Quebec City, Thursday, June 11, 2026 - Beginning this Saturday, June 13, the Plains of Abraham Museum will be presenting, Natura & Historia, a temporary exhibition that celebrates nature and the park's metamorphosis over time. This is an invitation to discover the history of the Plains from a different angle, through its plants, trees, and flowers. 

The exhibition will bring together a wide range of displays: nearly 400 live plants; image projections; frescos, sculptures, and participatory art by six local artists; and creations by the devoted horticultural staff of the National Battlefields Commission (NBC). Natura & Historia will offer visitors a five-stage journey through the site's history, vegetation, transformations, and current park-related or environmental issues. Its verdant setting, with many varieties of plants, will provide a chance to learn more about the vegetation that has shaped the Plains' landscape over the years. 
 

An exhibition brimming with life

Hundreds of plants from around thirty varieties will be displayed within the museum interior, including some in genuine greenhouses, thereby creating a powerful presence of greenery and an immersive contact with nature. From one visit to the next, the exhibition will change. The visitor experience will be continually transformed as the plants develop, grow, and bloom.

The Plains have not always been what they are now. This exhibition will explain how the park came to be, how it has changed, and what it means today. Image projections will accompany visitors on their journey and show them how the park has evolved. 

The journey will continue outdoors with displays by NBC horticulturists, including mosaicultures, a flower-adorned walkway, and various installations of botanical art.
 

The park's history and nature, as viewed by six artists

• Eruoma Awashish, an Atikamekw Nehirowisiw multidisciplinary artist, has painted a fresco that evokes the harmonious life cycle of animals in their natural setting before the Europeans came. 

• McGrou (Marie-Claude Grou), a self-taught muralist from Quebec City, has created a floral work at the museum's main entrance. 

• Eric Guay, a sculptor from Magog, has made animals from interwoven branches, all of which are linked to this historic site.  

• Claire-Alexie Turcot, a sculptor and painter from Quebec City, presents coloured wooden sculptures of animals carved with a chainsaw, including one from an ash tree that had to be cut down due to an emerald ash borer infestation. 

• Patrick Lavallee, a self-taught sculptor from Rivire-du-Loup, has created 250 flowers from recycled plastic. 

• The Sautozieux duo (Marie-Chantal Lachance and Nathaly Lessard), professional muralists from Quebec's capital, in partnership with the organization PECH (Programme d'encadrement clinique et d'hebergement), have painted a group fresco with people recovering from multiple hardships.

A project that extends into public space

An architectural installation designed by students from the school of architecture of Universite Laval will also be presented west of Martello Tower 1. Composed of gabions, it was selected through a student competition and is integrated directly into the park's landscape.
 

Natural heritage and horticultural discoveries

Above and beyond the exhibition, the park on the Plains of Abraham is a vast playground for botanical exploration, having been founded in 1908 and imagined by landscape architect Frederick G. Todd. This living natural heritage depends notably on a greenhouse that has been in operation since 1916 and is among the oldest still operating in Quebec. Each year, more than 80,000 seedlings are grown here to bring life to the floral arrangements and mosaicultures that beautify the site. With more than 20,000 trees belonging to some 130 species, the park offers a remarkable diversity of plant life. From the Joan of Arc Garden to Des Braves Park, not to mention the flower beds along Avenue Ontario and the nature trail, each stroll through the grounds provides new botanical sights and delights.
 

About the National Battlefields Commission

The Battlefields Park is Canada's leading national historic park and notably includes the Plains of Abraham and Des Braves Park. The National Battlefields Commission, an agency of the Canadian government, has striven since 1908 to preserve and develop this site that brings so many people together. All year long, it offers a variety of activities for those who wish to explore the park and its history. www.plainsofabraham.ca

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