On a sunny Saturday a few weeks ago, I took my kids on an adventure to the UBC Botanical Garden (http://www NULL.ubcbotanicalgarden NULL.org). We went to walk high above the ground in the midst of gorgeous big trees on the Greenheart Canopy Walkway. We were all super excited and our trip did not disappoint.
When we got to the beginning of the walkway, a guide met us to give us a very informative tour as we were climbing the gently swinging roped-in walkway. Not only did he tell us about the different trees, but he included information about the animals that favoured them, the uses of each by First Nations Peoples and how the walkway was constructed without any harm to the trees themselves. My kids found this part the most fascinating… How does the walkway and all the big platforms around the trees stay up without any nails or fasteners drilled into the trees?
At the end of our tour, he let us jump and bounce on the last part of the walkway which was pretty amazing. We had some time left and went for a stroll through the gardens themselves.
There are bee hives, a tunnel, a giant boulder to climb on and some of the most amazing plants you have ever seen. A favourite was the ancient Gingko Biloba tree. I can’t wait for my next free Saturday as the garden is always changing and is worth visiting several times over the year. This is also a perfect place to bring visitors from out-of-town.
The Botanical Garden has just started kids summer camps – what a great place to send your little ones for a week of fun! You can learn more about the Garden’s Young Explorers Summer Day Camp program here (http://www NULL.ubcbotanicalgarden NULL.org/kids/summer-camp NULL.php). There’s a contest on the yoyomama.ca website to win a free week at camp (http://www NULL.yoyomama NULL.ca/2010/05/ubc_botanical_garden_young_explorers_summer_camp_contest/) too (enter soon, the contest only runs until June 7th).
