Calls to save Regina’s Floral Conservatory grow ahead of budget meetings

Three women say the Regina Floral Conservatory offers the community far more than just flowers as the city weighs budget options that could affect the facility’s future.

The conservatory, tucked into a corner on Fourth Avenue, has been run for decades in partnership with volunteers, operating on a donation-based business model. Supporters say it remains one of the few affordable indoor spaces in the city where people can warm up, slow down and reconnect with nature, even during the long Saskatchewan winters.

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In its budget package to city council, administration included a list of 139 possible cuts. If all of them are approved, the projected 15.69 per cent mill rate increase – based on current service levels – would turn into a reduction of five per cent.

One of the possible cuts involved decommissioning the greenhouse that houses the Regina Floral Conservatory, for which the city provides support through utilities and building maintenance.

According to report, the conservatory sees 20,000 visitors per year.

For Lisa Hein, the conservatory mattered at a time when she desperately needed it.

Hein said she first visited the conservatory about 12 years ago when she was exhausted, overwhelmed and caring for a newborn.

“I was just having a horrible day,” she said. “I walked in and it felt like a sanctuary, like a mental-health holiday on a tropical island. I left feeling so much better.”

She said she kept coming back, calling it a quiet, rejuvenating escape during the winter months. Hein said the conservatory’s volunteers made her feel welcome, offering tea, cookies and kindness on a day when she needed it most.

“It’s more than just plants in a building,” she said. “It’s a safe space. A sanctuary.”

For Stacey Domoslai, the surprise wasn’t just the comfort, but discovering what was hidden behind an unassuming exterior.

“You don’t know it’s there unless someone tells you,” she said. “Then you walk in, and it’s like you’ve escaped to a tropical place.”

Domoslai said she’s visited the conservatory for special events, performances, and everyday breaks, calling it one of the only indoor spaces that includes every age group, from children’s programs to yoga classes and private rentals.

She said the city should be promoting the space rather than considering cuts.

“It would be a travesty to close it,” she said. “There are other places the money can come from. This is a beautiful space that supports our community in a really important way.”

Brita Lind said she first walked through the conservatory’s doors in her early 20s, while working in a high-pressure job and looking for somewhere to breathe.

“It was an exhale,” she said. “I couldn’t believe we had something like this in Regina.”

Lind later began taking her family, especially during the dark winter months. She said the conservatory remains one of the most accessible public spaces in the city.

“You can just go, make a donation and feel better,” Lind said. “It’s an oasis where everything feels OK.”

Lind said the city should be expanding the conservatory, rather than considering cuts.

“We shouldn’t just save it; we should support it even more,” she said. “Large cities have conservatories people travel to. This enhances our city for the people who live here and the people who visit.”

The three women said they’ve reached out to the council and plan to step up their support for the conservatory through donations, memberships and just spreading the word.

They said they also worry that if the conservatory closed, the building could sit empty while still costing the city money to heat and maintain.

With concerns mounting, conservatory volunteers are holding a meeting Monday night to discuss what the city’s budget process could mean for the space and what supporters can do next.

For Hein, the message is simple.

“Why would you cut something that helps people feel better?” she said. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Council is set to meet for budget deliberations the week of Dec. 15.

–with files from 980 CJME’s Geoff Smith