Holden Forests and Gardens

See schedule othe Cleveland Botanical Garden is located on 10 acres in the university circle neighborhood of Cleveland. The Garden comprises two indoor glasshouses and outdoor Gardens including the hershey children's Garden, which was designed to engage children in the natural world around them. The Cleveland Botanical Garden is integrated with the Holden arboretum as Holden Forests & Gardens ("hf&g"). The Holden arboretum is located 25 miles from the Garden, in kirtland, oh. Together, the institutions are accredited by the american alliance of museums and represent one of the largest public Gardens in the country. The mission of the two organizations is to connect people with the wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants, to inspire action for healthy communities. The Cleveland Botanical Garden fulfils this mission through core programming that focuses on horticulture and curation, education, exhibitions and events, and community outreach. In fiscal year 2022 ending september 30, 2022 (fy22), hf&g continued its recovery from the downturn created by the covid-19 pandemic. Favorite events returned, and new programs drew more visitors and members. Hf&g also approved a comprehensive site plan that will ensure both campuses are welcoming, year-round destinations for all guests that model and catalyze environmental stewardship. Horticulture & collections: the horticulture & collections staff cultivates, maintains, and cares for 4,300 plants in the living collection at the Cleveland Botanical Garden, along with five classes of live animals including over 100 birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals, and thousands more insects, that make their homes in the madagascar and costa rica glasshouses. The team maintains the 10 acres of developed and cultivated Gardens, ensuring that guests enjoy a sense of wonder and beauty every time they visit. While the horticulture staff advanced a phased redesign and renovation of signature Gardens at the Botanical Garden in fy22, the collections maintenance team was developed to manage the trees and trails at both campuses. The horticulture team works closely with the exhibits & experiences staff to collaborate on special exhibits and annual productions such as orchids forever and the winter show. The horticulture and collections team also works closely with the education staff to support both formal and informal learning experiences. Education: the Cleveland Botanical Garden provides a series of educational opportunities for all ages, from youth and classroom-based programs to adult and continuing education. Classroom- and campus-based programs at the Garden include cle4sci, which serves third grade classrooms in the Cleveland metropolitan school district and circle scholars, in partnership with university circle, inc. The education staff also debuted the power of plants (pop), an assembly-style program that visits schools. In addition to formal and informal elementary-school curricula, the education team also manages the Garden's signature nature-based learning site, the hershey children's Garden, and the indoor, all-season harrington perennial playspace that opened in fy22. Hf&g's education program also offers adult classes and public programs, and provides resources for teachers. Between both campuses, campers ages pre-kindergarten through grade 7 attended 10 summer camps in fy22. In total, nearly 11,000 people participated in education programs through the Garden and together, both campuses served over 25,000 participants. Exhibitions and events: in fy22, the Garden served 153,000 total visitors, engaging them in the wonder and beauty of plants and sharing their great value to our communities. The Garden continued annual, visitor-favorite productions including the winter show and orchids forever. In partnership with landstudio, the Garden also hosted awake in every sense featuring the large-scale textile installations of artist rachel hayes. Thirteen special events returned to the Garden after being paused during the covid-19 pandemic; they welcomed 3,100 guests. These special exhibits and events drive general admission, helping to sustain the organization's operating budget, while also drawing in visitors and piquing interest in the importance of nature and the outdoor world. Community outreach: in fy22, Holden Forests & Gardens continued to position itself as a community leader in urban greening and forestry, advancing its people for trees campaign to plant 15,000 trees in northeast Ohio by 2025. The community responded enthusiastically, and by the end of year 2, over 9,700 trees were pledged, planted, or given away. The people for trees campaign is Holden Forests & Gardens' contribution to the Cleveland tree coalition, the group charged with implementing the 2015 Cleveland tree plan to restore the decreasing tree canopy in cuyahoga county. The green corps program also continued to grow in its second year of its new iteration, focused on mentoring, internship experience, and introduction to horticultural career opportunities. Hf&g's ceo served on the clean Ohio natural resources assistance council; Holden parks trust board; and university circle inc. executive committee.