Sasha Wolf Gallery Rebecca Bullene Joseph O. Holmes Gardening for children & families at Brooklyn Botanic Garden Brooklyn Botanic Garden was founded in 1910 with the revolutionary vision that environmental education, conservation, and community engagement were necessary parts of urban life, at a time when Brooklyn was still principally agricultural. Horticulture Notable collections include: Bonsai Japanese Hill & Pond Garden Orchids Cycads Native Flora Prunus (flowering cherries) Roses...and many more! Plant collections comprised of: Horticulture & Facilities Team Horticulture & Facilities Conservatories Plant Collections Gardens & Grounds Facilities & Hort. Programs 1. Outdoor Plant Records Indoor Horticulture Maintenance Gardens 17,313 accessions Herbarium GreenBridge Community Horticulture Grounds Maintenance Custodial +120,000 living plant specimens +300,000 herbarium specimens NYC Compost Project in Brooklyn Arboriculture 1
Children s gardening programs at Brooklyn Botanic Garden and design installations for children & families Education and Interpretation The Garden s Education and Interpretation Department creates formal and informal educational opportunities for all ages grounded in inquiry-based, hands-on experiences to encourage life-long learning about science and the environment. Education Team and Resources CHILDREN S INTERPRETATION LIBRARY CONTINUING REGISTRATION EDUCATION AND EXHIBITIONS head librarian EDUCATION director director SCHOOL YOUTH INTERPRETATION LIBRARIAN CONTINUING REGISTRATION PROGRAMS PROGRAMS assistant EDUCATION c associate coordinator SCHOOL GARDEN DISCOVERY PROGRAMS APPRENTICE GARDEN & FAM. coordinator PROGRAM PROGRAMS coordinator PROJECT GREEN CHILDREN S REACH (PGR) GARDEN coordinator coordinator Children reached through education programs: 150,000/yr BROOKLYN ACADEMY OF SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT TEACHER TRAINING coordinators (2) staff staff 22 Full-time 167 Seasonal 2
Numbers by the Year 150,000 program participants 85,000 self-guided school groups 13,000 drop-in program attendees 1000 children s garden participants Informal education through new signage and exhibits and guided tours. (hard to quantify) Youth Programs (ages 2-18) (1000 children/yr) Garden Apprentice Program (60 high school students/yr) Summer Sessions (2 nd grade 8 th grade) Nature Explorer s Club Summer Science Adventures Field Investigators School Programs School Workshops (192 classes, 4,651 children/yr) Teacher Training (200 teachers for 36 hours each) Urban Advantage (173 schools, 525 teachers, 53,100 students) Project Green Reach (PGR) An outreach program for K 8 teachers and their classes from Brooklyn's Title I schools. Inquiry-based program delivered by staff in schools each child gets a plant Paid transportation to BBG for guided tour Teacher training over multiple Garden visits and supplies for a community project. Project Green Reach programs (80 classes, 800 students) Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment (High school partnership) 3
Timothy A Clary/AFP/Getty Images Garden Apprentice Program (GAP) 9-month program for teens Work with staff and Garden visitors of all ages Learn about botany, ecology, environment, and conservation Grow, harvest, and cook food Explore Garden's plant collections Develop job skills, including teamwork, communication, and responsibility 4
Continuing Education Adult education for professionals and others (some family classes) Horticulture Certificate program NYC Parks Department Horticulture Training And classes in: Gardening and horticulture Floral design Wellness Edibles and cooking Art Botany Library 80,000 volumes on subjects including science, botany, gardening, and horticulture 10,000+ photos 110,000+ slides (some on glass) 15,000 archival documents 3,000 pieces of art and artifacts Rare book collection - 1500 volumes from the 15th century through the 20th century Garden s Historic Archives Gardener s resource help line Interpretation and Exhibitions Informal learning in the Garden Signage and Exhibits on the grounds and in the Conservatory Gallery Directional and regulatory signage New Garden projects (capital projects) Interpretation and Exhibitions Discovery Garden exhibits and programs Drop in programs for families Guided tours 20 5
Elizabeth Peters Key Trends Expanding programming for underserved audiences Increasing our successful programming and educational opportunities to reach more, diverse audiences (ages, economic status, ability) Counteracting ecophobia and nature disconnect Children and adults are increasingly spending less time in nature Increasing life-long, informal learning opportunities Senior population attendance in museums is growing Out of school learning is increasingly seen as important Focus on test scores and core curriculum leaves less time for inquiry-based and exploration learning GreenBridge Greenest Block in Brooklyn contest NYC Compost Project in Brooklyn Brooklyn Urban Gardeners (BUG) BBG Community Garden Alliance Making Brooklyn Bloom Street Tree Stewardship 60,000 people participate in BBG s Community Horticulture programs annually. The Garden s Division of Marketing and Public Engagement is responsible for positioning the Garden as a highly attractive, year-round destination to the broadest possible audience. Marketing and Public Engagement 6
Education BBG Children s Garden Discovery Garden Joseph Holmes Louis Buhle Louis Buhle 7
It is still the same program after 100 years! Today... Louis Buhle http://elizabethwinpennylawson.com 1-acre (0.40 ha) site BBG.org BBG 8
Antonio M. Rosario Suzanne DeChillo/The New York Times 29 BBG Children s Garden Discovery Garden Joseph Holmes 9
BBG Discovery Garden before Joseph O. Holmes Discovery Garden Discovery Garden last year... BBG Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Discovery Garden 14 10
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Discovery Garden Discovery Garden 21 11
Access to fresh water & water conservatio Access to fresh water & water conservation BBG.org nextcentury.bbg.org 31 31 nextcentury.bbg.org water conservation 31 Development 12
Publications Publications Cover of The Kid's Guide to Exploring Nature, 2014. Written by The Children s Education Staff at Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Illustrated by Laszlo Veres. Shows buds, leaf, flower, fruit, and seed of 33 trees that grow in North America with science stories and histories of each tree. American Association for the Advancement of Science Prize for Excellence in Science Books: Winner, Garden Writers Association Gold Award 2015 BEST HANDS-ON SCIENCE BOOK Design Tack!...and please visit us in Brooklyn The design team collaborates with Interpretation to develop construction signage, brochures and guides as well as the Garden Shop to create branded products. For further info contact me: melaniesifton@bbg.org M. Sifton. Courtesy of BBG 13