Niagara Parks School of Horticulture

Before the school was founded, the land was part of a large Oak Savannah, which means it was made up predominantly of grassland and Oak trees. In the late 1700's it became farmland. The East wing of the now residence building "The Bothy" ^[1] is the original farmhouse still used today as dorm rooms and the residence kitchen. While it has undergone strenuous renovations, it is still called the Murray Farmhouse after the last family that lived in the building. The Murray family owned the property from the 1870’s before the final Murray brother passed in 1916. The land was then bought by the Hydroelectric Power Commission to build a hydro canal to draw water from Niagara Falls to the Queenston-Chippawa Hydro plant, currently known as the Sir Adam Beck Generating Station. The canal began construction in 1917 and remains located behind the property, bringing water to the power station. The HEPC then sold the 320 acres of land to the Niagara Parks in 1919 for $100,000.^[2] The school was founded in 1936 as the Niagara Parks Commission Training School for Apprentice Gardeners and was renamed with the current name in 1959.^[3] In the beginning, all students were required to be male and single. It wasn't until 1976 that the first female, Deborah Pollock, graduated from the program.^[4]

Admissions to the school require applicants with prior horticulture experience plus an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (or equivalent). The school is looking for students of all ages. As of 2024, the school accepts an average of fifteen students per year. Two academic semesters run on a ten-week rotation, starting Labour Day. Followed by a practical-based summer semester. This program is year-round. When students aren't in academic classes, they can be found outside, maintaining the grounds of the 99-acre Botanical Gardens.

The final semester of the third year is a 10-week (minimum) internship. Students find placements all over the world.

Graduates receive a diploma in Professional Horticulture upon completion of required courses and practical application over 3 years.

The Niagara Parks School of Horticulture offers an apprenticeship program that meets the requirements to become a Red Seal Horticulture Technician. The program offers a standard of 6120 hours of work and school experience throughout the 3 years. After receiving their diploma, graduates have the opportunity to complete the certification exam to qualify for a Red Seal certification in Landscape Horticulture. ^[5]

Training for students is conducted at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens, Butterfly Conservatory and The Niagara Parks Greenhouses.^[5] All students have the opportunity to live in the residence, located on the botanical gardens grounds.

The School of Horticulture students are responsible for maintaining the Niagara Botanical Gardens on a year-round basis. Regular garden maintenance continues into the fall semester of the academic season, and winter tree pruning, greenhouse work, and more are completed through the winter semester of the academic season.

• Public garden management
• Bulb planting and bed layout
• Design of panel beds and urns
• Construction operations + use of heavy equipment
• Student-led tours of the grounds
• Seasonal maintenance (fall leaf collection, winter clean-up of debris)
• IPM practices (learning to spray pesticides and remove invasives)
• Greenhouse work and operations
• Tree climbing and chainsaw use

• Alfred H. Savage - horticulturist in the 1950s and 1960s, he later became a transit manager with the Toronto Transit Commission and the Chicago Transit Authority