BFS Deepens Relationship with Canadian Garden Council

From the 8th to 12th of June the Beijing Forestry Society (BFS) welcomed Michel Gauthier, Executive Director of the Canadian Garden Council, Liz Klose, Director of the Canadian Garden Council and Bruce Pendrel, former Acting Director of the Canadian Forest Service and International Consultant of BFS, to Beijing to deepen each others’ understanding about the fine art of gardening and greening spaces and to establish a formal cooperation.

The Canadian Garden Council is an umbrella organization developing and promoting gardening experiences and garden tourism throughout Canada.

The guests were first to given a good impression of Beijing’s traditional and botanical highlights . At Badaling they  were able to see one of China’s most impressive sights, the Great Wall, while at the same time learning about the distinct natural history of the forests around it. Only in the recent history has the area been afforested, now providing a beautiful green cover.

From there the Beijing Olympic Forest Park was next on the agenda, a park that is comparatively young and was designed to provide green space for the visitors of the Olympics in 2008 and is now a popular walking and running spot for Beijing’s people.

As the Canadian Garden Council’s interest was more in horticulture, BFS made sure that they came in contact with the local industry. The Nabobay Garden Company and its roses made a great impression on all participants. The huge and very diverse collection of roses captured every aspect of gardening and breeding roses. Several varieties were special to China and could easily compete with other international ones.

The Beijing Botanical Garden was another highlight showcasing the immense creativity in Chinese gardening. Tulip fields and a lilac garden were just a few of the arrangements the botanical garden had to show.

On Wednesday, the 9th of June, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) solidifying the cooperation in horticulture and the gardening industry among the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Forestry and Parks (BMBFP), the Beijing Forestry Society and The Canadian Garden Council was signed, marking a historic moment amongst the three parties. The goal is to support each other internationally in local program implementation such as the “Beijing Color and Evergreen Program“ and the promotion of garden experiences, garden tourism and gardening in general, exchange of visits by gardening professionals, cooperation in horticulture symposia in both countries, exchange of garden design ideas and exchange of plant varieties. This budding cooperation was nourished by presentations given by the guests on Thursday on forestry and garden experience, which over 100 employees of BMBFP attended.

On Thursday the leaders of the Canadian Garden Council also met with the World Tourism Cities Federation (WTCF) to bring the importance of garden to their attention. WTFC links cities throughout the world through tourism, and not only would their cooperation potentially increase the number of Chinese citizens visiting Canadian gardens but also the number of Canadians coming to China for a new garden experience.

Most certainly this was only the beginning of the cooperation with the Canadian Garden Council and BFS welcome the close cooperation with them in the future.