News published: 12 May 2026

On June 12 2026 we will be launching the very first International Day of Botanic Garden Education and we are inviting botanic gardens and arboreta around the world to celebrate the day with us.

Background

As part of the closing ceremony statement of the 11th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens, in South Korea, 2025, a call was made to reimagine and elevate the role of botanic gardens in shaping a sustainable future through transformative education.

To encourage practical action and collective engagement, June 12 was designated as the International Day of Botanic Garden Education. This day serves as a global call for solidarity in addressing the climate and biodiversity crises, and as a symbol of our shared commitment to overcoming these urgent challenges. Through voluntary participation, the aim of the day is to raise global awareness of the vital role that botanic garden education plays in promoting environmental consciousness and sustainability worldwide.

The campaign is organised by BGCI and the Korea National Arboretum (hosts of the 11th International Congress on Education in Botanic Gardens 2025).

How can you take part?

This year’s day is aligned with BGCI’s Declaration of Intent on Climate Action Education which is a commitment our network makes to contribute to key climate action targets. The Declaration has outlined seven key areas under which our action can make the most impact:

1. Build the foundations for nature connectedness and climate learning
2. Collaborate to embed climate change education (relevant to plants, carbon and ecosystems) into school curriculums
3. Empower our visitors/audiences to take climate action
4. Influence government policies and agendas (local to international)
5. Empower the next generation of climate conscious youth and communities
6. Build the right partnerships to mobilise change and increase cooperation
7. Build high-trust relationships to increase inclusion, diversity, equity and accessibility of our programming through community outreach so that no-one is left behind.

On this June 12 we are inviting gardens and arboreta to join the campaign by organising activities that incorporate at least one of the seven key goals. These could be activities that are taking place on or around June 12, or you could share information about activities that have or will take place. We are asking those taking part to be active either in person or on their social media channels to showcase the incredible work of botanic garden education that takes place around the globe and the important impact that we as a network have.

Resources

The Korea National Arboretum (in conjunction with BGCI) have put together a communications kit with logos, guidelines, hashtags and ideas to support those taking part in the campaign.

And use the hashtag #IDBGE when promoting your activities!

BGCI will be sharing information about the activities of our Day of Education 2026 grantees, as well as some success stories from our members. We’ll also be re-posting stories from others taking part, so follow our social media channels for more and don’t forget to tag us in your posts!