You are here

Featured Resource

Strategic science planning for responsible stewardship and plant protection at the U.S. Department of Agriculture

Agriculture is comprised of managed ecosystems, which can include forests, rangelands
and crops; these managed ecosystems are vital resources, providing a host
of economic and societal benefits. However, these systems face a multitude of...

Resource
11/15/19
Campus-Based Ecotourism: A Case Study on the Power of Local Ecotourism

Academic campuses across the Great Plains can serve as landscapes for teaching and learning about native flora of cultural importance with regard to food, medicine, and lifeways. Campus visitors (tourists) and local community members could benefit from...

Resource
10/30/19
Experience Bees: Community Outreach Tool for Bee Conservation Efforts

Despite the importance of bees, there is a gap in the public's understanding of them. To help address this gap, we developed the outreach tool Experience Bees, a series of simple learning and hands-on activities to teach community members about bees...

Resource
10/24/19
Asset-Based Community Development Institute Toolkit

The following is a collection of tools from ABCD faculty members as well as individuals and organizations that embody the principles of ABCD in their work. The addition of the toolkit was made possible by a generous grant from the Alumnae of...

Resource
10/16/19
Urban plant diversity in Los Angeles, California: Species and functional type turnover in cultivated landscapes

Urbanization is a large driver of biodiversity globally. Within cities, urban trees, gardens, and residential yards contribute extensively to plant biodiversity, although the consequences and mechanisms of plant cultivation for biodiversity are...

Resource
9/27/19
Can plants help us avoid seeding a human‐made climate catastrophe?

Drastic phase down of our carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from burning fossil fuels
within decades will likely be insufficient to avoid seeding catastrophic human‐caused
climate change. We have to also start removing CO2 from the...

Resource
9/27/19
Top 10 Plants: Increasing Awareness of Plants

Urbanization, lack of contact with the natural world, and growing up removed from agriculture has contributed to a void of knowledge relating to food and food production, along with a phenomenon known as plant blindness. We sought to change this lack...

Resource
9/26/19
Intersecting urban forestry and botanical gardens to address big challenges for healthier trees, people, and cities

Improving urban forests is one of the solutions to achieving several of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and making cities healthier and more livable for people. Priority should be given to protecting mature trees and promoting long‐...

Resource
7/15/19
The Downward Trend in Postsecondary Horticulture Program Availability between 1997 and 2017

For the past several years, many college horticulture programs have experienced a decline in undergraduate enrollment, resulting in the elimination of some degrees. In this study, we compared postsecondary U.S. horticulture program availability from a...

Resource
6/26/19
The Wilbur D. May Arboretum and Botanical Garden Interpretive Plan

This comprehensive master interpretive plan has been prepared specifically for the Wilbur D. May
Arboretum located in Reno, Nevada. The Arboretum is owned and operated by Washoe County and continues to receive funding from the May Foundation as...

Resource
6/11/19
Resetting the table for people and plants: Botanic gardens and research organizations collaborate to address food and agricultural plant blindness

Of the myriad gifts plants provide to humanity, food is among the most visible, as everyone needs to eat, every single day. Due to their universal importance, food and agricultural plants would appear to represent ideal entryways to address plant...

Resource
5/28/19
Connecting People to Nature: From Caring to Conservation and More

Hear from three experts exploring research, strategies, and benefits of connecting people to nature: Louise Chawla, University of Colorado; Lauren Watkins, Impact by Design; and Sheila Williams-Ridge, University of Minnesota. 

NAAEE featured...

Resource
5/20/19
The Global Museum: natural history collections and the future of evolutionary biology and public education

Natural history museums are unique spaces for interdisciplinary research and for educational
innovation. Through extensive exhibits and public programming and by hosting rich
communities of amateurs, students, and researchers at all...

Resource
5/2/19
Climate Change in the American Mind: Data, Tools, and Trends

In this article, we examine how the general public in the United States has viewed global warming over the past decade, identifying important trends in public understanding of global warming,
their perceptions of the risks, varying degrees of...

Resource
4/18/19
The Uncertainty Handbook: A Practical Guide for Climate Change Communicators

What are the actual implications of scientific uncertainty about climate change? Although public debate often cites uncertainty as a reason to delay policy action, the reality is very different: several
recent scientific papers have shown that...

Resource
4/8/19
Adopt-A-Pond/Field/Park Example Documents

Attached are a series of documents from various institutions and states that desribe their Adopt-A-Pond, Field, or Park Programs. These documents can serve as templates for those interested in adopting their own specific guidelines, applications, and...

Resource
4/1/19
Welcome Wildlife to your Garden

The Sonoran Desert is one of the most ecologically diverse deserts in the world with more than 2,000 native plant species and hundreds of wildlife species. Special adaptations have allowed plants and animals to survive and thrive in this desert climate...

Resource
12/28/18
Public Education and Outreach Opportunities for Crop Wild Relatives in North America

Successful programs of crop wild relative (CWR) exploration, conservation, and utilization are ultimately dependent on sustained public prioritization and support, which in turn requires public awareness and engagement. Here we discuss the importance...

Resource
12/18/18
The Development of a Thirteen Year Research-Practice Partnership: How the School District, Eight Cultural Institutions, and University Participants Collaborate to Support New York City Science Teachers and Learners

This paper examines Urban Advantage, a thirteen-year partnership in New York City, between eight cultural institutions (botanical gardens among them) and the Department of Education, as a ‘case’ of a long-lasting research practice partnership that has...

Resource
9/17/18
Field Guide to Conservation in Cities in North America

This Field Guide to Conservation in Cities captures the collective experience of The Nature Conservancy and Center for Whole Communities (CWC) from 2014 to 2016, as they initiated a network of urban conservation programs in 12 cities across the United...

Resource
4/24/18

Pages