Fernglen is the story of Muriel Fisher and her beloved 12 acres of native plant garden. It tells us Muriel's story from her birth, her introduction to botany, her lifelong campaign to preserve native plants and native plant habitats, her extensive campaigning in the interest of conservation and her hard work involved in convincing the North Shore City Council that Fernglen was worth preserving. Fernglen was purchased by the Fisher family in 1888 and was largely established by Muriel Fisher and her husband, Bill. They built up a huge collection of more than 700 native plants on their Birkenhead section, eventually setting up a native plant nursery. When Muriel's husband died in 1987, Muriel knew that she had to take measures to preserve Fernglen and its plants. In 1989 Fernglen was acquired by the North Shore City Council with part of it being gifted by Muriel. The council took over the running of Fernglen in 1991 and have developed it as a botanic garden education centre. Fernglen boasts a rare collection of indigenous plant species, particularly alpine plants and ferns.It includes a fernhouse and rock garden established in the 1960s and in 1997 a purpose-designed educational facility, set amid native bush, was built. Muriel's enormous efforts have resulted in this 12-acre section in the heart of suburbia being preserved for future generations to enjoy and learn from.