VIU to close Milner Gardens & Woodland and Camellia Tea Room for Two Weeks

With the safety and well-being of our community at the top of our mind, VIU has decided to close Milner Gardens & Woodland and the Camellia Tea Room to the public and volunteers, for two weeks, effective immediately – Saturday, March 14, 2020. Milner Gardens & Woodland is located in Qualicum Beach. The Gardens will reopen on Sunday, March 29, 2020. 

We are taking this step for a number of reasons. An employee has exhibited mild symptoms of illness and BC’s Public Health Agency decided to take a precautionary step and ask this individual to go into self-isolation. 

The University is also committed to ensuring we are doing everything we can to support the health of our community and follow the Provincial Health Officer’s guidelines on minimizing the risk of transmission by adopting approaches such as social distancing. As there were school groups planned over spring break and larger groups of people come through the gardens on the weekend, we felt closing the gardens was the best way to support the Public Health Officer’s guidelines. As well, many of Milner’s volunteers are elderly and we want to ensure we are supporting them. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this will cause as we know that Milner is a beloved and much-visited attraction. However, we are committed to supporting the well-being of our community and closing the Gardens best supports this at this time. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding. If you have any questions, please email Geoff.Ball@viu.ca.