A Peer Learning Group for Botanic Garden and Arboretum Education Professionals
Climate change is a major global challenge impacting plants—from the food we eat to the trees that cool our communities. At the same time, plants play a central role in many solutions that scientists and communities around the world are using to address climate change. Educating public audiences about the connection between plants and climate change can help cultivate scientifically-informed understandings of the importance of plants in the context of our changing world.
Given their unique resources, including diverse living collections, plant scientists and research networks, and plant science educators and communicators, botanic gardens and arboreta have rich potential to engage the public with climate change through the lens of plants.
The U.S. Botanic Garden (USBG) has assembled a cohort of peer institutions interested in exploring how botanic gardens and arboreta can maximize the impact of a plant-centered climate change education niche. This peer learning group, Plants and Climate Change Education (PLACCE), is dedicated to learning together; creating and testing plant-centered climate change education models; and sharing new understandings, resources, and best practices across the public gardens community.
Interested in joining the next PLACCE Cohort? Check back for a call for new applicants (2024-2026 Cohort) coming later this summer.
2023-2024 Participants and their projects include:
Hoyt Arboretum - Portland, OR
Tree Health in a Changing Climate: Connecting 7th Graders to the Western Redcedar
Hoyt Arboretum Friends in Portland, Oregon piloted a climate change curriculum focused on the native Western Redcedar tree, connection to nature, and community science. The target audience was middle school students in public schools, specifically 7th graders and their teachers. The curriculum included fall and spring classroom lessons taught by Arboretum staff as well as fall and spring field trips to the Arboretum. Social-emotional learning and tree-related science topics were combined with the intention of deepening the students' connection to nature as well as their understanding of how the changing climate is impacting tree health.
Contact: Nina Avila, nina@hoytarboretum.org
Lyon Arboretum - Honolulu, HI
E ola nā mea ulu o Hawai’i: Thrive, the Growing Things of Hawai’i
Harold L. Lyon Arboretum offered the general public several opportunities to learn about native and culturally significant plants and how climate change affects their existence through outreach events as part of the existing education and outreach program at Lyon. The target audience was the general community, which may not have been able to identify the difference between native and non-native plants and who was not aware of the impact that climate change is having on these plants. A native plant class, a documentary showing, and participation in outreach events sponsored by other organizations were part of the Lyon PLACCE project. The events provided hands-on learning and fun activities to engage the public, who would then be able to share the information they learned with others.
Contact: Raedelle Van Fossen, raedelle@hawaii.edu
Naples Botanical Garden - Naples, FL
The D.R.A.G.O.N. (Dedicated Researchers Adventuring for Greener Outdoors Now) Squad
Naples Botanical Garden (NBG) piloted D.R.A.G.O.N. Squad, an out-of-school time program for 6th and 7th graders at Immokalee Community Academy. The program started with a one-week summer intensive that transitioned to a weekly afterschool program for the school year. An acronym for Dedicated Researchers Adventuring for Greener Outdoors Now, the D.R.A.G.O.N. Squad learned about plants and climate change through hands-on projects, games, and field trips. During these trips, students were introduced to the diversity of plants in Southwest Florida, as well as regional climate change threats and solutions, and the people working to help the region adapt. On the school campus, students led two hands-on projects during their 32 after-school meetings with guidance and enrichment from NBG educators.
Contact: Britt Patterson-Weber, BPatterson-Weber@naplesgarden.org
Reiman Gardens - Ames, IA
Science Communication Fellowship
Reiman Gardens’ Science Communication Fellowship is a training program for local scientists based on a framework called Portal to the Public (managed through the Institute for Learning Innovation) that involves relationship building, professional development, and face-to-face conversations at informal science education institutions like zoos, science centers, and botanical gardens. Using the Portal framework, our staff taught scientists working in fields related to plants and climate to connect to public audiences through inquiry, curiosity, and hands-on activities that tie to their research. Our annual program involved four on-site workshops focused on communication strategies for a wide range of audiences, creating memorable learning experiences through personal connection, hands-on activity development using gamification and sequenced questions, and responsive facilitation - learning to read audiences to provide targeted support.
In addition to the workshops, staff provided each scientist with one-on-one mentoring, a plant-centered overview of climate change, practice guiding conversations with the public, and training from other experts in creative strategies for communicating science such as collaborative storytelling and improv. Each scientist created scalable activities with lesson plans, and presented them at staff-facilitated programs at Reiman Gardens, from science fair-type drop-in events to short engaging lessons for adults or youth camp attendees, and even a brand new Plants & Climate Symposium featuring national and regional speakers.
Contact: Sara Merritt, smerritt@iastate.edu
UC-Davis Arboretum and Public Garden - Davis, CA
Climate-Ready Gardening Program
The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden piloted the Climate-Ready Gardening Program. Our target audience included college students, community volunteers and community members of all ages.In order to expand our community’s climate literacy and empower gardeners to take action in their own backyards, we created three program components that include an Outreach Training, a Public Program series, and an online Gardening Toolkit.
Contact: Rachel Davis, ramdavis@ucdavis.edu
United States Botanic Garden - Washington, DC
Cocktails and Conversations: Bridging Plant-Focused Climate Change Research and Practice
The U.S. Botanic Garden piloted Cocktails & Conversations, a series of panel discussions exploring the intersection of plants and climate change in Washington, D.C. with local researchers, community-based organizations, and government agencies. The target audience was local (D.C.) adults, particularly younger adults. The three programs in the series took place on weeknight evenings in the U.S. Botanic Garden Conservatory. Attendees had an opportunity to explore the Conservatory, purchase food and beverages from a D.C. chef, and engage in informal conversation before and after the panel discussion. Panel discussions were moderated by the USBG Executive Director, and covered the topics of local wetlands and climate change, the connection between trees and climate change, and urban resilience in D.C. in the face of climate change.
Contact: Grace Anderson, grace.anderson@aoc.gov