On April 22, 2010, a groundbreaking ceremony was held for the new Japanese garden at Clark College.  Groundbreaking participants included (left to right): Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt, Clark College Board of Trustees Chair Addison Jacobs, Clark College President Robert K. Knight, Associated Students of Clark College (ASCC) President Ashley Schahfer, former Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard, Executive Vice President of SEH America, Inc. Tatsuo Ito, and Parks Foundation Board President Henry Gerhard.

Clark College's 2010 Sakura Festival was a celebration of international friendship and two historic gifts -- the cherry trees that were planted at the college in 1990 and a new Japanese garden.

Dr. Chihiro Kanagawa, CEO of Shin-Etsu Chemical Company, the parent company of SEH America, extended an offer to establish a beautiful Japanese garden in the city of Vancouver. The city honored Clark College by proposing that the garden be created on Clark's main campus.

Murase and Associates was selected for the design and construction work.  The site selected for the garden is just east of Clark's Music Building, which honors artistry and beauty. The location also places the Japanese Garden near the plaque which honors our magnificent cherry trees -- an earlier gift to the City of Vancouver which was entrusted to the college.
   

Groundbreaking was held on April 22, 2010 as part of the college's 2010 Sakura Festival.  Construction of the garden began on August 30, 2011. 

In October 2011, Clark-Vancouver Television (CVTV) captured a video update of the construction.

Clark College has captured pictures of construction from the beginning.

The dedication of the Royce Pollard Japanese Friendship Garden will be a highlight of the college's Sakura Festival on April 19, 2012.

Our cherry trees came to us as a gift during the Earth Day celebration in 1990. Our predecessors had the vision to embrace that gift and we are all the beneficiaries of that legacy. 

We are gratified to have the chance to do the same for the generations that follow us. 
    

Robert K. Knight
President