CLOCKWISE, FROM LEFT: A botanical illustration student works on a landscape piece; Children’s Program Manager Lisa Davis teaches a KidCamp class in the Boettcher Memorial Tropical Conservatory; the Tea House in the Japanese Garden is the site of several tea ceremonies during the summer months.

OUR TRANSFORMATION:

• The Gardens’ education programs reached more than 31,000 children, delivering hands-on experiences and standards-based science lessons that opened their eyes to the marvels of the plant world. More than 85 children’s classes and camps were held at the Gardens.

• More than 20,000 of the children who came into contact with the Gardens in 2009 were reached through more than 600 school programs. The “In Full Bloom” scholarship program made 136 of these school programs possible.

• The Gardens raised funds for scholarships that enabled 3,690 school children to attend Gardens programs. (We participate in the GROW and Urban Advantage networks to reach at-risk students and schools.)

• Staff developed a new program, Ecosystem Exploration Day, to serve school groups at Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield. Fourth- and fifth-graders explored riparian, grassland and garden ecosystems, and learned how the living and non-living components of each interact.

• The Gardens’ Education Department created a Family Discovery Guide tailored to families that explored the exhibit and dinosaurs through age-appropriate descriptions, discussion questions and activities.

2009 Denver Botanic Gardens Annual Report

• The Winter Green and Summer Sensory programs connected more than 500 people from the developmentally disabled and elderly populations to plants.

• Class programs and offerings for adults were expanded in 2009, reaching an increased audience of more than 6,000 registrants. The Gardens’ certificate programs in Botanical Art & Illustration and Rocky Mountain Gardening served more than 1,800 of those registrants.

• The Gardens debuted the Green Roofs for the West Symposium, which brought 170 professionals, academics and beginners together to learn about the construction and benefits of green roofs.

• Innovative programs, such as the Digital Nature art show, a series of sustainability-related films and the Tibetan Singing Bowls concerts, explored new uses and formats while facilitating transformative experiences.

• More than 2,000 visitors learned more about the Gardens through indoor and outdoor guided tours designed for adults, including drop-in tours every weekend during the summer months. The Mount Goliath wildflower hikes drew more than 250 participants who descended the M. Walter Pesman Trail to discover Colorado’s native mountain flora.

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