Petition to keep the Farm Green and Public

Thank you to all those who are circulating our petition. Please turn them in to Ravenwood when the pages are complete. Every name counts!!!

 
 
 
 

Friends of the Farm walk away from experimental farm proposal

JIM DAY
The Guardian



Friends of the Farm abruptly severed its participation Tuesday in the Mi’kmaq Confederacy of P.E.I. planning process to create a proposal for corporate development of the experimental farm property in the heart of Charlottetown.
The MCPEI invited stakeholders Tuesday to learn details of a draft by the consulting firm it contracted to help develop a plan for use of the property once it is declared surplus.
Bert Christie, a member of the Friends of the Farm executive, was joined by representatives of the Farmers Market Co-op and a group representing residents of Barrymore Court, in declaring they are walking away from this particular planning process.
Christie said the Friends of the Farm do not endorse any corporate ownership of the experimental farm.
“They (MCPEI) have been very emphatic that they want to have the land owned by a corporation … we felt there wasn’t much point in having any discussions with them,” he said. “We didn’t see much point.”
Jeff Brant, CEO of the Mi’kmaq Development Corporation, says he was very disappointed with the group’s position.
“It’s somewhat of a childish move, I think, but, you know, that is their decision,” he said of the group making their statement then marching out of the room before hearing details of the draft proposal. “I think it is counterproductive to not see what the results were (of the consultant’s report).”
Brant said the MCPEI still plans to go ahead with requesting the land be given to the Mi’kmaq once it has been declared surplus. He said the Mi’kmaq Confederacy will have a finalized document on its proposed development plan for the property within a couple of weeks and that conceptual design will be presented to the public.
“Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has consistently said that land is not surplus at this time and there is no plan to do so and we fully respect that,” he added.
“What we’ve done through this process is we’re sending a signal to government to say ‘look, should you decide to make it surplus, there is a vision for the property here that is really in the best interest of the city, the province and the Mi’kmaq as well’.”
Charlottetown Councillor Mitchell Tweel said the message he has heard loud and clear from residents of the city is the property must remain green.
“This is a legacy that we should be leaving for generations to come … this should be for all Islanders and the citizens of Charlottetown,” he said. “This is no disrespect to the Mi’kmaq Confederacy.”
Brant stressed, though, that the goal of the MCPEI is to develop the property for all to enjoy but also to ensure that it is sustainable.
“Our focus is responsible economic development that balances the need for green space. It’s a beautiful piece of property. We want to make it more open to the public … the public does not enjoy the full enjoyment that it could from the property as it stands.”
Christie said the Friends will continue to push the federal government to turn the land over to either the city or the province to provide for the development of a permanent cultural and ecological landscape, and to provide for gardens, arboretum, and agricultural demonstration area with historical and scientific interpretation for the use of the public.
08/04/09

Statement to O2 Design

April 7, 2009
To: Doug Olson, O2 Planning + Design

On behalf of the membership of The Friends of the Farm we wish to state that we will not participate in the planning process scheduled for today. The reasons for this are the following:

1. The Friends of the Farm do not endorse any corporate ownership of the Experimental Farm
The representatives of the Friends who attended the charette on February 18, 2009, made it clear that corporate ownership and commercial development of the Farm property was not a position that we could support as it is directly opposed to the mission of our organization. Subsequent consultation with the membership of Friends of the Farm following the charette has re-affirmed this position.

2. The Friends of the Farm has always maintained that the land known as the Experimental Farm be owned by the citizens to ensure its protection and its use as a public green space, in perpetuity. Support for this concept has been well established

• In 2002 almost four thousand Islanders signed a petition to keep the Experimental Farm green and public.

• In 2004, more than 120 people participated in a charette hosted by MP Shawn Murphy and Friends of The Farm. This open public process was well publicized and the outcome was;
o Solid endorsement of the public ownership model.
o Solid endorsement of parks and green space.

• In 2005 the Ravenwood Park Concept Plan was well received by the public at an open house.


3. Without public ownership as a foundation there can be no joint planning initiatives




The objective and purpose of the Friends of the Farm is to provide for the development of a permanent cultural and ecological landscape, and to provide for gardens, arboretum, and agricultural demonstration area with historical and scientific interpretation for the use of the public.

letter to membership

Dear Members,

On February 18th, the Mi'kmaq Confederacy of Prince Edward Island invited
Friends of the Farm to a charrette ( ie workshop) to discuss possible plans
for the use of the Experimental Farm property. A total of eight different
groups were invited to send 4 representatives each to the workshop. The
Confederacy have engaged a firm from Calgary,O2 Planning and Design, to prepare a plan for
the
development of the property, and that firm conducted the workshop.

The Executive of the Friends of the Farm sent 4 representatives and two more of
our members were there representing the Parkdale neighbourhood. All of us
felt the workshop was conducted in a very professional manner. The firm from
Calgary will prepare a preliminary plan and bring it back to the workshop at
the end of March.

Your Executive is anxiously awaiting to see the proposed plan. It is
possible that a plan may evolve which would satisfy both the Confederacy and
Friends of the Farm. However, there is one crucial point upon which we do not agree
with the Confederacy. The Confederacy have proposed that a private corporation own
the land; and the shareholders in that corporation would be the two Mi'kmaq
bands on PEI. The corporation would generate revenue for the bands. There
would be a board of governors for the corporation; and Friends of the Farm
as well as a number of other groups would have a seat on the board of
governors.

Your Executive have always promoted the idea that the city of Charlottetown
or the Province of Prince Edward Island should own the land. Upkeep would be
financed by revenue generated from admissions to a 3.5 acre botanical garden as well as some
development such as seniors’ housing, small-scale university research centres, or even small
centres concerned with wellness. Our plan has always been flexible and we would support just
enough development to maintain the property. Our idea of development is institutional not
commercial and it would have to be suitably designed and carefully placed.
All this was outlined in the proposal which was prepared for us by Daniel
Glenn Associates in 2005. That proposal was based upon the results of our
workshop, to which the public was invited ( and about 120 people attended),
plus interviews of a number of groups and individuals.

The Executive will be talking to civic, provincial and federal government representatives once
again. The Mayor has already reconfirmed his support of the Friends’ plan. The Friends must
decide whether or not to attend the next level of talks on the Mi’kmaq proposal.

The Friends of the Farm now have over 350 members. Every member’s opinion is extremely
important to us. Please give us your feedback at friendsofthefarm@gmail.com.

Workshop to tackle future of Home Farm
DAVE STEWART
The Guardian

A new fire station and a military training centre are just two of the ideas being bounced around when it comes to the future of the Home Farm, also known as the Experimental Farm property.
The Mi’kmaq Confederation of P.E.I. is hosting a workshop in Charlottetown Wednesday that includes various stakeholders interested in the property — the confederacy, City of Charlottetown, UPEI, Holland College, Department of National Defence and the Friends of the Farm.
Jeff Brant, chief executive officer of the P.E.I. Mi’kmaq Development Corporation, said Thursday the whole idea is to advance the issue.
“We’ve always been open and honest as to our intent and desire to have the Home Farm come under the ownership of the Mi’kmaq in order to generate revenue,’’ Brant said.
“We see it as a potentially key economic engine for the First Nations.’’
Brant said the confederacy, which views itself as stewards of the eight-acre farm, wants to develop a common vision for the property, one where everyone wins.
“It’s just about getting everybody on the same page and how we develop the property in a manner that is respective of everybody’s needs and desires for the property its itself.’’
The Home Farm is still owned by the Department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and has yet to be officially declared federal surplus land. At that point it would be turned over to Canada Lands which handles all surplus land.
Bert Christie, with Friends of the Farm, said they’ve been invited to the workshop and will be sending four members. He said proposals on the property include building a new, central, fire hall at the corner of University and Belvedere avenues and moving the Queen Charlotte Armouries from the waterfront to the Home Farm but they’re just ideas being thrown around right now. The Friends want to see the property preserved as green space.
“Friends of the Farm is very concerned about all of this. We’ll have to wait and see what happens,’’ Christie said.
Brant wouldn’t comment on specific ideas for the site but he did say the vision definitely does not entail big buildings, malls nor does it have the flashy retail look of University Avenue.
“Putting skyscrapers there is not conducive to the needs of Charlottetown. There is a need for green space but you need to generate revenue that allows that green space to be maintained.
“We see the property as a chance to generate alternate revenue streams for the First Nation but, as well, it could be a huge economic generator for the province, for the city. We’re in a time of economic downturn so having new development is crucial in getting us through that. This has to be responsible development.’’
The Mi’kmaq Confederacy has hired O2 Design and Planning, a firm based in Calgary, to facilitate Wednesday’s workshop, compile all the ideas for the property and present a report that features a uniform vision for the Home Farm.
Brant said doing nothing is not an option.
“The position that we’ll be in in 10 years time if we haven’t (moved this forward), if no one has done anything with that property, I think everybody loses.’’

2009 Friends Executive

Chairman- Dr. Lloyd Macleod
Vice-Chair- Janice Simmonds
Secretary- Treasurer- Nora Jenkins
Membership- Gertie Purdy
Lane Maclaren
Dr. Bert Christie
Laura Lee Howard
Connie Mackay-Carr
Errol Nicholson
Catherine Hennessey
Kenneth Macdonald
Libby Martin

 
 
 
 

The Future of the Charlottetown Experimental Farm – Conflicting Views

The Friends of the Farm P.E.I. are pleased to invite the general public as well Friends members to a presentation that promises to be most thought-provoking: The Future of the Charlottetown Experimental Farm – Conflicting Views. The presentation will follow a brief business meeting in the context of the Friends 2008 annual general meeting, to be held at 7pm on Wednesday, November 12th, at the Carriage House, Beaconsfield Historic House, West St., Charlottetown.

Dr. Bert Christie and Laura Lee Howard, members of the Friends executive, have prepared a power point presentation on the cultural, social, historical, and economical significance of the Experimental Farm as well as the issues and differences of opinion that surround its future. The presentation is based on a paper presented at the Island Heritage Management Conference, an international event held in Charlottetown in early October by the Institute of Island Studies.

The Charlottetown Experimental Farm was established in 1909 as one of a series of national agricultural research stations formed across the new dominion of Canada. For many years the Farm was a focal point for urban as well as rural activities. Both research and socio-cultural events took place on this common ground. When first established, the Farm was outside the city. By the year 2000, urban development surrounded it. The Farm was now an 88 acre green space in the heart of the city. Agricultural research was gradually shifted to newly established research stations outside the city limits.

Tensions mounted for this property in the winter of 2002 when it was announced that a double rink and pool would be built in the center of the Farm. The Federal Department of Agricultural and Agri-Food Canada had deemed the property surplus to its needs and intended to hand it over to Canada Lands Corporation, an arms length government body whose mandate is to dispose of surplus government goods at fair market value.

A petition with close to 5,000 names, the largest ever circulated on Prince Edward Island, was eventually presented to the Charlottetown mayor at city hall, effectively stopping the plan for a sportsplex in the middle of the Farm. The public discussion that ensued clarified that this piece of land held significant connections for both rural and urban dwellers, and indeed it connected Islanders from coast to coast.

The presentation will demonstrate the importance of the thoughtful preservation of the Charlottetown Experimental Farm for the generations of Prince Edward Islanders to come.

In 2009, the Charlottetown Experimental Farm will be celebrating its 100th anniversary. Please help the Friends of the Farm launch our celebrations by attending the annual general meeting and bringing along any photos, stories, or memorabilia you may have relating to the farm. We are hoping to publish a booklet commemorating the Farm’s centennial.

Membership renewal

To renew your membership, please print this image and mail it to the Friends of the Farm.

2008 Executive

Chair- Lloyd Macleod
Vice-Chair- Ken MacDonald
Secretary-Treasurer- Nora Jenkins
Bert Christie
Catherine Hennessey
Laura lee Howard
Connie MacKay-Carr
Lane MacLaren
Libby Martin
Errol Nicholson
Gertie Purdy
Janice Simmonds

Annual Meeting 2007

The annual general meeting of the Friends of the Farm (PEI) will be held on Tuesday, November 13, 2007 at 7:30 p.m. at the Carriage House, Beaconsfield Historic House, West Street, Charlottetown.

Members and non – members are invited to attend the brief business meeting which will be followed a lecture by Diana Beresford – Kroeger entitled “Island Trees, Island Treasures”. Beresford – Kroeger says: "PEI has the climate, the soils, and the inclination to grow a treasury of trees: the kinds of trees that beat the stock market and keep the Island solvent in a most interesting way ...." The lecture is being co-sponsored by the City of Charlottetown and the friends.

Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a scientist and author specializing in classical botany and medical biochemistry. She is known for her captivating and well informed lectures and is the author of Arboretum America: A Philosophy of the Forest and A Garden for Life, about growing gardens for pleasure which are also eco-friendly. Her book, “Arboretum America”, won the American National Arbor Day Foundation Media Award in 2005, for an exemplary educational work on trees and forests. She is currently working on “Arboretum Borealis”, a sister book to “Arboretum America” about the great northern forests and the importance in the global eco system.

Diana Beresford-Kroeger is a botanist, medical and agricultural researcher, lecturer, and self-defined “renegade scientist” in the fields of classical botany, medical biochemistry, organic chemistry and nuclear chemistry. In

the area of popular media, she has regularly contributed to, written for, or hosted programs on CBC radio, National Public Radio (USA) and CTV. She is a regular columnist for the Canadian magazines, Nature Canada, and Eco/Farm and Gardens, and the community newspaper, the Merrickville Phoenix. Her articles also appear in Europe in journals such as those of Irish Garden Plant society, the Wiltshire Gardens Trust and others.

Diana Beresford-Kroeger was raised in Ireland and now lives outside of Ottawa. She has studied classical botany, medical biochemistry, organic and radio nuclear chemistry, and experimental surgery in Ireland, the USA and Canada. Her scientific publications appear in journals such as, The American Heart Journal, The Canadian Heart Journal, and The Journal of Microscopy. She has lectured at the University College Cork (Ireland) and at Carleton University (Canada) and received a fellowship at the University of Connecticut. She has worked as a research scientist at the Canada Department of Agriculture and the University Of Ottawa School Of Medicine, as well as the aforementioned institutions.

Her charitable work includes raising considerable funds for the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize winning group Medecins san Frontiers, the Shepherds of Good Hope Shelter, the Canadian National Institute for the Blind, many

horticultural societies, arboreta and libraries. She is also an active scientific and educational resource for eastern Ontario schools. She continues to write and conduct research in her extensive private gardens at Merrickville, Ontario.

A documentary film completed in 2007, about her life and her garden, will be broadcast in March 2008 in North America and Europe.

Diana Beresford-Kroeger contact information. 613 269 4453

P.O. Box 253

Merrickville,

Ontario, K1G 1N0

Ravenwood Update

In the past few years, there has been little outward change at the Charlottetown Experimental Farm (Ravenwood). However, many plans and proposals for the future use of this property have been put forward, and it is small wonder that the general public and even members of the Friends of the Farm are confused about its current status. In 2002, Agriculture Canada put the Charlottetown Experimental Farm on its surplus lands list, resulting in much public concern. The Friends of the Farm and other such groups whose objective was to keep the Farm green and public led a public awareness campaign to inform Islanders about the possibility that the Farm would be developed for profit. Agriculture Canada has since removed the Farm from the surplus list. Nevertheless, the future of the Farm remains in question as Agriculture Canada plans to move the Charlottetown Research Station to its Harrington site. At present, minimal research is carried out at Ravenwood.

Because of the high cost of maintaining the buildings at Ravenwood and the liability associated with property ownership, Agriculture Canada has begun a process of disposal of certain buildings deemed to be no longer useful or beyond repair. The Friends of the Farm have identified several buildings that have a historic or functional value and to date Agriculture Canada has agreed to remove them from the list.

Over the years, the Friends of the Farm have approached the various levels of government about preserving the Farm. Government's question has always been the same: what is your vision for the property? In order to answer that question, the Friends have hosted public brain-storming meetings. With funding from ACOA and the City of Charlottetown, the Friends contracted Daniel Glen, landscape architect and park planner, to incorporate the ideas presented at those meetings into a conceptual plan for the Farm. Of course, this plan is not set in stone. It would certainly evolve should the Farm become available to Islanders. The Friends of the Farm envision working with the Province, the City of Charlottetown, the First Nations, the University of Prince Edward Island, and any other groups interested in preserving and protecting this beautiful property for future generations.

The City of Charlottetown has designated the farm as a cultural and historic park in its master plan for the future of parks and recreation in the city. The city is to be congratulated on its foresight in developing this plan. However, the Ravenwood Experimental Farm remains the property of Agriculture Canada and ultimately it will be Agriculture Canada's decision as to how and when the Farm is transfered to its future owners. It is the opinion of the Friends of the Farm that the rightful owners of this property are the taxpayers of P.E.I. Our organisation continues to act as a watchdog for the Experimental Farm and to lobby government to keep the Farm green and publicly owned.

Rob Roy reviews Farm buildings

At the request of the executive of the Friends of the Farm, contractor Rob Roy toured the buildings of the Charlottetown Experimental Farm with Mike Hennigar who is in charge of property at the Research Station. Rob concluded that 6 of the buildings slated for disposal could be useful in the future and would be worth preserving. These 6 are:

1. 5 car garage
2. Apple House Storage
3. Horticultural Building
4. Vehicle Storage Building [Bull Barn]
5. Cereal Barn
6. 8 car garage opposite Bull Barn

All of the above would require extensive work in order to be functional. We have sent a letter to Mike Hennigar to request that they be removed from the disposal list.

The Friends have no objection to the disposal of the following buildings which either contain mildew or pesticides or are in such a state that the cost of repair would be prohibitive :

1. Pea Vin Building
2.Small Equipment Storage
3.Birch Court
4.Sheep Barn
5.Fertilizer Storage
6.Pesticide Storage

The Friends of the Farm would like to express our sincere thanks to Rob Roy for volunteering his time and expertise to our cause. We would also like to thank Mike Hennigar for his patient cooperation with the Friends .

Parks and Recreation Master Plan

The City of Charlottetown has a master plan for the future of parks and recreation in the city. The executive summary is available in pdf form here.

Friends of the Farm would like feedback from its members about this plan.

Facebook

Welcome Facebook members.

We now have a group on Facebook for those who would like to show their support for this green space.

New members are also welcome to sign up using the forms on the right side of this page.

Thank you!

Feds may still want to oversee city farm

From The Charlottetown Guardian, Monday, October 23rd, 2006:

Feds may still want to oversee city farm
Speaker says potential native land claims could impact future of major property.
By Nigel Armstrong
The Guardian

Agriculture Canada may want to remain owner of the 80-plus acre Experimental Farm in the heart of Charlottetown after all.

“I have the feeling that they do,” said Doug Shouldice, president of the citizen’s group that supports Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm.

He was guest speaker at the annual meeting of Friends of the Farm P.E.I.

Shouldice said after the meeting that he has never been told on or off the record that the federal department wants to back away from plans to abandon the over 80 acres of land in the centre of Charlottetown. Rather it was a gut feeling he gets when dealing with his group’s issues in Ottawa.

For one thing, any change of ownership in the Charlottetown land could well open up aboriginal land claims as suggested by John Joe Sark in 2002.

“At one point, (Agriculture Canada) was going to close it, close it down,” said Shouldice of the Charlottetown farm lands.

“That was three, four years ago but it’s still here. Nothing, at this moment, is going to be closed.

“We went through that same thing in Ottawa.”

Sitting in the heart of urban Ottawa, the nearly 400 acres of the nation’s main experimental farm was being considered as surplus by Agriculture Canada officials.

A group of concerned citizens formed a support group for the Ottawa farm in 1988.

It offered to find groups and people to maintain parts of the farm and soon there were volunteer teams and organizations looking after the arboretum, the peony beds, the lilac trees and now there are plans of hand-planting 23,000 trees in the coming years. Books have been or are about to be published, there are fundraising events, Victorian tea socials, trails and public gardens.

“The most important thing we offer is the daily work we are doing, the labour, all volunteer,” said Shouldice.

In 2003, Agriculture and Agri-food Canada revitalized some research programs at the Ottawa farm and the group feels the land is now more securely in public hands as a working farm and public green space for the long term.

The same could happen in Charlottetown, said Shouldice.

“You can’t just say ‘I want the farm,’ ” he said. “You have to come with something you can add to (the uses for the land). They say no to us, as well, but there is a lot that they let us do. We are giving them 15,000 hours of labour a year and that counts for something.”

There was a strong hint at the meeting that the University of Prince Edward Island may want to use the Charlottetown land in some agricultural capacity.

“We have had meetings with the university and we are keeping our fingers crossed, hoping we will be included in their plans,” said Connie MacKay-Carr, a member of Friends of the Farm.

Annual Meeting

Friends of the Farm Annual Meeting and Lecture

Doug Shouldice will address the annual meeting of the Friends of the Farm(PEI)
on Wednesday, October 18 at 7:30 p.m.. The meeting will be held at the Lecture
Hall in the K.C.Irving Chemistry Centre at UPEI. There will
be a brief business meeting following which Mr. Shouldice
will speak on the topic “Ottawa’s Central Experimental Farm
- Preserved and Flourishing.”

Doug Shouldice is President of the Friends of the Central
Experimental Farm in Ottawa. This is an organization of
approximately 400 volunteers whose mandate is to promote,
maintain, protect, and enhance The Farm.

The Central Experimental Farm was the first of the national
research stations, and has been declared a National Historic Site, and Heritage
Landscape.

Mr. Shouldice has been a career educator, and for the past 20 years a member of
the board of the Central Canada Exhibition Association. He has been a volunteer
board member of the Friends of the Central Experimental Farm for the last five
years. Among his pet projects is the creation of a shelterbelt to protect a corner of
The Farm from a busy, neighbouring thoroughfare. He works with volunteers, the
public and politicians at all three levels of government to protect and enhance The
Farm.

Friends of the Farm(PEI) continues to work toward the objective of to developing
a permanent cultural and ecological landscape on the grounds of the Experimental
Farm. Everyone is welcome and invited to attend the annual meeting and lecture.

History of the Farm

The Experimental Farm was established in 1909 by the Canadian government. Later it was
designated as the “Charlottetown Research Station” and today ( 2006) its official title is the
“Crops and Livestock Research Centre”. However, the popular name is still the Experimental
Farm.

The land on which the Experimental Farm is located was one of the lots of the Common
surrounding the town of Charlottetown in the original survey done in the 1700's. This lot was
granted to the Attorney General for the Island, Sir William Johnston about 1820.Sir William
ordered the construction of a house, Ravenwood, in the early 1820's. When Prince Edward Island
entered Confederation in 1873, the Premier, the Honourable James C. Pope and his family,
occupied Ravenwood. Surrounding Ravenwood, were gardens, a cricket pitch, and a hop garden
to supply Mr. Pope’s personal brewery.

North of the present buildings, there is a row of trees along what was once “Pottery Lane”. In
1880 the Charlottetown Brick and Pottery Works was established near here. This site was
apparently chosen because of the presence of a deposit of brick clay. This pottery was in
production for about 15 years. However, the pottery clay did not glaze well, and ultimately the
plant closed.

A painting by Robert Harris illustrates Mount Edward road between Ravenwood and Ardgowan
about the time of Confederation. This painting
is owned by the Confederation Centre Art
Gallery.

In 1909, the Canadian Government assumed control of the property to establish an Experimental
Farm.

Historical Sites

RAVENWOOD

Ravenwood is an example of the type of houses which the ‘landed gentry’ built in the lots
surrounding early Charlottetown. Only a few such houses remain. It was built for Sir William
Johnson in the early 1820's. It occupies an imposing site, and at the time of its construction, one
could see the harbour in the fall when the foliage had gone.

In 1909, when the Government of Canada assumed responsibility for the land, Ravenwood was
in need of repair. A verandah which was on three sides of the house was removed. The bay
windows, the belvedere and the portico were added in 1910. Because of the many alterations
which have been carried out. Ravenwood is a recognized historic site; rather than a designated
historic site.

Ravenwood was a home for the various directors of the Experimental Farm/ Research Station.
Dr. and Mrs. Lloyd MacLeod and their family were the last occupants. Today, Ravenwood is a
home for the offices of the Island Nature Trust.

In the concept plan prepared for this site. Ravenwood occupies a central position.


THE ROYAL FOREST

In front of Ravenwood is a large group of tall trees, and this area has been called the “Royal
Forest”. Various members of the British royalty have planted trees here when visiting Prince
Edward Island. Many of the Governor Generals of Canada have also participated in tree planting.
The first such tree is an American elm, planted on July 30th, 1912, by the Duke of Connaught,
then Governor General of Canada. H.R.H. Charles, Prince of Wales planted an English oak on
June 27th,1983.
Many of the Farm/Station directors have also planted trees here. A total of 29 trees have been
planted in this manner.

North of the Royal Forest is the picnic area and here a number of trees have been planted by
Premiers of PEI, and others.


The Lily Pond

One of the interesting attractions on the Experimental Farm has been the large lily pond. When
the Experimental Farm was established in 1909, there were three such ponds on the site. Clay for
the pottery had been extracted along the ridge located on the west side of the buildings. Two of
the sites were filled in, and water lilies were introduced into the remaining pond.