An E-Newsletter for Selby Gardens Volunteers August 2015 Your input is valued! As a Selby Volunteer, you re encouraged to provide news tips and stories for inclusion in your Inside Dirt monthly newsletter. If you have a something to share, please contact Phyllis Kirtley at (941) 366-5731 x. 227 or by via email at pkirtley@selby.org. You can also contact Diana Schultz at terra06@embarqmail.com. Please include the subject heading Selby in your emails to both. Appreciation is a wonderful thing. It makes what is excellent in others belong to us as well. In This Issue -Voltaire 2015 Giving Challenge Thank you! Toscano and family Volunteer Opportunities Hurricane preparation We re getting better! Museum of Botany & The Arts Keep learning! What s in Bloom? Bird of Paradise (Strelitzia reginae
2015 Giving Challenge!!!! #ILOVESELBY Selby Gardens needs YOU from Noon to Noon September 1 and 2, 2015! That s the time and date of the 2015 Giving Partner Challenge, and we re looking for volunteers to get involved. The best part? All NEW donors anyone who didn t give online to Selby Gardens through the 2014 Giving Challenge (May of 2014) - are GUARANTEED a match of their gift up to $250! It doesn t matter when you give as long as it s during the Challenge period. How can you help? Make a gift! You can do so from noon to noon on September 1 and 2 at givingpartnerchallenge.org (there will be a link on Selby.org that takes you right to our giving page!) or pre-pledge by calling (941) 366-5731 ext. 267 to make a phone pledge. Our team will enter your pledge for you during the Challenge. Join the Selby Giving Challenge team! It s easy just share our video (coming out on Saturday, August 22 in an email and as a link on our website) through email, Facebook, Twitter, and other social media hashtag #ILOVESELBY - and urge your friends, family, and acquaintances to go online, give to Selby Gardens, and get matched on the 1 st and 2 nd! Email or call Emily Lane, Team Captain, at (941) 366-5731 ext. 267 or elane@selby.org to learn more. Celebrate with us on the evening of September 1! Selby Gardens will host a cocktail party in the Great Room by the Bay. Come join the fun, have a drink and lite bite courtesy of our fabulous corporate partner, Michael s on East, and make your pledge right there during the evening! As always, we could use a few volunteers. If you are available to help at any time from noon to noon on September 1 and 2, please contact Phyllis Kirtley at (941) 366-5731 ext. 231, or email pkirtley@selby.org.
Thank you!!!! Thanks to your votes, Living Shorelines, Selby Gardens team in the Gulf Coast Innovation Challenge, won the People s Choice Award and a $5,000 grant. The project to identify and demonstrate at Selby Gardens eco-friendly living seawalls placed 6th in the competition, barely missing a spot in the final five, but we received extremely positive feedback and several possible funding opportunities have arisen. Thanks to our partners, Sarasota Bay Watch, The Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida, The Reef Ball Foundation and Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, and to the Gulf Coast Community Foundation for launching the Challenge. We'll keep you informed! TOSCANO AT HOME WITH HIS FAMILY IN BRAZIL
Volunteer Opportunities If you are interested in any of these positions, please contact Phyllis Kirtley at 366-5731 x 227 or pkirtley@selby.org Welcome Center: Register positions are available Saturday mornings and afternoons. Library Assistant: An assistant is needed either Friday afternoon or Monday morning Horticulture: Without students departing, there are many openings on Tuesday and Thursdays. A call to our existing Walk & Talk Tour Guides Our Adult Tour Guide team is seeking new guides. You will begin by shadowing one of our experienced Adult Guides. These tours are generally between 1 to 1.5 hours. We also have a full Gardens' "talking points" document to share with those interested. Please contact mshelley@selby.org for more information and to schedule a shadowing session. Ask me Cart and Conservatory Guide Openings We have six open slots for Ask Me Cart and three open slots for Conservatory guides. Museum docents needed in the Payne Mansion/Museum Shifts available: (AM: 10:00 am to 1:30 pm / PM - 1:30 to 4:30 pm) Wednesday PM, 1st & 3rd Wednesday of each month Friday PMs, bi-weekly Saturday AMs, bi-weekly Saturday PMs, weekly Saturday PMs, bi-weekly Sunday PMs, bi-weekly Substitutes always needed, assorted times If interested contact Marilynn at mshelley@selby.org. Kids' Corner/Children's Rainforest Garden We have openings most days of the week. Contact is dferguson@selby.org or x 273. School tour guides: Shifts vary. Contact dferguson@selby.org for more information. Tropical Storm and Hurricane Response Selby Gardens has a Hurricane Plan outlining the steps required to prepare the Gardens in the event of an oncoming storm and the procedures to be put in place following the storm. After the damage has been evaluated and a recovery plan is set up, we will need volunteers to come to the Gardens to help. If you are able and willing to be called upon after a natural disaster, please contact Phyllis Kirtley at pkirtley@selby.org or 366-5731 x 227. We will put you on the call list for hurricane relief. Make sure that we have current email and phone information for you. If you are scheduled to come to the Gardens for your regular assignment when Sarasota is under a hurricane watch or warning, please check by phone to make sure that the Gardens are open before coming in. Let s hope none of these precautions are needed!
Getting Better All the Time! Time for a face lift! Renovation work in the Welcome Center and Garden Shop began July 15. Construction is expected to last for 11 weeks. Renovations will include improvements and upgrades on air flow and air conditioning in the building, new storage space for the shop, new staff office quarters, fresh coats of paint, and new fixtures for our admissions desks, shop sales, and merchandise displays. In the interim time during construction, admissions and shop operations are housed in the Payne Mansion. If you haven t done so yet, stop by to say hello and check out the set up! Welcome Center Associate, MaryAnn Trachtenberg and Volunteer, Denise Leschinski are ready to meet greet visitors at the admissions desk. Assistant Manger in the Garden Shop, Maida Lara and Volunteer Jean Glynn are enjoying the new sunny shop in the Mansion. Temporary Garden Shop entrance at the Payne Mansion.
Getting Better All the Time!!!! Continued... The Café in the Selby House was closed during the third week of July for floor refinishing. In celebration of Marie's Selby's legacy and the Gardens' 40th anniversary, we have created a permanent installation in the Selby House cafe with a focus on Marie Selby and the Gardens' living and bibliographic collections. Improvements include: floor refinishing, new lighting, tropical wall paper in the sunroom, tables wrapped in images from our botanical prints collection and a museum-style installation of historic photos and information.
Improved Visitor Engagement Look for new Visitor Engagement throughout the Gardens. With the help of state funds, we have developed a framework for all Gardens' interpretation and wayfinding. This translates to better directional signage, a new visitor map, habitat-focused interpretive signage, a bilingual and family audio tour and much more. Look for these items to roll out in August. How does all this change affect you as volunteers? We thank you all for your flexibility and support. Museum docents: The Museum will become the Gardens' hub for the next three months which will be exciting and lively. During this time, the mansion will host admissions, the shop, the map desk and, of course, our guests. Exhibitions and sales will continue as planned. Thank you for continuing to be the gracious hosts that you are! Walk n Talk: It will be important for you to check in at the Mansion as you arrive for your shift so that the map desk volunteers know you're here and can direct people to your tours. Tours should stick to the same route - business as usual. Ask Me Cart: It will be important for you to check in at the Mansion as you arrive for your shift so that the map desk volunteers know that you're here. Posts are business as usual. Guests will likely need more help getting around with our new route. Family & School Volunteers: Really just letting you all know what's happening so that you are informed. New wayfinding signage and posts are now around the Gardens. The Conservatory is now sparkling with clean windows and a gorgeous new pergola.
Complimentary & Discounted Classes Please note: To secure the special prices listed below, active volunteers must register and pay in advance of class at the Welcome Center desk or on our website. http://www.selby.org/learning/classes Watercolor Portraits Tuesday, September 29, 10:00am-2:00pm Instructor: Carolyn Merenda Member, $35; Regular admission, $50 Special Volunteer Price: $30 In the Museum of Botany and the Arts Spend a little time in the mountains by Tom Stephens Along the Rainbow River runs from June 25 to September 13,10:00 am - 4:30 pm daily. Along the Rainbow River continues to mesmerize visitors! Tom Stephen s paintings, with their vivid colors and bold textures, beautifully depict Florida s precious natural springs and aquifers. Viewers feel as though they are entering into a natural world of fluid paint and expressive energy. His images remind us how lucky we all are to be in Florida; a diverse coastal state that is also filled with miles of rivers, lakes and streams, surrounded by so many lush sub-tropical plants. Both Tom s paintings and Selby Gardens inspire us to get out into nature to experience these treasures firsthand, and by so doing encourage a greater understanding and appreciation of the natural world which is an important part of Selby s Gardens mission and vision! To complement the show our own Maida Lara has created three gorgeous live plant arrangements that are also for sale.
What s in Bloom? By Terri Tumlin With all of the rain we ve been having, the gardens are lush and lovely! This month I toured the southern area. 2. As you continue, also on the right 1. Walking southward along the main by the path to the small gazebo, look path, watch for the low growing plant up to see the pale purple-rose clusters on the west side, Thunbergia battiscombei, with bright purple flowers. of blooms on the Queen s Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia speciosa.) 3. When you continue to the small gazebo, you will find the vines of Queen s Wreath (Petrea volubilis) in full bloom with more clusters of purple flowers with five slender bracts. 4. The abundance of water has brought out many flowers in the succulent garden. On the left toward the back, enjoy the delicate yellow flowers blooming on the cactus Opuntia sp. 5. Nearby, the Singapore Plumeria (Plumeria obtuse) is showing off some beautiful white and yellow blossoms. The smallest act of kindness is worth more than the grandest intention. -Oscar Wilde