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Brooklyn Botanic Garden 2006 Annual Report
A Letter from the Chairman of the Board
Earl D. Weiner, Chairman of the Board and Scot Medbury, President
The past year at Brooklyn Botanic Garden was one filled with exciting achievements and significant progress. The beauty of the Garden was enhanced through new plantings throughout BBG's 52 acres, and the vitality of several of the historic specialty gardens was strengthened through infrastructure improvements ranging from new paving and lighting to fencing and irrigation systems. We proudly dedicated the Judith D. Zuk Magnolia Plaza in recognition of the outstanding achievements of BBG's president emeritus. Notably, we celebrated the Garden's 25th annual Cherry Blossom Festival, Sakura Matsuri, with a record-breaking 72,000 visitors, who enjoyed performances and presentations that highlighted Japanese culture against the backdrop of more than 200 flowering cherry trees. It was a pleasure to share the beauty of the Garden with nearly 700,000 visitors over the past year.
The Garden's reach is not confined to its 52 acres—and BBG's education and community-outreach programs led the way in engaging hundreds of thousands of children and adults in programs at the Garden and throughout Brooklyn. BBG's Brooklyn Greenbridge program forged new links to neighborhoods borough-wide, with BBG staff and volunteers working side by side with residents to make our urban environment a healthier, safer, and more beautiful place to live and work. BBG worked closely with nearly 350 high school students at the Brooklyn Academy of Science and the Environment (BASE), the public high school that BBG cofounded three years ago with the Prospect Park Alliance and the New York City Department of Education. BASE students engaged in field studies at the Garden and participated in serious, full-fledged research with BBG scientists and other community partners. Many other young adults throughout New York City joined us for yearlong Garden Apprentice Program (GAP) internships and other programs. Project Green Reach and Urban Advantage educators also worked extensively with hundreds of schools and thousands of students to strengthen classroom science education.
The Garden's deep commitment to conservation at the local, regional, and global levels and to educating the public about the important role that plants play in our lives was enhanced in many ways. These included the ongoing research of BBG scientists, several exciting new titles in our long history of award-winning publications, and BBG's partnerships with organizations such as Botanic Gardens Conservation International and the Center for Urban Restoration Ecology.
We are grateful to the Garden's many members and supporters for their loyal support and generosity, and to our staff, trustees, and volunteers for their dedication, all of which have played an invaluable role in our success in 2005–06.
Earl D. Weiner, Chairman of the Board and Scot Medbury, President