Phytoremediation is a green technology that utilizes specialized trees to remediate contaminated soils across the rural to urban continuum. The trees stabilize pollutants in the soil, trap the contaminants in their biomass, and/or break down the...

Connecting people to nature when you have a cave on your grounds is easy…or is it? Learn about the ups and downs of partnering with other organizations to highlight a special feature on your grounds. Partnerships can be a great way to reach audiences...

How public gardens and arboreta evaluate their education programs determines the stories they can tell about those programs’ ability to positively impact their targeted audience and the broader community, and to build collaborations with research...

Story is a powerful, provocative interpretive medium in botanical gardens. Plants already have a hard time attracting the interest of a plant-blind public, and lists of facts do little to bring them alive. Botanical gardens and their collections are...

Green Bay Botanical Garden continually strives to meet the wants and needs of its community, but these wants and needs are changing. In the summer of 2018, the Garden hosted its first internationally touring exhibit, and was surprised by the most...

Humanity faces numerous challenges in adapting to a changing planet. Public gardens are an ideal setting in which to engage the public on how to be part of the solution. Climate disruption, habitat fragmentation, biodiversity loss, food security,...

Public gardens are ideal providers of STEM education enrichment for their communities. Our focus is how to create exciting experiences for students of all ages, especially in the outdoor environment. Add an ‘S’ for Sustainability, and we can make...

Denver Botanic Gardens’ School Programs team will present an overview of their distance learning programming that is delivered both virtually and in person to PreK-12 classrooms, libraries, family nights, and after school programs. Our Cultivation...

Recent research has assessed the many ways in which time in nature impacts us psychologically, physiologically, and behaviorally. This presentation will provide an overview of recent research findings and describe a number of research projects that...

In the past two years, Cheekwood has acknowledged the barriers that keep many from participating in programs and decided to act. Because of Cheekwood’s location outside the urban hub of the “it city,” issues like transportation and a lack of...

Community gardens are an increasingly popular way that people connect with others while growing their own food and spending time in nature. The City of Austin provides 27 community gardens on City land, and the Community Gardens Program is housed under...

Interpretation is the best tool for orienting visitors and connecting them to a garden’s mission. Gardens also function as a gateway to the natural world and a lifelong learning tool for visitors of all ages. Studies have shown that over 80% of garden...

Many public gardens seek to connect with visitors in a variety of ways and many are exploring the interface between art, science, and nature. Holden Arboretum just completed an innovative “Seasons of Haiku” program featuring seasonal haikus on their...

From the 2020 Education Symposium, this presentation focuses on racial equity and how essential it is for educational programming. An overview of the Cadet Program in the City of Austin Parks & Recreation will be covered. 

We are at a tipping point in local markets for urban-sourced wood all over the world.  In most large cities you can find entrepreneurs who are stocking up and preparing wood for a growing market. At this milestone event, we will reflect on the bottle...

Reading questions and writing prompts developed for Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv. 

Join Jenica Allen and Bethany Bradley to learn about new tools for identifying and prioritizing range-shifting invasive plants coming soon to a landscape near you. Whether you’re a property owner, land manager, landscape professional, or policymaker,...

An ever-growing, international body of research points to many human health and wellness benefits that result from nearby nature experiences. But what about trees? Two recent reviews have explored, first, the studies that focus on the urban forest and...

Presentation from the October, 2019 Seeds of Engagement: Cultivating a Vibrant and Diverse Volunteer Program, Volunteer Engagement Community Symposium. 

Presenter(s) from Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden 

Presentation from the October, 2019 Seeds of Engagement: Cultivating a Vibrant and Diverse Volunteer Program, Volunteer Engagement Community Symposium. 

Presented by: Catrina “Cat” Dillard
Volunteer & Guest Services Coordinator, North...