Page 78 - LIN DEC WEB

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