UBC Botanical Garden

Name

UBC Botanical Garden

Legal name

UBC Botanical Garden

Website

https://botanicalgarden.ubc.ca

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Botanical Garden & Plant Conservation

NAICS

Zoos and Botanical Gardens (71213)

akta.pro primary industry

Zoos, Aquariums & Botanical Gardens (Educational Collections) (THAJADAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Parks, Gardens & Botanical Attractions (THAJACAH)

Keywords

• Botanical garden services
• Plant conservation research
• Horticulture education programs
• Nature-based recreation
• Cultural garden experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Admission Tickets: Visitors purchase tickets for admission to UBC Botanical Garden and Nitobe Memorial Garden. Standard admission and special event tickets are available through online shop and at-gate.
2. Memberships: Annual membership program offering unlimited visits, exclusive benefits, discounts on events and workshops, seasonal previews, behind-the-scenes tours, and early registration for select programs.
3. Donations: Donations support plant conservation, education, and research initiatives.
4. Venues and Events: Venue rentals for weddings, photography sessions, and filming. Event spaces include gardens and facilities for celebrations.
5. Tours and Programs: Guided tours including tree walks, specialized tours (Cultivara Tree Tours, GreenHeart TreeWalk), educational programs for schools, and workshops.
6. Shop Sales: The Shop in the Garden sells merchandise, nature-themed items, and educational materials.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

UBC Botanical Garden operates a 44-hectare living plant collection on UBC's Point Grey campus in Vancouver, BC, open to the public for admissions. Core offerings include the main botanical garden, the Nitobe Memorial Garden (an authentic Japanese garden), and the GreenHeart TreeWalk canopy walkway, supported by guided tours, educational programs, research facilities, venue rentals for events, and a membership program.

Product overview

UBC Botanical Garden operates as a unified platform combining public attractions, educational programming, and research services. The core offerings include the main botanical garden spanning 44 hectares with living plant collections, the Nitobe Memorial Garden featuring authentic Japanese garden design, and the GreenHeart TreeWalk canopy walkway. Supporting services include Garden Explorer (interactive mapping tool), Cultivara Tree Tours (guided canopy expeditions), venue rentals for events and weddings, and membership programs. Educational offerings encompass K-12 Schools Programs, the Apple Diversity Hybrid Workshop, and the annual Biodiversity Days event. Research capabilities include genomics initiatives (Canada BioGenome Project), phenology studies, and bryophyte diversity documentation. The Grow Green Guide provides public-facing plant selection tools for Metro Vancouver residents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Nitobe Memorial Garden: One of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan, located within UBC Botanical Garden, featuring traditional tea house and Roji.
• GreenHeart TreeWalk
• Garden Explorer
• Friends of UBC Botanical Garden

Products and services

• UBC Botanical Garden (Public Admission) Canada's oldest university botanical garden featuring living plant collections across 44 hectares, offering public admission and self-guided visits for individuals, families, tourists, and nature enthusiasts.
• Nitobe Memorial Garden One of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside Japan, featuring a traditional tea house and roji path, offering cultural programs and visits connected to the Japanese Canadian community.
• GreenHeart TreeWalk

Quantifiable outcome

• Last year's Bioblitz participants recorded over 950 observations across 439 species

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Coastal Douglas-fir Conservation Partnership (CDFCP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Action for Adaptation project that brings together ecological data, mapping tools and community knowledge to help guide land-use and conservation decisions across southwest British Columbia. Supports climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation.
• Metro VancouvercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Grow Green Guide plant explorer and garden space designer tools for eco-friendly lawns and gardens in Metro Vancouver.
• Sogetsu VancouverminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPresents Ikebana (Japanese flower arrangement) exhibitions at Nitobe Memorial Garden, showcasing traditional Japanese art of flower arrangement.
• Canada BioGenome ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUBCBG is a proud partner in the Canada BioGenome Project, which aims to sequence the genomes of Canada's floristic biodiversity. The garden provides diverse, well-documented plant material with verified wild provenance.
• Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational partnership contributing to global plant conservation efforts through BGCI initiatives.
• Global Genome Initiative for Gardens (GGI-Gardens)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal partnership contributing plant genomic material to support biodiversity conservation research worldwide.
• OneKP (One Thousand Plant Transcriptomes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational genomics initiative where UBCBG contributes plant material for transcriptomics research.
• UBC's Blank Vinyl ProjectminorGTM or Marketing PartnerStudent club providing live music at BranchingOUT 2SLGBTQIA+ community celebration event.
• David Suzuki FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCitizen science collaboration through the Butterflyway Project, engaging community in biodiversity monitoring.
• Beaty Biodiversity MuseumminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCross-promotional partnership for Science Rendezvous and Biodiversity Days events, collaborating on educational activities.
• Pacific Museum of EarthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for Science Rendezvous and Biodiversity Days events, offering earth science education alongside botanical programs.
• Museum of Anthropology at UBC (MOA)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for Biodiversity Days and cultural diversity events, including tours exploring relationships between cultural and biological diversity.
• Vancouver Black LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on BIPOC Reading Buddies program at UBC Botanical Garden, focusing on diversity, inclusion, and cultural connections to nature.
• Pacific Spirit Park SocietyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerForest walk leadership collaboration with Ryan Regier, a regular forest walk leader with Pacific Spirit Park Society.
• Cultivara Tree TourscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExpert-led tree climbing and canopy experiences operated by Cultivara within UBC Botanical Garden, offering unique forest canopy adventures to visitors.
• SEEDS Sustainability ProgramcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on UBC Tree Inventory Project mapping and monitoring tree health, diversity, and ecological value across campus for climate resilience planning.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• Bloedel Conservatory: A domed tropical conservatory in Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver, offering tropical plant displays and events. Comparable as a regional botanical attraction serving the same Vancouver visitor market, though with a different (tropical/indoor) offering profile.

Broad incumbents

• New York Botanical Garden: A 250-acre botanical garden in the Bronx operating as a major plant research and conservation institution. Comparable as a research-intensive botanical garden with extensive educational programs, though at much larger scale and with broader resources.
• Chicago Botanic Garden: A 385-acre botanical garden operated by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County with strong education, conservation, and horticulture research programs. Comparable as a multi-purpose botanical institution with educational programming and conservation research.
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew: A UNESCO World Heritage Site botanical garden in the UK leading global plant science, conservation, and biodiversity informatics. Comparable as the global benchmark for university/research-aligned botanical gardens with extensive living collections and genomics work.
• Missouri Botanical Garden: A National Historic Landmark botanical garden in St. Louis renowned for plant science research, including the Center for Conservation Genetics. Comparable as a research-heavy botanical garden contributing to global biodiversity and genomics initiatives similar to UBCBG's Canada BioGenome involvement.

Direct peers

• Montreal Botanical Garden: One of the world's largest botanical gardens, operated by the City of Montreal, featuring themed gardens, greenhouses, and extensive educational programming. Comparable as a major Canadian botanical garden with a similar mix of collections, education, events, and ticketed admission.
• Butchart Gardens: A 55-acre heritage botanical garden near Victoria, BC, drawing Pacific Northwest tourism traffic with floral displays, events, and weddings. Comparable as a destination botanical attraction competing for the same regional leisure-travel audience.
• Toronto Botanical Garden: A charitable botanical garden in Toronto offering gardens, education programs, and events. Comparable as a Canadian botanical garden with overlapping educational programming, event hosting, and membership-driven operating model.
• VanDusen Botanical Garden: A 55-acre botanical garden in Vancouver offering living plant collections, seasonal events, weddings, and educational programs. It is the closest direct geographic peer to UBC Botanical Garden, serving the same Metro Vancouver visitor and event market with a comparable operating model.

Others

• Royal BC Museum: A provincial natural and human history museum in Victoria, BC, offering exhibits, educational programming, and ticketed admission. Comparable as a BC cultural-heritage institution with overlapping tourism audiences and partnership ecosystem for UBCBG's Biodiversity Days-style programming.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ubcgarden
• Facebookfacebook.com/UBCgarden
• Instagraminstagram.com/ubcgarden
• Pinterestpinterest.com/ubcgarden
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ubcgarden

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about UBC Botanical Garden