2026 marks UBC Botanical Garden’s 110th anniversary of connecting people, plants, and biodiversity. To celebrate this remarkable milestone — and help shape the future — we are proud to launch Climb for Conservation.
This peer-to-peer fundraising event is a rare opportunity to experience UBC Botanical Garden in an unforgettable way while supporting urgent conservation action. Participants will take in the beauty of the Garden from a breathtaking vantage point 160 feet above the forest floor as they help protect one of the world’s most endangered trees: the Amami Maple.
How can you join the climb?
Getting involved is simple.
Register today, create your fundraising page, invite your friends, family, or colleagues, and climb for a cause that matters.
Whether you participate as an individual, family, or team, every step helps fund conservation, research, and biodiversity education.
Register now: climbforconservation.ubc.ca
Want to support in another way?
There is no limit to how you can help.
If you’re unable to participate in the climb, you can still make a meaningful impact by:
- Sharing the campaign using this link
- Sponsoring a participant, learning more, or rallying your workplace team to support Climb for Conservation
- Making a direct gift to the Botanical Garden Climb for Conservation Challenge Fund-G4574 or contact Sarah at sarah.dorancoelho@ubc.ca
Every action helps grow conservation impact.
Why does this matter now?
For 110 years, UBC Botanical Garden has connected people to plants and the natural world through science and conservation education, and documenting globally significant living collections.
Today, that role is more important than ever.
One of the clearest examples is the Amami Maple, one of the world’s rarest trees. Native to a small island region in southern Japan, it now stands on the brink of extinction. Only 12 trees remain in the wild, and just 3 are able to produce seeds. One major storm, typhoon, earthquake, or environmental disruption could erase the species forever.
Its future depends on immediate, expert conservation action — and UBC Botanical Garden is helping lead that effort.
Why is UBC Botanical Garden uniquely positioned to help?
Few institutions in the world have both the horticultural expertise and environmental conditions needed to support the Amami Maple’s fragile habitat.
That is why the Garden is developing the Amami Grove — a dedicated one-acre conservation zone within the Asian Garden to nurture seeds, advance research, and help secure the species’ future. To learn more about this inspiring project, watch Andy Hill share how the Amami Grove is taking root and why this work matters now more than ever.
It may represent the best — and possibly only — chance for the Amami Maple to survive.
Do you have what it takes to rise to the challenge? Help power UBC Botanical Garden’s urgent work to protect the Amami Maple and grow the Amami Grove. Register now: climbforconservation.ubc.ca
Do you have questions or group inquiries? Email us at: annual.giving@ubc.ca
Join the climb. Help save the Amami Maple.
Written by:
Jen Chang
Senior Manager, Marketing and Communication
UBC Botanical Garden
