INTRODUCTION

This garden has been planted on the unceded, traditional territories of the kʷikʷəƛ̓əm (Kwikwetlem), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), Səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), and Xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) who are the original caretakers of these lands and have been since time immemorial. The Archaeology Department is nurturing this space to build connection with our community, and it provides a naturalized setting to showcase local wild plants. Visitors are welcome to view the plants through the seasons and to learn about native plants. If you are interested in visiting the garden as part of your class, or booking a tour, please contact goarch@sfu.ca.

Identification tags on the plants provide names in hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓, Sḵwx̱ wú7mesh sníchim, Latin, and English languages.

The garden incorporates food plants important to local Indigenous communities, including Camassia quamash (common camas), Amelanchier alnifolia (saskatoon berry), Urtica dioica (stinging nettle), and Fragaria chiloensis (coastal strawberry). Groundcovers, such as Claytonia perfoliata (Miner's lettuce), Cerastium arvense (field chickweed), and Oxalis oregana (redwood sorrel) have been eaten by local Indigenous peoples and settlers on this land. Other plants are useful for medicine (Achillea millefolium, yarrow) or tool making (Corylus cornuta, beaked hazelnut wood, or Crataegus douglasii, black hawthorn branches).

This site was originally covered in ivy, planted decades ago. During construction taking place between 2016-2022, we decided to secure and restore this space as part of our celebration of the 50th anniversary of Archaeology at SFU. Department staff, faculty and students spent three days during spring 2022 removing the ivy and replacing the topsoil. Plants were donated or started from seed, resulting in a garden consisting of over 50 varieties and 100 individual plants. The ivy pulling and weeding of this garden continues as we nurture the garden and its plants to maturity.