10-acre property is now an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA) Innovation Centre
By Nora O’Malley, Alberni Valley News – Published March 3, 2022
The Tofino Botanical Gardens changed hands in the fall, and it reblooms this spring as the Naa’Waiya’Summ Indigenous Coastal Gardens.
In Nuu-chah-nulth language, the word Naa’Waiya’Summ speaks about the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next.
“I owe credit to (elder) Levi Martin for bringing this word to me,” said Eli Enns, a leader in Indigenous conservation and the visionary behind the rebirth of the gardens, during a Feb. 13 virtual announcement.
“There were always these cedar benches in front of our villages where you can imagine an elder sitting on the bench with a young person and the elder is speaking to the young person and passing on knowledge. These Naa’Waiya’Summ benches were places of observation, iisaak, and the transfer of knowledge from one generation to the next. I couldn’t’ think of a more fitting word for the gardens, a place of learning and inspiration,” Enns said, the co-founder of the IISAAK OLAM Foundation.
Ownership of the 10-acre Tofino property was transferred to MakeWay Canada’s Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCA) Innovation Program in September 2021. MakeWay is a national charitable organization whose mandate is “nature and communities thriving together.” The IISAAK OLAM Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting the establishment of IPCAs, was the agent that made the deal come to fruition.
George Patterson, who established the Tofino Botanical Gardens over 25 years ago, will stay on as an advisory for the next three years.
“For me it couldn’t have been a better outcome. Eli and I have been talking about how he could be involved in this for about 15 years. It wasn’t an overnight decision,” said Patterson during the Feb. 13 virtual gathering. “It’s very exciting. I’m looking forward to the next 10 years of watching what happens here.”
After spending time in Costa Rica at the Las Cruces Research Station and Wilson Botanical Garden, Patterson bought the undeveloped piece of land and moved from the USA to Tofino with aspirations of creating a similar educational and nature loving hub. Over the years, the Tofino Botanical Gardens emerged as a beloved public space, hosting countless community events and providing office space for local environmental non-profits.
