Spring Gala 2020

Honoring

Scot Medbury

Gala Chairs

5:30 p.m.

Strolling Cocktails
Champagne at Diane H. and Joseph S. Steinberg Visitor Center
Cocktails at the Robert W. Wilson Overlook

7:30 p.m.

Dinner on Cherry Esplanade

9 p.m.

After Party: Drinks, Dessert, and Dancing

Tickets range from $500 to $2,500; tables for ten start at $7,500. Proceeds from the Spring Gala provide essential support for the Garden’s programs and collections.

Inspired by the Garden’s own revitalization, the evening’s menu will be designed and prepared by Patina Restaurant Group. Each course will feature fresh ingredients that were sustainably grown and harvested.

Festive botanical attire encouraged. Tickets held at the door. Complimentary valet parking provided for cocktails and dinner guests.

HONOREE
Better Earth Award
Scot Medbury
BBG president emeritus

Please join us in celebrating Scot Medbury’s transformational leadership of Brooklyn Botanic Garden (2005–2020) and tremendous contributions to Brooklyn and New York City. Thanks to his passion, vision, and energy, the Garden is more vibrant than ever—a vital community and environmental resource and global model for an urban botanic garden.

Scot was drawn to BBG 14 years ago by its deep and historic commitment to inspiring young people to become environmental leaders and its remarkable human scale that connects millions of city residents to the natural world.

With a focus on excellence in design, and a commitment to sustainability and accessibility, he has overseen a remarkable period of growth and change for BBG, including the most significant Garden renewal effort since its founding decades, a major expansion of community and education programs, growth in visitors to a peak of nearly 1 million a year, and the completion of BBG’s $124 million Campaign for the Next Century.

During his BBG tenure, Scot was one of 100 people named to the American Alliance of Museums Centennial Honor Roll; BBG also received the National Medal for Museum and Library Service, the country’s highest honor bestowed on museums and libraries. In addition to leading San Francisco Botanical Garden and Conservatory of Flowers, Scot has held appointments at gardens in Washington, Hawaii, Great Britain, and New Zealand. In February 2020, he became director of Quarryhill Botanical Garden in Sonoma, California.

CELEBRATING AN ERA OF TRANSFORMATION

“The Garden is a public artwork…Today, it may be lovelier (and it is certainly larger) than at any point in its history.” –Justin Davidson, New York magazine

For 110 years, Brooklyn Botanic Garden has been an internationally recognized leader in shaping and redefining the role of an urban botanic garden. BBG’s early design was guided by the Olmsted Brothers and Calvert Vaux, and its mission was shaped by the revolutionary vision that environmental education, conservation, and community engagement were necessary elements of city life. That vision is even more relevant today as current generations seek to understand environmental changes and work together to create healthier, safer, greener neighborhoods.

After more than a decade of major revitalization throughout its 52 acres, BBG is more beautiful and accessible than ever before—with welcoming new entrances, seven new and reimagined landscapes that serve as immersive living classrooms, hundreds of thousands of plants added to its living collections, new Garden-wide interpretation, and expanded programs both on-site and in the community.

At this year’s Gala we look forward to celebrating this era of transformation and sharing the first spring season of our new Robert W. Wilson Overlook, designed by architecture firm WEISS/MANFREDI Architecture/ Landscape/ Urbanism, an ascending garden that provides new ways to experience BBG’s iconic vistas and offers pathways for visitors of all abilities.