Garden Outreach Programs Bring Community Solutions

The Garden received recognition and praise for two outreach programs at the recent American Public Gardens Association (APGA) Conference.

Award for Program Excellence

The American Public Gardens Association awarded the Chicago Botanic Garden’s Science Career Continuum the national Award for Program Excellence, marking the third time the Garden has received this prestigious prize since it was established in 1989.

“a truly innovative spirit in the development of an original program with demonstrated results”

This honor recognizes an APGA member garden that has innovated in conservation, botany, research, or other public garden areas of expertise. The Garden won the award for its groundbreaking Science Career Continuum. On June 23, during its annual conference, the APGA review committee praised the Garden’s program, saying “The Science Career Continuum has displayed a truly innovative spirit in the development of an original program with demonstrated results. APGA is proud to have programs such as yours at its member gardens.”

PHOTO: The Garden's emeritus Vice President of Community Education Programs Patsy Benveniste and CEO Sophia Shaw receive the award for Program Excellence from Dr. Casey Sclar, Executive Director of APGA.
The Garden’s recently retired vice president of community education programs, Patsy Benveniste, and CEO Sophia Shaw receive the Award for Program Excellence from Casey Sclar, Ph.D., executive director of APGA.

The Science Career Continuum engages 65 Black and Latino youth from Chicago Public Schools in science through hands-on exploration of nature, mentored internships, and college and career preparation with the aim of increasing the representation of people of color in environmental science careers. Over the past five years, these students have shown a 100 percent high-school graduation rate, 92 percent college matriculation rate, and 76 percent selection of science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) majors, 65 percent of them in science.

Learn more about Science Career Continuum students in this video. 


Recognition for the Garden’s Work with Veterans

“the Chicago Botanic Garden has, for more than 30 years, used its unique resources to provide opportunities for healing…”

Ford Bell, the recently retired president and CEO of the American Association of Museums in Washington, D.C., also praised the Garden in his keynote presentation. 

Bell said, “Museums of all types are, at their core, community institutions, and I like to say, if you name a community problem, I will find you a museum somewhere in our country that is working to address that problem. I was certainly reminded of that at AAM’s Advocacy Day in February, when Iraq War veteran Fernando Valles was honored as one of our Great American Museum Advocates at the closing evening reception. Fernando was nominated for the award by the Chicago Botanic Garden, where he is a participant in the Garden’s initiative for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other emotional challenges, in partnership with Thresholds, a community-based mental health agency. It is certainly admirable that the Chicago Botanic Garden has, for more than 30 years, used its unique resources to provide opportunities for healing, stress reduction, physical exercise, and learning through its Horticultural Therapy Services, a striking example of the work that museums and gardens do in their communities, work that is often unheralded.”

Learn more about our work with veterans in this video.


©2015 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org

Another Outstanding Year for the Chicago Botanic Garden

Halfway through its ten-year strategic plan, “Keep Growing,” the Chicago Botanic Garden has never been stronger. Since the plan was launched in early 2010, the Garden’s science, education, urban agriculture, and horticultural therapy programs have grown significantly. Our wide array of programs, classes, and exhibitions—including the new Orchid Show—attract more visitors each year, and in 2014, more than a million visitors came to the Garden for the second year in a row. We have had five years of record-breaking fundraising and operating budget results. Last year was particularly important as we broke ground for a new nursery on the Kris Jarantoski Campus and finalized plans for the Regenstein Foundation Learning Campus; we broke ground for Learning Campus and its centerpiece, the Education Center, this past April.

Please take a few minutes to review the Garden’s strategic plan update for 2014, which includes our Annual Report and the wonderful new video of the year’s accomplishments below. On the strategic plan website, you will also find an array of supporting documentation, including operating plans for various Garden departments. In every way, the Garden’s achievements exemplify its mission: We cultivate the power of plants to sustain and enrich life.

Click here to view video on youtube.


©2015 Chicago Botanic Garden and my.chicagobotanic.org