Annual Report 2007 - Brooklyn Botanic Garden

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Report2007pt2FINALnew.qxp 2/1/08 3:18 PM Page 2222 Seeking to Arouse Awareness of the Fragility of NatureSeeking to arouse public awareness of the fragility ofour natural environment…and providing informationabout ways to conserve and protect it.Conservation and RestorationBBG’s summer interpretiveprogram, Quest for PlantSurvival, educated visitorsabout the threat of plantextinction.Brooklyn Botanic Garden is deeply committed to conservation at the local, regional, and global levels,as well as to educating the public about the importance of plant diversity to ecosystem health andhuman life. Over the past year, BBG has played a major role in building coalitions among organizationsdedicated to conservation and restoration.From July to September, BBG presented Quest for Plant Survival, a special summer-long interpretiveprogram on plant conservation that featured a self-guided interpretive brochure, conservation-themedchildren’s activities, and a special website. Focusing on such species as the maidenhair tree (Ginkgobiloba), the Amazon lily (Eucharis amazonica), and the dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), thesummer highlight was open to all Garden visitors, giving them tangible lessons in plant conservation andinforming a diverse audience of all ages how crucial it is to rescue endangered species from extinction.This year BBG again hosted the U.S. office of Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI-US).By bringing together the world’s botanic gardens, BGCI-US seeks to create a broad community that worksin partnership to achieve conservation and education goals—in particular, to raise awareness of theimportance of plant conservation among the 200 million people who visit botanic gardens every year. TheInvesting In Nature program funded by HSBC Bank came to a close at the end of December 2006.BGCI-US staff completed the North American Botanical Garden Strategy for Plant Conservation,which was published in spring 2007, and launched the plan at the American Public Garden Associationconference in June. Dr. Steven Clemants spoke about this strategy at the 3rd Global Botanical GardenConference, held in Wuhan, China, in April.In collaboration with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation, BBG is a partner in theSeeds of Success program, coordinated by the Plant Conservation Alliance and the Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew. Seeds of Success coordinates seedcollection of native plant populations inthe United States to increase the numberof species and amount of native seedavailable for use in stabilizing, rehabilitating,and restoring land. BBG and theCity’s Department of Parks and Recreationare responsible for collecting seed of 100native species from local populations. InAugust, BBG staff attended a seedcollecting workshop at the Mt. CubaCenter in Greenville, Delaware, sponsoredby the U.S. Bureau of Land Managementand the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.The Garden, in partnership with theCenter for Plant Conservation (CPC), isalso responsible for collecting seed for fiveglobally rare species: sea beach amaranth
Report2007pt2FINALnew.qxp 2/1/08 3:18 PM Page 23Seeking to Arouse Awareness of the Fragility of Nature23(Amaranthus pumilus), sensitive-joint vetch (Aeschynomene virginica), chaffseed (Schwalbea americana),Kniekern’s beaked-rush (Rhynchospora knieskernii) and flowering pixiemoss (Pyxidanthera barbulata). In thepast year, BBG staff established populations of flowering pixiemoss (Pyxidanthera barbulata) and sickleleafsilkgrass (Pityopsis falcata), a rare Long Island native, in the Native Flora collection.Dr. Clemants continued as chair of the Invasive Plant Council of New York State over the past yearand was master of ceremonies of “Invasive Plants on the Horizon and More,” a two-day conferenceheld in Albany. The large attendance at the conference—over 250 people—is a testament to howseriously invasive species are taken by New York State.The Center for Urban Restoration Ecology (CURE), a joint venture between BBG and RutgersUniversity, continued to provide protocols for successful restoration of degraded urban environments.CURE is a partner with Field Operations, which won the New Jersey Urban Parks Master Plan DesignCompetition for Great Falls State Park in Paterson, New Jersey, sponsored by the New Jersey Departmentof Environmental Protection, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and the New Jersey Institute ofTechnology’s School of Architecture. Work has begun on a master plan for the site.CURE is also working with the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to determine ifnative plants that have adapted to survival in urban environments have distinct “urban” genotypes.This project is in its third year and will be complete in spring of 2008.
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Annual Report 2007 - Brooklyn Botanic Garden

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