Education News From Around the World
New issue of Roots out now! The latest issue of BGCI's education journal Roots has just been published. This issue's theme, 'Interpretation for Sustainability', looks at a range of methods gardens use to communicate with their visitors. Developing effective interpretation is critical for education about plant conservation and, as this issue demonstrates, there are no shortage of ideas in botanic gardens. Contributors include Wildfowl and Wetland Trust (UK), University of Puget Sound (USA), Bogota Botanic Garden (Colombia), Brooklyn Botanic Garden (USA), Durban Botanic Gardens (South Africa), South China Botanical Garden, University of Oxford Botanic Garden (UK) and Bonn Botanic Garden (Germany). Roots is published twice a year and sent to all BGCI members. For membership information, please visit the BGCI website.
New funding for BGCI projects in the UK: BGCI is delighted to announce that we have been awarded two grants from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. The first grant focusses on botanic gardens and social inclusion. Working in collaboration with the University of Leicester Museums Research Centre, BGCI will undertake research on social exclusion and inclusion within botanic gardens in the UK and Ireland. The aim of this project is to encourage botanic gardens to re-examine their philosophy, values, goals and practices and consider their potential to contribute toward positive social change and broad environmental awareness. The second grant will focus on establishing Qur'anic Gardens in the UK. In 2008, on behalf of UNESCO, BGCI carried out an evaluation of two Qur'anic Botanic Garden Master Plans in the Arabian Peninsula and an assessment of a Qur'anic Botanic Gardens Network. The grant from Calouste Gulbenkian will enable BGCI to determine the need, potential value and viability of establishing Qur'anic gardens in the UK. The findings of both projects will be presented in June 2010 at the 4th Global Botanic Garden Congress in Dublin, Ireland.
'Sensation Walk' unveiled at Wellington Botanic Garden: A new walk at the Wellington Botanic Garden (New Zealand) has been designed to celebrate senses other than sight and the life of Braille inventor Louis Braille. 'Sensation Walk: Braille Trail' has been developed to mark the 200th anniversary of Louis Braille's birth in France in 1809. Brochures in print and Braille explain the features of the walk and stories from the life of Louis Braille, who went blind when he was three. Features on the trail are marked with Braille posts and tactile footpath markers.
Chicago Botanic Garden to mark World Environment Day: In conjunction with World Environment Day on June 5, Chicago Botanic Garden (USA) will present a daylong symposium focussing on urban agriculture, food security, and job development. The symposium will address what is required in terms of policy, workforce training, and infrastructure in order to make urban agriculture a significant part of Chicago's green industry.
Botanic Garden of the Ozarks celebrates local heritage plants: As part of its celebration of Arkansas Heritage Month, the Botanic Garden of the Ozarks (USA) offered special tours demonstrating the uses of the garden's native plants by early local settlers. The garden's staff used a $5,000 grant to purchase and plant native species, create informative signs, print brochures, and provide tours to the public.
Bogor Botanic Gardens unveils new orchid garden: To celebrate its 192nd anniversary, the Bogor Botanic Gardens (Indonesia) has opened an orchid garden. In an effort to raise people's awareness of plant conservation, garden staff planted 4,000 specimens of 20 orchid species in the 1.2 hectare garden.
Cheyenne Botanic Gardens installs wind turbine: A new wind turbine at the Paul Smith Children's Village at the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens (USA) will be used to teach about sustainability and renewable energy. The turbine, installed with the help of a team of local university students, is capable of producing more than 2,000 KW-hours of electricity in a year.
New learning trails open at Waddesdon Manor: New family and schools learning trails developed for the National Trust gardens at Waddesdon Manor (UK) opened last month. Produced in conjunction with EBC Education Ltd., the trails are supported by additional materials including videos and a dedicated website.
Fushan Botanical Garden launches digital tour guide: Visitors to Fushan Botanical Garden (Taiwan) can now use a digital decoder to scan bar codes featured on the display plates of plants at the garden. The bar codes link directly to the Council of Agriculture's online Digital Agricultural Ecosystem Museum. The decoder software can be downloaded for free and used with any Internet-ready device, such as a mobile phone or a personal digital assistant (PDA). PDAs can also be borrowed from the botanical garden.
Even more news online! Check out even more botanic garden and plant-based education news on BGCI's website, including a story about the opening of a new children's garden at the Nezahat Gokyigit Botanic Garden (Turkey).
What's new at your botanic garden? Send us the latest news from your botanic garden or education site, and we'll include it in an upcoming issue of Education E-update.
