San Antonio Botanical Garden Society Inc

ENRICHING LIVES THROUGH PLANTS AND NATURE

WE ARE A BIOLOGICALLY DIVERSE MUSEUM OF PLANTS AND OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT AVAILABLE FOR ALL TO EXPLORE AND ENJOY. ANNUALLY, OUR 860+ PROGRAMS SERVE CHILDREN, FAMILIES, AND ADULTS WITH A WIDE RANGE OF RELEVANT COMMUNITY CLASSES; DYNAMIC K-12 GRADE TEKS-BASED SCHOOL PROGRAMS; ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDSHIP/CONSERVATION AND ENDANGERED PLANT RESEARCH; AND BLOCKBUSTER NATURE/ART EXHIBITIONS. ON ANY GIVEN SCHOOL DAY, WE WELCOME ABOUT 400 K-12 GRADE STUDENTS REPRESENTING SCHOOL DISTRICTS FROM ACROSS SAN ANTONIO AND THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES. ANNUALLY, WE SERVE 17,000+ STUDENTS AND HALF OF THEM ARE FROM TITLE 1 SCHOOLS. BEING IN THE GARDEN MAKES LEARNING EVEN MORE FUN FOR STUDENTSENJOYING THE FRESH AIR AND SUNSHINE AND EXPLORING THE WONDERS OF OUR 38-ACRE PLANT PARADISE WITH CLASSMATES. ALL ARE LEARNING WHY PLANTS ARE IMPORTANT FOR SUSTAINING LIFE ON OUR PLANET AND WHY IT IS MORE VITAL THAN EVER THAT WE CONSERVE WATER AND ALL OUR PRECIOUS NATURAL RESOURCES, WHICH IS WHY WE ARE PLANNING FOR WATERSAVER COMMUNITY.

AMONG PUBLIC GARDENS, WATERSAVER COMMUNITY WILL BE THE MOST COMPREHENSIVE, STATE-OF-THE-ART WATER CONSERVATION LEARNING EXPERIENCE IN THE NATION. IN WATERSAVER COMMUNITY, WE WILL PRESENT THE MOST CURRENT IDEAS IN WATER CONSERVATION FOR EVERYDAY LIVING MANIFESTED IN AN ACCESSIBLE SETTING THAT PEOPLE OF ALL AGES AND ABILITIES CAN WALK, TOUCH, STUDY, AND BE INSPIRED BY. WATERSAVER COMMUNITY WILL ALSO TEACH HOMEOWNERS THE BENEFITS OF UTILIZING NATIVE PLANTS THAT ATTRACT HELPFUL INSECTS, POLLINATORS, BATS, AND BIRDS THAT KEEP COMMUNITY AND REGIONAL ECOSYSTEMS HEALTHIER. WE CONTINUE TO BROADEN OUR ACCESS AND DIVERSITY. OUR VISITORSHIP OVERALL ALIGNS CLOSELY WITH THE CITY AT 41% HISPANIC, 44% CAUCASIAN, 7% AFRICAN AMERICAN, 5% ASIAN AND 3% OTHER. ABOUT 50,000 OR 30% ARE AGE 18 YEARS AND YOUNGER. WE HAVE A 56% RACIALLY/ETHNICALLY DIVERSE AUDIENCE AND ECONOMICALLY, 29% OF VISITORS MAKE UNDER $50,000 ANNUALLY. WE PARTICIPATE IN MUSEUM FOR ALL WHICH ENABLED 3,000 WIC AND SNAP RECIPIENTS TO EXPERIENCE THE GARDEN AT DRASTICALLY REDUCED RATES. WE ALSO PROVIDED OVER 10,000 FREE ADMISSIONS TO OUR BLOCKBUSTER ART/NATURE EXHIBITION SUCH AS IMAGINARY WORLDS, A BREATHTAKING EXHIBITION CELEBRATING ART AND NATURE THROUGH LARGE-SCALE LIVING SCULPTURES CREATED ENTIRELY FROM PLANTS.

THE GARDEN ATTRACTS ALL KINDS OF PEOPLE THROUGH UNIQUE PROGRAMS AND EVENTS. SUMMER BLOCKBUSTER ART EXHIBITIONS AND A HOLIDAY LIGHT SHOW ATTRACT BROAD, DIVERSE AUDIENCES WHILE OTHER PROGRAMS ARE CREATED TO BENEFIT PEOPLE'S MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH IN A NATURAL ENVIRONMENT SUCH AS YOGA, SOUND BATHING, TAI CHI AND MUCH MORE. VARIOUS LANDSCAPING, WATER CONSERVATION AND GARDENING CLASSES PROVIDE THE COMMUNITY WITH THE TOOLS NEEDED TO BUILD BEAUTIFUL, VITAL GARDENS. FLORA AND FAUNA ARE CRITICAL TO OUR LIFE ON THIS PLANET, AND THE BIRD WATCH IS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO VIEW HUNDREDS OF SPECIES OF BIRDS MIGRATING AND LIVING IN SOUTH TEXAS. THE GARDEN IS ALSO AN OFFICIAL MONARCH WAY STATION AND HAS BEEN FOR DECADES.