Our Association fully supports the Paris Climate Accords and their underlying principles and objectives.

 

 

Statement on Paris Climate Accords:

The American Public Gardens Association and its over 600 member institutions serve more than 120 million visitors annually. Our association full supports the Paris Climate Accords and their underlying principles and objectives. We join the ranks of major corporations including GE, ExxonMobil, BP, Gap, Apple, Tesla, Disney, and Mars in opposition to withdraw.

We believe the withdrawal of the United States from the Accords presents a compelling opportunity for our profession to continue our existing advocacy for the communities we serve and advance our shared vision for a healthy planet. Our gardens connect people to plants and nature, and as such are uniquely poised to be places where people can experience the dynamics of the natural world, including shifts in climate, with all their senses. 

We created the Climate and Sustainability Alliance to be a resource, providing a wealth of information so that our gardens can operate in the most sustainable and efficient manner possible. To be operationally sustainable from an economic, social, and environmental perspective is an ideal that we can and should reach. Hundreds of resources and tools, most importantly the Public Gardens Sustainability Index, await any garden to use to further their journey towards sustainability and a world where public gardens are indispensable

North American (Native Plant) Conservation Initiative

In June 2015, the Association signed a formal agreement with the Plant Conservation Alliance (PCA), Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), and the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) to develop complimentary messages on plant conservation and biodiversity. View the MOU here.

Key to this relationship is the updating of the existing North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Plant Conservation, and performance of the next North American Collections Assessment, through BGCI’s Plantsearch Database.

This effort is being called the North American Conservation Initiative. The strengths of the partners are summarized in this short graphic.

Worldwide Conservation

The American Public Gardens Association is a full member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, and promotes awareness of Red List Species Programs, connects members and supports their specialist groups such as the IUCN/SSC Global Tree Specialist Group, Cycad Specialist Group, and others. Learn more here.

Pollinator Health

The American Public Gardens association is a founding partner in the National Pollinator Garden Network, a group of over 25 organizations dedicated to pollinator preservation. These groups, with the assistance of the White House, and federal partners have launched the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge, a campaign to register a million public and private gardens and landscapes to support pollinators.

More pollinator resources can be found through our Climate and Sustainability Alliance Supporting Pollinators page here.

Advocating for Horticulture and Supporting Our Future Leaders

Association Executive Director, Casey Sclar, serves on the Steering Committee for the National Initiative for Consumer Horticulture, which seeks to grow a healthy world through the art and science of plants, gardens, and landscapes. Its specific goals are to unify, corral federal support and centrally advocate for all garden related organizations – public, private, and non-profits. Learn more here.

Seed Your Future: The American Public Gardens Association is one of six founding partner associations in the effort driven by Longwood Gardens, American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS), Fleishmann-Hillard, Scholastic, and Marts and Lundy. It seeks to promote careers in horticulture and change the dynamic of how the career is perceived. Learn more here.