Girls strolling down silver birches pathway c. 1935

trolling the brick-lined paths was a lunchtime activity for the students. Named for the trees, the "Silver Birches Pathway" was one of many areas where groups of girls could be found clustered together, chatting and laughing. The grape arbour, which was staked out parallel to Humboldt Street was another favourite destination.

Students were brought outside during classes, to enjoy the benefits of the many species on the grounds. The sketching of trees was an aspect of drawing and charcoal classes. "The immediate environs of the Academy, unsurpassed for scenic beauty, afford great advantages for sketching". (School Prospectus, 1911) Botany lessons were sometimes centred around the arboretum specimens.

Garden Procession c. 1960

Behind the cover of trees, girls climbed over the walls to go to the corner store and throw notes rolled into lipstick cases to boys, often from St. Louis College. One girl was convinced that the holly bushes had been planted on the perimeter of the grounds to keep her from an easy escape (although they had actually been growing there long before she registered as a student!). Conrad Schiller, a student in the primary classes at St. Ann's and the son of the maintenance man, first fell in love with a girl from the Academy. The boy carved their initials into some of the trees, and when the Sisters figured out who these two young people were, they hastily covered the offending areas with mud.

Garden Path

Before the restoration of the grounds could be considered, an inventory of the trees and shrubs was needed. According to Tom Loring, an authority on trees and a participant in the St. Ann's Rescue Coalition, the presence of the stream bed through the grounds gave the trees access to the water table, which helped the various species survive through the years of closure and neglect. This chart lists the trees that have survived from the original arboretum plan. (based on count published in St. Ann's Academy Grounds 5 Year Plan). Click here for a chart of the trees in the Arboretum

Battleship Fountain (click for larger image)

Plans to restore the pathways and plantings on the grounds continue. There is debate over several issues, for, unlike the building, the grounds have evolved over time, without the help of human intervention. The small saplings of 1911 are now large, adult trees, and the nature of the arboretum has changed. The gardeners continue to search for a balance between the heritage of the site and needs of current users. The solace that many Sisters and students took amongst the trees continues to be an aspect of the arboretum. Tom Loring expresses, "I still come across people in the arboretum, just sitting or standing there meditating." Speaking to one local woman, he discovered, "she found that if she was troubled, she'd just go down to the St. Ann's grounds and sit amongst the trees ... it restored her." He feels that this special role in the Victoria community is not fulfilled by any of the other park settings.