Richard Wahlgren Memorial Award
Richard Wahlgren was a husband, father, grandfather, friend, as well as a sailor, handyman, naturalist, business owner, horticulturist, and nursery man.
Richard had a passion for wild places and habitat restoration. For twenty years, from 2001 - 2021, he ran Streamside Native Plants on Vancouver Island.
He established the nursery as a major supplier of plants for ecological restoration and landscaping. His customer list grew to include Streamkeepers and Wetlandkeepers, many other non-profits, First Nations, municipalities and regional districts, Provincial and Federal parks, and countless home gardeners.
Richard’s formula for success was to provide a wide diversity of native perennials, wetland plants, shoreline species, shrubs, and trees. Thousands of sites and properties from the southern Gulf Islands and Saanich Peninsula, west to Tofino and Ucluelet, and north to Port Hardy received native plants grown at Richard’s nursery.
When it came time to retire to focus on his family, especially his four new grandbabies in two years, and to do more sailing on his beloved Danish motorsailer the Vincent II, Richard worked hard to find a like-minded buyer who would carry on the nursery as he had. He saw his business as an important Island-based resource that needed to be nurtured and maintained, much like the plants that he had tended over the years. After the nursery was sold, Richard was generous with his time providing invaluable advice and insight to the new owners which has helped ensure their success and continuation of this aspect of his legacy.
A life-long learner, Richard took numerous environmental management courses and restoration training over the years to augment his knowledge and improve his technical skills.
The Richard Wahlgren Memorial Award has been created to support UVic Continuing Studies students who share Richard’s passion for ecological restoration, so they can help carry on his labour of love in the coastal woods, on marine shorelines, and in riparian zones next to the watercourses, wetlands, and lakes that he cared so much about.
The award is funded by his family, friends, and Streamside Native Plants. Donate now to join us in supporting ecological restoration education in Richard’s memory.
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