Vancouver Park Board saves Bloedel Conservatory
The Vancouver Park Board has approved a plan to partner the Bloedel Conservatory with the VanDusen Botanical Garden, saving the Conservatory from being closed in a city budget crunch.
Stanley Park petting zoo will be closed
The Vancouver Park Board has approved a plan to partner the Bloedel Conservatory with the VanDusen Botanical Garden, saving the conservatory from being closed in a city budget crunch.
The plan was approved by a committee in July and the full board, as expected, approved the committee's recommendation in a unanimous vote Monday night.
Commissioners voted in December 2009 to close the 41-year-old conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park to help deal with a $2.8-million cut to the park board's budget.
The park board also voted on the fate of another threatened facility — the Children's Farmyard in Stanley Park. But no prior rescue plan had been approved for the popular family location and the board voted to close the petting zoo in January.
In the fall of 2009, the park board was ordered to cut back its operations by Vancouver city hall, which is facing a budget shortfall of more than $60 million.