By Adam Frisk Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Abbey Gardens has unveiled a refreshed brand identity, pivoting toward a deep, nature-based wellness model to secure the organization’s long-term sustainability in a post-pandemic economy.
The Haliburton Highlands’ charitable organization rebrand is a shift away from high-volume visitation toward slow-paced, boutique programming.
“People are changing their habits,” executive director Angela Kruger explained to The Highlander. “And things that are more meaningful to them have changed as well.”
Kruger said that the rebrand is less about inventing something new and more about returning to the organization’s roots.
“So I think that, in fact, what the rebrand is, is perhaps truer to what Abbey Gardens was right at the onset,” she said. “We’re kind of returning back to using nature as our teacher.”
Kruger noted that the timing of the rebrand was strategic, with the changing of consumer habits post-pandemic, and the economic uncertainty, people are eager to seek more meaningful experiences.
“So our shift is to introduce experiences that kind of get people away from everyday life and just get them out enjoying nature,” she said. “And, in fact, that’s wellness, right? Wellness in nature.”
While Abbey Gardens is a registered charity and remains free for the public to enter, in order to keep operations sustainable, the organization is leaning into its food hub and tourism background to create dedicated, paid revenue streams, with a series of slow-paced, immersive experiences.
These new experiences include forest bathing (Shinrin-yoku), hands-on mushroom workshops, and music in the forest. Kruger said a highlight of these programs is the community aspect. “Experience culminates in an intimate farm-to-table community meal, thoughtfully curated by Abbey Gardens’ team and shared together on the porch.
“We’ll be just, basically, expanding the immersive experience into the porch because everybody will be communal, eating together,” Kruger said.
The meals are crafted by the in-house Abbey Gardens kitchen team, using produce grown on-site, as well as ingredients from local partners. The season’s first event, Busiate alla Trapanese: A taste of Italy in the Haliburton Highlands, took place June 13 and was a sell-out.
Beyond culinary and wellness events, Kruger and Abbey Gardens’ ecologist, Cara Steele, are working to finalize guided ecology walks and hands-on climate experiences designed to give visitors practical tools for their own properties, including demonstrations on alternate ground covers and native plant gardens built to withstand drought-like conditions.
“We have a ton of information and gardens that we can walk people through and show them what they can do on their own properties if they want to choose something to help protect the climate,” Kruger said.
A new logo for Abbey Gardens was also created as part of its rebrand, which features lines that were inspired by the winding road through the property, the surrounding forests, and water. It’s paired with the “living landscape” colour palette.
The executive director said that the rebrand sets the stage in the long term for a much broader geographical reach.
“This is setting the stage that we want to become a destination,” Kruger said. “So, that will be leaning towards tourism and getting people on-site, sharing our landscape and our abundance of nature with urban areas. I think it’s the start of a shift where we’re maybe opening ourselves up to a broader area.”
Immersive programming details and registration info can be found on the Abbey Gardens website.
