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Page 1
The Role of Botanical Gardens in
Biodiversity-Related Education
22 November 2018
For biodivcanadaCelebrating 25 Years of Action for Canadian and International Biodiversity
Dr David Galbraith, Head of ScienceRoyal Botanical Gardens (Canada)
Page 1
Acknowledgment of Traditional Territories
• I would like to begin by acknowledging that I am speaking to
you from the traditional territories of the Anishinaabe,
Haudenosaunee, and Huron-Wendat Nations. First Nations
and Métis Peoples have a long history in Ontario. I would like to
pay respects today to the Six Nations of the Grand River
Territory and the Mississaugas of the New Credit First Nation.
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Today’s Webinar
• Biodiversity Challenges and
Educational Needs
• Audiences and Modes of
Education
• Capacity of Botanical Gardens
in the 21st Century
• Some Examples
Jardí Botànic de Barcelona
Upper: Barcelona Botanic Garden, Barcelona, Spain
Lower: Bruce Botanical Food Garden, Ripley, Ontario, Canada
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Demographic Challenges and Contact with Nature
• November 2018: the human population
is 7.7 billion and growing
• 54.8% are Urban as of 2017
• 81.4% are Urban in Canada in 2017 as
example of developed economy
• Lack of inclusion of plants or other
botanical subjects in curricula at all
levels
• Shifting Baselines phenomenon
Shanghai, China
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Many People are Disconnected from Nature
• Plant Blindness as an issue: many people do not perceive
plants as “alive” or individuals/species
• North Americans today recognize fewer than 10 plants but over
1,000 corporate logos and trademarks
• Increase of screen time and digital
recreation further disconnects
growing children (and adults)
from nature
Winged Loosestrife
Royal Botanical Gardens
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"In the end we will conserve only what we love,
we will love only what we understand;
and we will understand only what we have been taught"
Baba Dioum, Forestry Engineer, Senegal
from a 1968 address to the IUCN General Assembly
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Education Needed about Key Biodiversity Issues
• Food security issues
• Sustainable land management practices on small and large
scales
• Indigenous cultures and understanding their connections to
plants and the land
• Economic uses of plants
• Climate change and threats to plant diversity
• Plant conservation links to CBD, Aichi Targets, SDGs,
NBSAPS
• Capacity for plant conservation
• Training of practitioners, including highly-qualified personnel
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Barriers to Engagement about Biodiversity and Plants
• Disconnection from nature, urbanization
• Changes in information access, recreation, rise of “screen time”
• Plant blindness
• Lack of inclusion of plants or
other botanical subjects in
curricula at all levels
• Shifting Baselines phenomenon
Page 1
Aichi Biodiversity Targets
• 14 of 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets for 2020 depend upon or
speak to plant conservation in a substantial way
• Just three examples:
• Target 5 - By 2020, the rate of loss of all natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved
and where feasible brought close to zero, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly
reduced.
• Target 13 - By 2020, the genetic diversity of cultivated plants and farmed and domesticated
animals and of wild relatives, including other socio-economically as well as culturally valuable
species, is maintained, and strategies have been developed and implemented for minimizing
genetic erosion and safeguarding their genetic diversity.
• Target 18 - By 2020, the traditional knowledge, innovations and practices of indigenous and
local communities relevant for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, and their
customary use of biological resources, are respected, subject to national legislation and
relevant international obligations, and fully integrated and reflected in the implementation of
the Convention with the full and effective participation of indigenous and local communities, at
all relevant levels.
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Sustainable Development Goals
• 11 of 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030 depend upon
or speak to plant conservation in a substantial way
• Just three examples:
SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and
promote sustainable agriculture
SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
SDG 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial
ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification and halt
and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
Page 1
Multimodal Biodiversity Education within Botanical
Gardens
• Formal education
• Informal education
• Interpretation
• Professional education
and development;
Higher Education
• Community and
Volunteer
Engagement
Professional Plant identification Workshop at Royal Botanical Gardens
Page 1
We help others learn about
biodiversity every day, even if we
don’t call it that…
RBG Staff training volunteers about traditional
European medicinal plants.
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Development of Botanical Gardens
• 16th Century: “Age of Exploration”
received plants; also for medical
teaching
• 17th and 18th Centuries: Research
functions were elaborated
• 19th Century: Some opened to
public visitation
• 20th Century: Many created as
civil amenity, facilities at
universities Tanks of aquatic plants and the "Goethe
Palm" greenhouse, Orto Botanico du
Padua, Italy. Photograph in Public
Domain via Wikimedia
Page 1
Wyse Jackson, P. S . (1999) Experimentation on a Large Scale - An Analysis of the
Holdings and Resources of Botanic Gardens. BGCNews Vol 3 (3) December 1999.
Botanic Gardens Conservation International, U.K., Pg. 27.
“Botanic gardens are institutions holding
documented collections of living plants for the
purposes of scientific research, conservation,
display and education.”
National Botanic Garden, Dublin, Ireland
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Acknowledging Historic Botanical Gardens Issues
• Some botanical gardens have
been involved in appropriation of
traditional and Indigenous
knowledge and plants
• Some botanical gardens have
been sources of introduction of
invasive species
Dog Strangling Vine, an escapee from cultivation
in Ontario
Photograph by Epibase - Own work, CC BY 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid
=7567542
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Botanical Gardens and Related Institutions World
Wide: 3,531 as of November 2018
Data source: Table 3, International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in
Conservation, 2nd Ed. BGCI. 2012.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
Europe NorthAmerica
Asia SouthAmerica
Africa andIndianOcean
Australiaand thePacific
RussianFederation
CentralAmerica andCaribbean
Middle East Central Asia
Global Distribution of Botanic Gardens as of 2012
Page 1
Botanical Gardens’ Collections World Wide:
Conservation and Education Resource
• 1,401,239 collection records;
550,407 taxa
• at 1,103 contributing institutions
• 16,802 taxa with IUCN Red-List
rating above Least Concern
• 36 Extinct in the Wild
• 2,602 Critically Endangered
Data source: BGCI GardenSearch Database. Accessed 13 Nov
2018.
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew
Richmond, UK
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Botanical Gardens Education among 160 Public
Gardens in North America
Formal Instruction (curriculum-based and linked to
classroom programming):
• K-Grade 5: 656,433 learners
• Grades 6-8: 89,295 learners
• Grades 9-12: 46,715 learners
• Adult, College and University Level: 22,128 learners
Data source: APGA 2015 Benchmarking Survey
Page 1
Botanical Gardens Education in North America
Informal Instruction (differently-structured; interest-driven):
• K-Grade 12: 423,278 learners
• Total Children’s Education: 1.135 million learners
• Informal Adult Education: 324,819 learners
Totals:
• Children’s Education: 1.135 million learners
• Total Adult Education: 364,947 Students
Data source: APGA 2015 Benchmarking Survey
Page 1
Educational Resources within Botanical Gardens
• Expert Staff (often
including professional
educators)
• Living Plant Collections
• Learning Spaces
• Library Collections
• Other Collections
(herbaria, ethnobotany
museums, etc.)
• Interpretation (Signage,
Animation, etc.)
• Educational Partnerships
Data source: BGCI GardenSearch Database. Accessed 13 Nov
2018.
Multifunctional Teaching Space at Royal
Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, Scotland
Page 1
Food Security
• Widely-relatable
• The Big Picnic
program in the
UK
• US Urban Food
Gardens
• Re-establishing
traditional foods
in Cuba
Kitchen Garden Demonstration, National
Botanic Gardens of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland
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Landscape
Sustainability
• Landscape For Life™
Program in North
America as example
– teaching land
owners sustainable
land management
practices
Composter Garden, Jardin
Botanique du Nouveau-Brunswick,
Saint-Jacques, New Brunswick,
Canada
Page 1
Pollinators and Pollinator Gardens as Interest Points
Monarch Butterfly and Honey Bee on Salvia,
Royal Botanical Gardens’ Scented Garden
• Charismatic pollinators –
like Monarch Butterflies –
can draw interest in
gardens
• Projects across North
America are encouraging
home owners, agencies to
install
• Provides educational
opportunity to expand
discussion about
biodiversity in cities
Page 1
Indigenous Peoples Gardens
• First Peoples Garden at
Montreal Botanical garden
• Collaboration with 11
Indigenous nations in
Northern Quebec
• Includes interpreted forest
pathway, museum display
area, interpretation by First
Nations students
Page 1Anishinaabe waadiziwin - Indigenous
Knowledge Trail at Royal Botanical Gardens
Page 1
Local Community Engagement at Royal Botanic
Garden, Amman, Jordan
• New botanic garden,
not yet open to the
public
• Working since 2007
on education and
engagement with
local communities
Royal Botanic Garden of Jordan, Tal Al-Rumman, Jordan
From American Public Gardens Association Web Site
Page 1
The Phipps Research Institute for Biophilia and
Science Engagement at Phipps Conservatory and
Botanical Gardens, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
The Center for Sustainable Landscapes at the Phipps Conservatory (left)
and the conservatory itself (right).Photograph by Dllu - Own work, CC BY 3.0,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Dllu
• New institute is promoting
biological diversity
education and research
• Publications already on
invasive species, plants
responding to climate
change
Page 1
Biodiversity Education Garden at the National
Botanic Garden, Godawari, Nepal
• Garden developed in partnership with
Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh,
Scotland
• Project included local training in
horticulture, development of site-
appropriate interpretation
• Garden presents native Nepalese
plants and interpretation on ecological,
cultural, economic values of plants National Botanic Garden, Nepal staff examine
interpretive panels at the new garden.
Photograph”: Royal Botanic Garden
Edinburgh, published in: Idea to Realisation:
BGCI’s Manual on Planning, Developing and
Managing Botanic Gardens (2016)
Page 1
Engaging Life-Long Love of Nature at Royal
Botanical Gardens, Hamilton and Burlington,
Ontario, Canada
Education Mission Statement:
Education at Royal Botanical Gardens
encourages environmental stewardship
by providing meaningful and diverse
learning experiences that connect
people of all ages with the wild and
cultivated plant world and help them to
understand the crucial role that plants
play in sustaining and enhancing our
lives and the environment.
RBG Junior Gardener and her garden’s
bounty.
Page 1Children in outdoor area at Nature Interpretive
Centre, Royal Botanical Gardens
Page 1
and Public Involvement
RBG Head of Natural Lands Tys Theijsmeijer
explaining invasive fish barrier to visitors
Page 1Children on RBG Nature Trails in summer camp
guided outdoor activity.
Page 1
Conclusions
• Botanical gardens educate millions of people of all ages in
biodiversity-related topics and experiences every year
• These institutions vary in their sizes and capacities but all can
contribute to connecting people to nature and the world of
plants
• Plant conservation is about
more than endangered
species, and botanical
gardens are about more
than ex-situ conservation
A family discovers Toronto Botanical Garden, in
Toronto, Canada.
Page 1
Thank You!
Dr David Galbraith, Head of ScienceRoyal Botanical Gardens (Canada)
[email protected] @RBG_Science
Photograph courtesy of Royal Botanical Gardens’
Education Department’s EcoLeaders Program
Page 1
Sources and Resources
ROOTS: BGCI’s Educational Review: https://www.bgci.org/public-engagement/roots
BGCI. 2012. International Agenda for Botanic Gardens in Conservation, 2nd Edition. Botanic Gardens Conservation International,
Richmond, United Kingdom. On-line Document. Accessed 15 Nov 2018. URL:
https://www.bgci.org/files/Worldwide/News/SeptDec12/international_agenda_web.pdf
BGCI. 2017. Defining the Botanic Garden, and How to Measure Performance and Success: BGCI’s 2nd Technical Review. Botanic
Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, United Kingdom. On-line Document. Accessed 15 Nov 2018. URL:
https://www.bgci.org/files/IAC/IAC%202017/medres.pdf
Cannon, C. H., Kua, C.-S. 2017. Botanic gardens should lead the way to create a “Garden Earth” in the Anthropocene. Plant Diversity
39: 331-337.
Chen, G., and Sun, W. 2018. The role of botanical gardens in scientific research, conservation, and citizen science. Plant Diversity 40:
181-188.
Dunn, C. P. 2017. Biological and cultural diversity in the context of botanic garden conservation strategies. Plant Diversity 39: 396-401.
Gratzfeld, J. (Ed.). 2016. From Idea to Realisation – BGCI’s Manual on Planning, Developing and Managing Botanic Gardens. Botanic
Gardens Conservation International, Richmond, United Kingdom. On-Line Document. Accessed 15 Nov 2018. URL:
https://www.bgci.org/files/BG_Manual2017/BGCI%20Manual.pdf
Hulme, P. E. 2011. Addressing the threat to biodiversity from botanic gardens. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, April 2011, Vol. 26,
No. 4. doi:10.1016/j.tree.2011.01.005
Kuzevanov, V., and Sizykh, S. 2006. Botanic Gardens Resources: Tangible and Intangible Aspects of Linking Biodiversity and Human
Well-Being. Hiroshima Peace Science 28: pp. 113-134.
Navarro-Perez, M., and Tidball, K. G. 2012. Challenges of Biodiversity Education: A Review of Education Strategies for Biodiversity
Education. International Electronic Journal of Environmental Education 12(1). www.iejeegreen.com
Sharrock, S., and Wyse Jackson, P. 2016. Plant Conservation and the Sustainable Development Goals: a policy paper prepared for
the Global Partnership for Plant Conservation. Botanic Gardens Conservation International. On-line document. Accessed 14
Nov 2018. URL: https://www.bgci.org/files/GSPC/PC%20and%20the%20SDGs.pdf
UNEP-CBD. Undated. Aichi Biodiversity Targets: Technical Rationale (provided in document COP/10/27/Add.1: On-line document.
Accessed 14 Nov 2018. URL: https://www.cbd.int/sp/targets/rationale/default.shtml