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Horticulture Campus Aerial.

        Garden Branches Out to Global Issues





                                s Naples Botanical Garden grows and
                                prospers, watch for a shift in
                         A its messaging and public profile.
                         In addition to keeping its commitment
                         to showcasing natural beauty and public
                         education, the Garden will accent its embrace
                         of global challenges such as climate change
        by Jeff Lytle    and endangered plant species.
                            Much of the work – the mission – that has
        been going on for years will be coming more to light.
           The tone is set by the title and content for the latest Garden
        newsletter, “Conserve.” It features  work in our region and
        beyond – including Haiti, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Dominican
        Republic and the United Kingdom -- to protect and preserve   Jessica DeYoung, Garden conservation horticulture manager.
        plants and their seeds from threats such as hurricanes, rising seas
        and development.                                              “Botanical gardens have become so much more than just a place
           “Conserve” articles drill down to applied science such as the   to visit to see pretty plants.  We are a seedbank, a living collection
        benefits of local controlled burns; which vegetation works best for   of rare plants, a hub and knowledge base for the community, a
        sand dunes in Naples and elsewhere; and studying the wildlife of   place where plants are not only conserved for future generations
        Rookery Bay.  Special attention is directed to a new addition to the  but also where plants are used to address our most pressing needs.
        Garden on Bayshore Drive, the Evenstad Horticultural Campus,   We use plants and the ecosystems they create to ensure that we
        which will include a greenhouse of 22,000 square feet plus much   have clean water,  habitat for wildlife, resilient beaches, forests,
             more space for full-sun and shade plants. The facility will   mangroves and ecosystems, and so much more.
                 provide Garden horticulture and conservation teams the   “We have a mission to save and protect the world’s plants and
                  space and equipment they need to ensure the Garden   take that role very seriously.”
                   remains a world-class facility for tropical plants.  In fact, the Garden itself is a restoration project, with its 170
                      Chad Washburn, the Garden’s vice president   acres reclaimed from invasive plants and neglect.
                    for conservation, explains why the science work is   Washburn says teamwork with other organizations will be
                   important. “We share a great deal in common with   emphasized. “The growing changes that we see in our environment
                  many of the countries of the Caribbean, including   due to climate change — including sea-level rise, rising
                  facing many of the same threats associated with climate  temperatures, increasing frequency and intensity of tropical storm
    Chad Washburn  change,” he says.  “For us, it makes sense to work across   events, increasing invasive plant and pest infestations, and so much
                  the region to have the greatest impact possible.    more — cannot be faced by any one organization,” he explains.

     78                                                                                                    Life in Naples | December 2021
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