Abbotsford – Many Abbotsfordians are unaware of a tiny gem located at Trethewey House Heritage Site. The Sylvia Pincott Heritage Habitat Garden was opened in 2002 and was named for local environmentalist Sylvia Pincott, founder of Abbotsford’s Backyard Wildlife Habitat Program, and a leading advocate for the establishment of the Provincial Nature Scape program.
The Abbotsford Garden Club worked with the MSA Museum Society (now Heritage Abbotsford Society) to plan and install the garden at the Heritage Site to mark the Club’s 50th anniversary.
Once completed, the garden was placed on the Provincial Nature Scape program. Almost 20 years later, Heritage Abbotsford Society, in partnership with the City of Abbotsford, is in the process of creating a new 5 year plan to restore and enhance the garden, and creating new interpretive tours of the space.
The Society’s horticulturalist, Kelly Penner, is collaborating with the Parks, Recreation and Culture’s Horticulture Technician Sadneep Bahia,and the City’s grounds crew to develop these plans. “The garden symbolizes the same spirit as my strong and wise Grandmothers,” says Penner. “As a Red River Métis descendant and a certified horticulturalist having both Indigenous and scientific knowledge,I have a holistic and sustainable approach to how we develop our plan.It was Abbotsford’s first heritage habitat garden, designed to show the interconnectedness of flora and fauna, and today the garden is both an architectural and aesthetic extension of the ongoing interpretation at the Heritage Site
”The team hopes to introduce informational plaques in the near future, develop interpretive tours, and include information about the interconnectedness of bugs, blooms, and animals on their Agents of Discovery app.
The Heritage Site, including the garden, is located within Mill Lake Park,and has been a component of Abbotsford’s Communities in Bloom Judges Visitin previous years.
The Sylvia Pincott Heritage Habitat Garden is open to the general public 7 days/week.
