Tree tours on former Riverview Hospital grounds may come to an end after 3 decades

A Coquitlam nonprofit may halt free tree tours it has offered for 30 years on the grounds of the former Riverview Hospital, as the province will require them to pay a $825 fee per tour starting next year.

B.C. Housing, which manages the property with the kikm(Kwikwetlem First Nation), previously allowed the society to run tours for free.

The Riverview Horticultural Centre Society's (RHCS) tours are volunteer-run, and organizers say the new cost would be prohibitive to its operations.

"We provide a public service," said board member Allison Luke. "We're providing an educational service for people and a recreational outlet."

Luke said the society's volunteers also help tend to parts of the grounds, which wererenamed to smiqel in 2021.

She says smiqel has a unique collection of 1,800 trees of 160 different species, many of which were planted in the early 1900s and are considered "fine specimens" by arborists.

"There's nothing like it in the Lower Mainland," Luke said.

The two-hour-long tree walks, which have typically run once a month from April through October, attract between 50 and 100 people, she says.

"There's not an Oscars or Grammy or an Olympics of trees, but if there were, the trees would be here," said Luke.

In a statement to CBC, B.C. Housing said it will require the RHCS to pay the special events fee "in the interest of transparency, fairness and equity to other organizations and groups interested in hosting activities at smiqel."

It says other groups using the site for special events like weddings, photo shoots, reunions, and filming are required to pay the same fee a fee it says covers the cost of processing an event application and providing a liaison officer to oversee the tour.

B.C. Housing introduced the liaison officer requirement when it took ownership of the landin 2015. It says the role is intended to protect the privacy of those who live and work onsmiqeland to ensure strict environmental and cultural protocols are adhered to.

Marilyne Andersen, president of the RHCS, says its guides take care to be considerate of those living on the grounds while conducting tours.

"We do not go near the housing. We respect that," Andersen said.

History of the tours

The tree tours were started in 1993 by a group of Coquitlam residents, including a nurse at Riverview Hospital, according to Andersen.

As the hospital was winding down its operations in the 90s, Andersen said some residents were concerned the land would be developed and the trees cleared.

"They felt that through educating the public and through inviting the public onto the grounds and getting them to walk there and see the magnificent trees, that they would want to save them," Andersen said.

Tothis day, the society continues to educate the public and advocate for the preservation of the trees through its public tours.

But Andersen says if they can't secure funding elsewhere, the nature walks will have to stop.

"I get joy out of coming here. And to not be able to do that and share with others, it's heartbreaking, and it's sad."

She says the trees and gardens on the grounds also serve an important mental health purpose, providing a sanctuary and calming space for many particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The trees are life-giving."