The legacy of “Botany John” Davidson

Failing eyesight limited many of Davidson’s activities in his later years. On February 10, 1970, at the age of 91, John Davidson died of complications from a stroke. The BC Native Garden, established in 1971, was dedicated to him in 1978. The UBC Botanical Garden’s journal, Davidsonia, also bears his name. All that remains of the West Mall garden and arboretum are the 90-year-old trees that survived construction in the area.

Listen to the audio clip: “Components of Davidson’s legacy” (streaming, 942 KB)

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Listen to the audio clip: “Davidson’s sense of humour” (streaming, 518 KB)

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Davidson left behind a world very different from the one that he had entered. Over the course of his career in British Columbia, he had built an herbarium and botanical garden, but more importantly he coordinated a social network of people to help achieve his preservation and conservation goals. Because of this, he is known today as a pioneer environmentalist as much as he is known by how he saw himself — a pioneer botanist.