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Chicago Botanic Garden

United States of America - Illinois - Glencoe
Institution Code: CHIC
International Agenda Registrant: Yes
Current BGCI member: Yes
The Chicago Botanic Garden's Lake Enhancement Program continues to improve water quality, heal eroded shorelines, and enrich aquatic habitat in its 60-acre system of lakes. The Gardens of the Great Basin, completed in 2002, greatly expanded its aquatic plant collection to include tens of thousands of aquatic plants native to Illinois.
About the Chicago Botanic Garden
The Chicago Botanic Garden, with its world-renowned plant collections and displays, is one of the country’s most visited public gardens and a preeminent center for learning and scientific research. The Garden features 23 display gardens and three native habitats, uniquely situated on nine islands surrounded by lakes. The 385-acre living museum is owned by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County and managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society.

The Garden is open every day of the year, except Christmas, from 8 a.m. until sunset. The Garden is located on Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, one-half mile east of the Edens Expressway. Admission is free; select event fees apply. Parking is $15. On Tuesdays, senior citizens age 62 and older pay just $7 for parking.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is a BGCI Patron Institution, and hosts BGCI's U.S. office. The Garden is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a member of the American Public Gardens Association, the Association of Science-Technology Centers, Chicago Wilderness, and the Center for Plant Conservation.

Main Address:
Chicago Botanic Garden
1000 Lake Cook Road
Glencoe
Illinois 60022 United States of America
Telephone Number: (847) 835-5440
Fax Number: (847) 835-4484
Web Site: www.chicagobotanic.org
Institution Email Address:

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  • Staff Details
    • Director: Sophia Siskel, President and CEO
      Curator: Andrew Bell, Curator of Woody Plants
      Plant Records Officer: Boyce Tankersley, Director of Living Plant Documentation
    • Total Staff:
      Number of Horticultural Staff: 57
      Number of Educational Staff: 44
      Number of Research Staff: 39
      Number of Administration Staff: 23
  • About this Garden
    • Institution Type: Botanic Garden
    • Status
    • Private: No
      State: No
      Educational Establishment: Yes
      Municipal: No
      Satellite Garden: No
      Trust Administered: No
    • Date Founded: 1965
    • Physical Data
    • Natural Vegetation Area (inside BG): Yes
      Size of Area: 51 hectares
    • Landscaped Area: Yes
      Size of Area: 53 hectares
    • Total Area (in Hectares): 156 hectares
      Latitude: 42.1523170
      Longitude: -87.7862760
      Annual Rainfall: 940 mm
      Altitude: 176.00 metres
      Total Area Under Glass: 4 metres
    • Local Information
    • Garden Name: Chicago Botanic Garden
    • Address: 1000 Lake Cook Road
    • City: Glencoe
    • State: IL
  • Features and Facilities
    • Herbarium: Yes
      Number of Specimens in Herbarium: 15000
    • Micropropagation/Tissue Culture Facilities: Yes
      Seed Bank: Yes
      Computer Plant Record System: Yes
    • Open to the Public: Yes
      Society of Friends: Yes
      Retail Outlet (shop): Yes
      Retail Outlet (plant sales): Yes
      Disabled Access: Yes
    • Number of Visitors: 960000
      Number of Volunteers: 1200
  • Plant Collections
    • Number of Living Plant Accessions: 20703
      Number of Taxa in Cultivation: 9523
    • Special Collections:Specialized: Actinidia, Aesculus, Amelanchier, Carex (native), Cornus (non-bracted), Geranium, Ginkgo, Iris (Siberian), Narcissus (jonquila), Quercus, Rosa (Landscape), Salix (under 6' height), Scirpus/Schoenoplectus (native), Solidago (native), Spirea, Symphyotrichum (native), Thuja plicata, and over 200 accessions of seeds in a National Tallgrass Prairie Seedbank.
    • Invasive Species Monitoring: Yes
      Invasive Species Policy: Yes
      Access and Benefit Sharing Policy: Yes
      Plant Collections Policy: Yes
  • Conservation Programmes
    • Conservation Programme: Yes
      Medicinal Plant Programme: Yes
      Ex Situ Conservation Programme: Yes
      Reintroduction Programme: Yes
  • Research Programmes
    • Biotechnology: No
      Plant Breeding: Yes
      Conservation - Biology: Yes
      Conservation - Genetics: Yes
      Data Management Systems and Information Technology: Yes
      Ecology: Yes
      Ecosystem Conservation: Yes
      Education: Yes
      Ethnobotany: Yes
      Exploration: Yes
      Floristics: Yes
      Horticulture: Yes
      Invasive Species Biology and Control: Yes
      Molecular Genetics: Yes
      Pollination Biology: Yes
      Restoration Ecology: Yes
      Seed/Spore Biology: Yes
      Systematics and Taxonomy: Yes
      Sustainability: Yes
      Pharmacology: No
      Agriculture: No
      Land Restoration: Yes
      Urban Environments: Yes
  • Education Programmes
    • Visitor/Education Centre: Yes
      Education Signs in Garden: Yes
      Public Lectures/Talks: Yes
      Education Booklets/Leaflets: Yes
      Guided Tours: Yes
      Permanent Public Displays: Yes
      Special Exhibitions: Yes
      Courses for School Children: Yes
      Courses for University/College Students: Yes
      Courses for General Public: Yes
      Education Programme: Yes