The Devonian Botanic Garden is Canada's most northerly botanical garden. It was established in 1959 by the University of Alberta, and is located near the town of Devon, Alberta in Parkland County. The gardens extend over 30 hectares (80 acres) of 12,000 year old sand dune shoreline of pre-glacial Lake Edmonton, and include an additional 40 hA (110 acres) of natural areas. In 1976 a further 40 hA were added and the name was changed to the Devonian Botanic Garden. It contains a diverse variety of plants, with emphasis on alpine and cold-hardy plants, but featuring such attractions as an authentic Japanese garden. Because of its connection to the University of Alberta, extensive research is carried out by the centre's staff in areas including bryophyte ecology and biodiversity, plant conservation,and taxonomy of microfungi.