Wellesley College Botanic Gardens
Institution Code: WELC
BGCI Member: No
About the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens
The mission of the WCBG is two-fold:
- to increase participation in science by engaging people with a diverse array of outstanding botanical resources for teaching, research, and exploration, and
- to promote scientific and environmental literacy in the college and broader communities, using aesthetic appeal and dynamic programming to stimulate interest in the natural world.
Our collections policy provides an overview of the plant collections and current implementation of this mission statement. Click here to download the collections policy as a .pdf file.
The WCBG foster a progression from an instinctive affinity for plants, nature, and harmonious landscapes to a science-based understanding and appreciation of them. Programs and courses such as Botanical Art and Environmental Horticulture are appealing bridges into science for broad audiences. A docent program engages students and volunteers in the natural history of the gardens and plant collections. The botanical resources and the accumulating body of knowledge about them provide ever-increasing opportunities for teaching and research at the College.
Throughout their history the WCBG have emphasized educational value, primarily via the impressively diverse plant collections. Now there is also a sharpened focus on a fundamental role of plants in nature and in culture: as food. Priority for addition to the outdoor plant collections is based in part on a plant’s food value for native birds, insects, and other animals, and the gardens are maintained with minimal disruption of ecological interactions among native species. The greenhouses accommodate plants from a variety of habitats around the world, with a special emphasis on plants of cultural significance as food or spice. With this focus on plants as food, the WCBG are an extraordinary resource for studies ranging from anthropology to zoology.
Wellesley College Botanic Gardens - more than a feast for the eyes!
Main Address:
Wellesley College Botanic Gardens
Science Center
106 Central Street
Wellesley
Massachusetts 02481-8203 United States of America
Telephone: (781) 283-3027
Fax: (781) 283-3642
URL: www.wellesley.edu/WCBG/
Primary Email: kjones@wellesley.edu