards the sea, anchored by the Reflecting Pool, which was originally fed with seawater pumped directly from the shore for the 1987 royal visit and is now ringed by Queen Elizabeth Roses. Adjacent to the pool are The Queen’s Garden commemorating the Spanish Chestnut planted by Elizabeth II, the Camellia Tea Room housed in the former Drawing Room, the Children’s Food Garden maintained in partnership with Junior Gardeners and the heritage Orchard supplying the Camellia Tea Room kitchen. Surrounding these formal areas is a 60-acre coastal Douglas-fir biogeoclimatic zone of mature Douglas-fir, Western redcedar and Grand fir, deliberately managed as a working forest: standing snags and fallen nurse logs are retained to sustain nutrient cycling, while the East Trail and West Trail frame a forest-bathing route that visitors are encouraged to walk slowly.
Education Programmes and Indigenous Knowledge
Education has been central to Milner’s public mandate since the 2001 opening, and the Shoots with Roots school programme, run in partnership with the Vancouver Island Master Gardeners Association, now welcomes K-12 classes and community groups on Thursdays and Fridays from April through August for a flat fee of 200 Canadian dollars per group of up to 30 students. Curriculum strands include Nature Observers, Birding for Beginners (with bird counts uploaded to eBird as a citizen science contribution), Junior Gardeners, and Plant Detectives. Wheelchair-accessible routes, gender-neutral washrooms, sensory-friendly pacing and welcome aides are documented in the programme’s accessibility statement. The garden also recognises the Qualicum First Nation as the original stewards of the land, and the VIU 2025-2029 Strategic Plan commits the institution to braiding Indigenous and Western knowledge on human-nature connections, deepening equity, diversity and inclusion, and supporting the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Society Governance and Support Network
The Milner Gardens and Woodland Society coordinates fundraising, volunteer recruitment, membership services and special-event programming in close cooperation with VIU. Membership is open to anyone aged 18 or older and is offered in Individual (1 year 40 CAD / 2 years 70 CAD), Household (1 year 65 CAD / 2 years 100 CAD), and reduced VIU-Employee tiers. Members receive unlimited entry during regular operating hours, reduced guest admission in peak season, a 10 percent discount at the Gift Shop and Nursery, priority entry to the spring and fall Plant Sales, and voting rights at the Annual General Meeting. The Board of Directors also oversees the Rhododendron Legacy Endowment and other named funds that sustain the Society’s contribution to plant conservation, education and community engagement on Vancouver Island.
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