Budding green thumbs at the Regina Floral Conservatory

A new generation of plant lovers are blooming at the Regina Floral Conservatory.

The plant sanctuary focuses on displaying tropical plants and trees. It also offers educational programming for all ages.

Education Coordinator, Laurie Hudyma has been with the conservatory for about five years.
“It’s truly amazing and wonderful to see how young children are moved by the plants and the conservatory,” she said.
“The little ones are in absolute awe. They walk in and say, ‘It’s a jungle!’ The older students are amazed by the different types of plants we have and how those plants have developed to fit the environments in which they live.”

The conservatory offers two educational programs: Little Gardeners and School Tours.
“Little Gardeners is for toddlers up to the age of five,” Hudyma said. “It’s a program for parents and grandparents to bring their young children to the conservatory. We set up 14 hands-on nature-related activities that are open-ended. The children play and interact with the adults and other children within the beauty of all of the plants, blossoms, leaves and greens.”

After the program, the kids walk away with a plant of their own and a new-found confidence about plants.

The cuttings from the ‘mother plants’ get propagated into the plants that children can take home after their classes at the floral conservatory. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

“At first they’re pretty close to their grown-ups and go from spot to spot unless they’ve been here before,” she said. “We often have families whose children come, grow up and grandparents bring the next batch. When they come the next time, they just run to whatever it is they really enjoy the most.”

The school tours are for pre-school children to high school. Educators book them in advance. These classes were extremely popular this year.
Hudyma said the conservatory was fully booked from the end of February to the end of May.

“Our programs are aligned with the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education science curriculum related to plants,” she said. “It’s a hands-on program. We don’t use a lot of digital materials because kids get lots of that in their lives. But they are fascinated to smell, touch and see all the various parts of the plants.”

She says the sensory play is a fan-favourite for the kids. There are even plants the kids are encouraged to taste.
“We have a Cuban oregano plant which is quite interesting to them,” she said. “Some of them say, ‘Can I taste this?’ And yes they can. But we also teach them you must never ever put any part of a plant in your mouth that you don’t recognize or you haven’t been taught about from your family or your teachers.”

Read More

• ‘It’s inviting:’ Families getting dose of spring at Regina Floral Conservatory
• ‘A tropical paradise:’ Families escape cold at the Floral Conservatory

The programming offered to older high school students and adults is called ‘Plants, Mental Health and Wellness.’

“We talk about the benefits of plants and gardening,” she said. “We talk about the amazing properties of plants, such as the fact that scientists have now discovered that plants make sound. We talk about how that occurs and how it was discovered. We take them on a tour through the floral conservatory.”

The newer class is gaining popularity according to Hudyma. “We only invented it two years ago. The first year we had the high school class where the teacher asked if we could create this for her curriculum. This last year we probably had half a dozen groups come in for it,” Hudyma said.

Hudyma thinks it’s important for people to connect with nature to improve their mental health.
“If you think back to pre-historic times, human beings lived and grew with nature all around them,” she said. “It was what sustained them and provided them with food and shelter. We believe we have that aspect within us. We still have that connection. But having moved populations into cities, many people have lost that connection. People come here to make those connections with nature.”

She said the floral conservatory is successful because of the community it helped build. She said families have been coming back year after year with their children. “It feels wonderful,” she said. “We know we are providing something important to them. We get to know the families. We get to know the older brothers and sisters and then the babies and toddlers when they come and the grandparents.”

Communications Coordinator Sarah Ludlow said she saw gardening take off in popularity after the pandemic. She thinks this resurgence could be due to the cost of living. “Growing your own food is definitely a great way to save money,” said Ludlow. “It’s super easy too. You can grow tomatoes in a pot. There are so many plants you can grow that way. Even if you only have your front steps or a balcony, you can still grow some food.”

The full-grown plants are called ‘mother plants’. Pieces are cut from these plants to make the thousands of plants needed for the education programs. (Nicole Garn/980 CJME)

The peak in interest has helped the conservatory reach and exceed pre-pandemic numbers in terms of visitors. These numbers are especially helpful since the conservatory runs primarily on donations and the hard work of volunteers.

“So absolutely everything that happens in the conservatory, whether that’s making and maintaining the beautiful displays or running the educational programs for children, all of that is done by volunteers,” she said. “We’re also able to rent out the space. So having people there during rental bookings and greeting people as they come through the door is all done by volunteers.”

Ludlow explained they receive funding from the City of Regina, and their is a membership fee. Admission is by donation. All of which helps contribute to purchasing plants in their displays and building utility costs. She says the main income factor are the donations they receive.

The conservatory is open from early September until mid-June, seven days a week from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

June 9th will be the last day it is open to the public until September.
For more information about the conservatory click here.