News published: 20 October 2025

To support botanic gardens in the Caribbean and Central America region, BGCI is conducting a three-year online programme developed specifically for botanic gardens in the region that are interested in becoming accredited by BGCI and that did not have a collections policy in place. Thanks to the financial support of the Leon Levy Foundation, this unique programme offers a guided pathway to accreditation, providing expert-led sessions, practical tools, and peer learning opportunities. It is designed to help participating gardens either achieve accreditation or make significant progress towards it.

Three online sessions have already been delivered in 2025, with the first year focusing on the development of the garden’s collections policy. The sessions are delivered in two languages Spanish and English, and supported through documentation and materials via BGCI’s online training platform and accreditation materials. In 2025 the sessions focused in strengthening the management and documentation of living collections, promoting the adoption of collection policies aligned with each institution’s mission, and standardising evaluation, curation, and documentation procedures in accordance with international best practices.

Evaluating collections workshop

In the last session, held in October, led by Patricia Malcolm (BGCI) and Noelia Álvarez (BGCI), guests from botanic gardens in the region and beyond were invited. BGCI would like to thank the following individuals for their time and invaluable experience:

• Ángela Cano and Sam Brockington (University of Cambridge Botanic Garden, UK)
• Kate Hughes (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, UK),
• Milton Diaz, Orlik Gómez García and Víctor Luna (Jardín Botánico Clavijero, Mexico)
• Camilo Londoño (Jardín Botánico de Cali, Colombia)
• Nicolas Freye (Conservatoire et Jardin Botaniques de la Ville de Genève, Switzerland)

The workshop reaffirmed the importance of collection policies being living documents — adaptable, collaborative, and developed with the participation of all teams within the garden. It was emphasised that BGCI accreditation does not seek uniformity in how a collections policy is written, but rather aims to demonstrate good practices, transparency, and a clear purpose in the management of collections.

The examples shared by participating individuals and guests provided practical models that can be replicated at different scales.

Finally, it was highlighted that collection evaluation is not merely a technical process, but a strategic tool to:

• Improve long-term planning
• Identify gaps and opportunities for conservation.
• Align collection management with the garden’s mission and vision.

The workshop represented a key step in the BGCI Botanic Garden Accreditation process for gardens in the Caribbean and Central America. Participating gardens strengthened their understanding of the complete collection management cycle — from accession to evaluation — and established common foundations to reinforce their institutional policies.

The approach was collaborative, practical, and experience-based, reflecting the commitment of the Caribbean and Central American Botanic Gardens Network to plant diversity conservation through a professional and well-documented framework.