Monday, July 22, 2019
~ West Shore Voice News
On Sunday July 21 outdoors at Hatley Park Gardens at Royal Roads University (RRU), the university’s president Philip Steenkamp announced that the gardens will be permanently open to the public free of charge.
The private event was attended by donors. Colwood Mayor Rob Martin was also in attendance.
Until now, the well-appointed, meandering gardens with a mix of native plants to a range of roses, climbers and ramblers plus a Japanese garden with gazebo, the locale has attracted tens of thousands of paid visitors year-round in the tourist-friendly climate that South Vancouver Island offers.
The 10-acre heritage gardens sit between the century-old Hatley Castle and the biologically diverse Esquimalt Lagoon looking out to the Olympic Mountains.
Guided tours of the gardens and castle continue to be available by paid admission.
“This was a private thank you garden party for donors — one that is held each year by the president. It wasn’t for solicitation of funds toward the gardens,” says RRU Communications Officer Ali Blythe.
It costs about $875,000 to maintain the gardens and the larger grounds each year.
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This article was first published on page 3 in the July 19, 2019 Weekend Edition of West Shore Voice News