Santa Fe Botanical Garden

EDUCATION AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ON TOPICS OF HORTICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT.

MUSEUM HILL BOTANICAL GARDEN - IN 2023, THE SANTA FE BOTANICAL GARDEN (SFBG) CELEBRATED THE TEN-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF OPENING TO THE PUBLIC ON MUSEUM HILL. WE WELCOMED MORE VISITORS TO THE GARDEN THAN IN ANY OTHER YEAR SINCE OPENING IN 2013, SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED OUR PUBLIC PROGRAMMING, AMENDED OUR MISSION TO INCLUDE "SCIENCE AND CONSERVATION," INITIATED NEW ACTIVITIES FOCUSED ON CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY, AND CREATED NEW PROGRAMS SPECIFICALLY FOR MEMBERS. AND WE INAUGURATED - LA LUZ DE LAS NOCHES - A NEW ANNUAL HOLIDAY EVENT THAT ATTRACTED NEARLY 3,000 VISITORS TO THE GARDEN OVER TEN DAYS IN DECEMBER. THE HORTICULTURE PROGRAM AT THE SFBG CONTINUES TO BE CORE TO ALL OF THE ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED ON THE GARDEN'S 19 ACRES. THE LIVING COLLECTIONS ARE TAXONOMICALLY DIVERSE AND FOCUS ON SPECIES THAT ARE WELL-ADAPTED TO NORTHERN NEW MEXICO AND SUPPORT EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS ON WATER CONSERVATION, ATTRACTING POLLINATORS, AND SOUND HORTICULTURAL PRACTICES FOR THE REGION. THE ETHNOBOTANICAL PLANTINGS IN OJOS Y MANOS HELP US MAKE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN OUR RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE AND THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANTS TO THE SURVIVAL OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES AND THE HISTORIC HISPANIC POPULATIONS OF NORTHERN NEW MEXICO. OVER THREE ACRES OF THE SFBG CONSISTS OF A MATURE PION JUNIPER WOODLAND AND IS IMPORTANT TO ADDRESSING ISSUES AROUND CLIMATE CHANGE.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS - THE EDUCATIONAL AND OUTREACH PROGRAMS OF THE SFBG ENGAGE DIVERSE AUDIENCES OF ALL AGES THROUGH CLASSES, WORKSHOPS, LECTURES, AND NATURE ACTIVITIES. IN 2023, THE SFBG PRESENTED THE MOTH PROJECT A SPECTACULAR, INTERACTIVE SHOW BY GRAMMY NOMINATED MUSICIAN AND COMPOSER, PETER KIESEWALTER, THAT FEATURES WESTERN AND INDIGENOUS MYTHOLOGIES EXPLORING THE MULTIPLE WAYS THAT PEOPLE CONNECT TO OUR ECOSYSTEM. STUNNING OVER-SIZED IMAGERY OF MOTHS PAINT THE BACKGROUND DURING THE PROGRAM, WHICH REFLECTS THE INCREDIBLE DIVERSITY OF THE MOTH SPECIES AND EXPLORES THE COMMON THEMES BETWEEN PEOPLE AND INSECTS. THE GARDEN GROUNDS PROVIDE A UNIQUE OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT THAT SUPPORTS AN ARRAY OF LEARNING EXPERIENCES IN NATURE.

ART IN THE GARDEN PROGRAM - PION COUNTRY: ILLUMINATING THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF LIFE IN THE ICONIC WOODLAND OF THE ARID WEST BY CHRISTINA SELBY. THE ART IN THE GARDEN PROGRAM IS ONE OF THE WAYS THAT THE SFBG ACCOMPLISHES ITS MISSION. IN 2023 THE FEATURED CHRISTINA SELBY'S PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBITION FOCUSED ON THE ENDANGERED PINYON JAY AND ITS IMPORTANCE TO THE PION-JUNIPER ECOSYSTEM, WHICH OCCUPIES A MAJOR PORTION OF THE SFBG'S PROPERTY. CHRISTINA M. SELBY IS A PHOTOJOURNALIST AND NATURE PHOTOGRAPHER, FILMMAKER, AND WRITER BASED IN SANTA FE. SHE USES MULTIMEDIA STORYTELLING AS A POWERFUL TOOL TO BOTH SHARE THE BEAUTY OF THE PLANET AND MOTIVATE OTHERS TO ACT ON BEHALF OF NATURE. HER WORK FOCUSES ON RARE AND ENDANGERED SPECIES AND ECOSYSTEMS, AND THE PEOPLE WORKING TO SAVE THEM. THE GARDEN'S PROGRAM INCLUDED ONE-ON-ONE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN GARDEN MEMBERS AND CHRISTINA, AS WELL AS A PUBLIC LECTURE THAT ADDRESSED HOW ART CAN STIMULATE ENVIRONMENTAL ACTION.