After visiting Jan’s Garden a few weeks ago, we thought it was high time we revisit Calgary’s Botanical Gardens of Silver Springs (BGSS) as it has been a few years since our last visit.

There are quotes from Shakespeare throughout the garden beside the appropriate flowers

The garden side of the sound wall up close.

There are several areas where you can wander off the beaten path and enjoy some alone time.

The delphiniums were beautiful on the daY we visited.

There is an amazing array of plants in the garden, that are a feast for your eyes.

Some of the flowers were very exotic looking

Backstory:

In 2002, the Silver Springs BP Birthplace Forest was created when 7,000 trees were planted along the roadway as you enter the community from Crowchild Trail. It was part of the BP BirthPlace Forest project launched by BP Canada, The City of Calgary Parks, The Calgary Health Region and Golden Acre Garden Centre to celebrate every newborn baby born in Calgary by planting a tree in their honour. In all nine BP BirthPlace Forests were created across the city, adding 50,000+ trees to Calgary’s urban forest. The program ended in 2010.

Back to BGSS…in 2007, a 100 foot long garden was planted at the top of the hill next to the sound wall behind resident William Morf’s home. Today, the Wall Garden is almost a kilometer long.

Since then, the garden has continued to expand and now consists of 24 theme gardens and eight forested areas over a 20 acre public space. In 2014, Bev and Duncan Badger (garden founders) received the Calgary Horticultural Award of Merit for Distinguished Voluntary Service to Horticulture in Alberta for their work creating the Labyrinth as feature element of the garden.

What is most impressive is the gardens continue to be managed solely by volunteers. There are 100s of volunteers who have created this amazing garden that is open and free to the public year-round. I have great appreciation for the work these volunteers do, as I manage the tiny Grand Trunk Garden and Plaza at the end of my street.

Link to 2014 blog: Stop and smell the flowers in Silver Springs

Calgary Volunteer History

I believe Calgary is somewhat unique in its “volunteer culture.” Arriving in Calgary in the early ‘80s to manage the Muttart Art Gallery, I was immediately amazed at the contribution volunteers made to the success of the gallery. In fact, we tracked the volunteer hours as part of our annual report to the city and province for funding. It was a great way to measure the importance of the Gallery to the community.

Then in 1988, Calgary hosted the Winter Olympics and what impressed me most was how many volunteers were utilized to manage the games. An estimated 10,000 volunteers helped make the Calgary Winter Olympics one the most successful in history. The signature teal coloured volunteer coats were seemingly everywhere during the games.

The Stampede

About the same time, I began to truly appreciate how the Calgary Stampede & Exhibition was more than just a fun 10-day agricultural fair, but rather instrumental in defining Calgary’s unique psyche. It seemed every other person I met had some sort of involvement in the Stampede as a volunteer. I soon found out the Stampede had 2,500+ volunteers from all walks of life, not just during Stampede but year-round and this volunteerism has been happening for 100+ years. I can’t help but think this is the catalyst for Calgary’s incredible community spirit and volunteer culture.

Link: Stampede: Become a volunteer

Parks & Flood

As I studied Calgary’s history further, I learned two of Calgary’s signature parks – Nose Hill and Fish Creek - were created as the result of community volunteers who lobbied successfully for their creation.

Then, the 2013 the Calgary flood happened, and I was shocked at how people from across the city quickly volunteered to help strangers impacted by the flood - from helping to clean out muddy basements to providing food and clothing. So many people volunteered that many were turned away as there just weren’t jobs for them.

Link: How the 2013 flood strengthened our resilience

Rotarian Clubs

Calgary is also home to some of the most active Rotarian Clubs in the world. There are 13 clubs, with a total of about 750 Rotarians at any given time.. Collectively they work tirelessly to raise funds to enhance our city in so many ways – from the Mattamy/Rotarian Greenway a 138-km pathway around the city, to community playgrounds, a children’s hospice and a barrier free park etc. The Calgary Rotarian Clubs Foundation manages $68 million in assets that enhance Calgary as a place to live and play.

The Rotary Club of Calgary Downtown is 110+ years old. It biggest annual fundraisers, is the Big Book Sale, organized with the help of 1,500 volunteers.

Link: Rotary Club of Calgary Downtown

Community Association Volunteerism

Today my focus is on urban and community development i.e. the planning and management of the growth of cities – including the design and construction of buildings and urban spaces to create a city that is an attractive place to live, work and play. This has led me to appreciate the amazing contribution volunteers make to Calgary’s urban development through its 150+ community associations - not only through their local programs, events and facility management, but their urban development committees. This is especially true for established communities where 1,000s of infilling projects of all shapes and sizes are reshaping our inner city – for better and worse.

There are 1,000s of passionate volunteers sitting on committees reviewing and commenting on complex documents prepared by the city planners and developers wanting to add more diversity and density to their neighbourhood. In addition, the City is bombarding citizens with multifaceted development policy changes that are difficult to fully comprehend for anyone including the planners and developers; there are always unintended consequences of every new policy and development.

Link: Volunteer Burnout

But I digress.

Last Word

The point I am trying to make is volunteers have been shaping Calgary’s sense of place and community for 100+ years and that volunteerism is alive and well today. No doubt volunteerism exists in other cities, especially when it comes to major events and festivals, but I wonder if there is the same commitment to everyday volunteerism – like the Botanical Garden of Silver Springs, Community Association volunteers and Rotarian volunteers in Calgary to name just a few.

Calgary has an amazing level of community pride that I think stems from its volunteer spirit.

Celebrating Calgary's Amazing Volunteer Spirit