The A. E. Roland Herbarium is maintained by the Department of Environmental Sciences in Cox Institute on the campus of the NSAC. A herbarium is a permanent repository for properly documented and preserved plant specimens. Each herbarium specimen is a tangible, record of a plant species occurring at a specific time and locality preserving important ecological and biogeographical information. The Roland Herbarium houses a number of specialized collections totalling over 13,000 specimens. There is a “reference collection” for use in the identification and verification of unknown plant samples for both the scientific community and the general public at large. In addition, the “quick reference collection” and other teaching collections are used routinely in the training of academics and other professionals who will work in the “Green Industry”.

The herbarium collection is named in honour of Dr. Albert E. Roland, Professor Emeritus of Biology at the NSAC, for his lifelong contribution to the understanding of the natural history of Nova Scotia. Throughout Dr. Roland’s long and productive career as Provincial Botanist and Professor of Biology at the NSAC, he authored and coauthored many scientific papers as well as several books including the Flora of Nova Scotia, Geological Background and Physiography of Nova Scotia, and Spring Wildflowers. In recognition of his numerous contributions to science and agriculture, Dr. Roland received an honourary doctorate from Acadia University in 1972 and the degree of Doctor of Laws from Dalhousie University in 1980. It should also be noted that he was honoured as a recipient of a Centennial Medal in 1967. Dr. Albert E. Roland passed away in 1991, but his professional and personal influence on science, agriculture and post-secondary education in Nova Scotia remains undiminished.