Teacher Professional Development

Come learn with us in the Garden! The VBGA is pleased to welcome educators & teachers to our online and in-person Teacher Professional Development workshops at VanDusen Botanical Garden and Bloedel Conservatory.

Throughout the academic year we strive to offer engaging educational courses to help develop your gardening and botany skills, deepen your knowledge of our local ecology, and inspire you to step outside and explore with your students in the great outdoors.

Find the perfect fit for you and your teaching team.

2024 Teacher Professional Development Workshops

  • +FREE August 29: Teacher Open House

    Calling all Educators!

    VBGA is pleased to invite you to a FREE Open House event at VanDusen Botanical Garden. Meet our amazing Education Team and learn about our Field Trips, Professional Development Workshops, teacher bursaries for free Adult Education Courses and the wide array of resources available at our onsite Yosef Wosk Library.

    Enjoy a guided tour of the Garden with our Education Facilitators, and enter to win some amazing prizes.

    Learn more & register!

  • +Private Teacher Professional Development Workshops

    The VBGA is pleased to offer Private Teacher Professional Development Workshops at VanDusen Botanical Garden for your full staff team this upcoming school year!

    Design your perfect day of customized learning and skill-building for your team by selecting from a menu of workshop themes best suited to your team. Our workshops are facilitated by our dynamic VBGA education staff, using the 55-acre garden as our classroom for the day. Programs will run out of the Guides Classroom in the Visitor Centre.

    Choose from half day (3hrs) or full day (5hrs) programs.

    Themes include:

    • Iconic BC Trees
    • Natural Heritage Walk
    • Flowers & Pollinators
    • A Seasonal Sense of Nature
    • Coastal BC Native Plants
    • Nature Play in the Garden
    • Birds & Plants

    *Please confirm availability of  seasonal programs.

    We look forward to welcoming your staff team to the Garden!

    With a limited number of dates available each year, booking well in advance is highly recommended.

    How to Book: For inquiries, please send an email with your preferred workshop date, name, school and district, estimated number of staff, to Jessica Henry, Assistant Director of Education: jhenry@vandusen.org.

    2024 Program Fees:  

    Half Day Workshop (3 hrs)  $840.00 + gst  Program fee includes up to 20 people. Additional participants will be charged at $42 / person.  
    Full Day Workshop (5 hrs)  $1,400.00 + gst  Program fee includes up to 20 people. Additional participants will be charged at $70 / person. 

    *A non-refundable deposit of $250.00 for half-day/ $450.00 for full-day programs is required to reserve your program date at the time of booking. The booking deposit will be applied towards the remaining fee for the program. The remainder of the program fee; (+gst) and charges for all additional participants (over the 20 participants included in the base fee) will be invoiced on the day of the program, to be paid in full within 2 weeks of the program date.

    Cancellation Policy:
    Due to high demand for these programs on professional development days, we are unable to offer refunds of the booking deposit fee. If you need to cancel your program, please notify us of your cancellation in writing to jhenry@vandusen.org.

  • +Free courses for K-12 teachers

    If you are a K – Grade 12 teacher, you may be eligible for free adult education courses to aid in your classroom teaching or development of a school garden. Take a look at our course offerings, then please complete this Request Form. You can also reach out for more support to learn@vandusen.org or 604-718-5898.