Chicago Botanic Garden

for immediate release

Chicago Botanic Garden Receives Accreditation From
American Association of Museums

Recognized for world-class plant collection, excellence in horticulture, conservation, and education

 

Media Only:
Gloria Ciaccio
(847) 835-6819
gciaccio@chicagobotanic.org

GLENCOE, Ill. (Nov. 7, 2008) — The Chicago Botanic Garden has received its third consecutive accreditation from the American Association of Museums (AAM) in recognition of its collection and care of 2.3 million plants, best practices in horticulture, extensive plant conservation research programs, and excellence in on-site and community education programs. This year, the AAM accredited 774 of the estimated 20,000 museums in the country. Of these, only 18 were botanic gardens.

The AAM accreditation is widely recognized as a seal of approval that acknowledges a museum’s commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement. The AAM conducts the accreditation process every 10 years.

A team of colleagues from the botanic garden arena, who are trained in the accreditation process by the AAM, visited the Chicago Botanic Garden for two days this past spring. While at the 385-acre Glencoe campus, the AAM team examined procedures for the curation of and caring for the living plant collection, and evaluated the Garden’s goals for the living collection. They also reviewed internal evaluation procedures for the collection; the local, regional, and national plant conservation research programs of the Plant Science and Conservation division; the curriculum and operation of the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Botanic Garden; community education/outreach programs; and facility operations, emergency plans, and financial operations.

“The Garden recently marked its 36th anniversary. To receive accreditation for the third time, in just 36 years, is a testament to our dedicated staff, their personal and professional commitment to excellence, and to the Garden’s efforts to maintain best practices in the areas of horticulture, plant conservation science, and education. Equally important, the accreditation from AAM confirms that our extensive collection serves the public, the people who enjoy it,” said Sophia Siskel, president and CEO of the Chicago Botanic Garden.

The Garden first opened to the public in spring of 1972 with one garden and an ambitious master site plan. Today, 760,000 people visit the Garden each year, making it one of the most visited public gardens in the United States.

The Garden boasts a membership of 50,000, the largest of any U.S. public garden. More than 1,000 volunteers assist with all aspects of the Garden’s mission, from planting and propagating natural areas to teaching educational programs and staffing public programs and exhibitions.

Through the Division of Plant Science and Conservation, the Garden’s 200 scientists endeavor to increase knowledge that address threats to endangered flora, mobilize that knowledge into action, train plant conservation leaders, and utilize research findings to shape national and global plant conservation policy. Programs and research focus on the collection, evaluation, introduction, and preservation of plants within the context of global environmental threats such as climate change, global warming, and other human impacts.

In June 2008, the Garden broke ground for a 38,000-square-foot Plant Conservation Science Center, named for Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice. The Rice Center will be built with the most current knowledge in sustainable design, with certification at the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Gold level. It will include a green roof-top garden, seven research labs, an expanded herbarium, a new seed bank area, classrooms and seminar rooms, offices for research scientists, and a public gallery that will allow visitors to see behind-the-scenes conservation science at work. The Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center is expected to be completed by fall 2009.

The Garden is open daily from 8 a.m. to sunset from Sept. 4 through June 1. Summer hours are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. from June 2 through Sept. 3. Admission is free; select event fees apply. Parking is $15; free for members. For information about the Chicago Botanic Garden call (847) 835-5440, or visit www.chicagobotanic.org.

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Editors, please note: The Chicago Botanic Garden's newsroom is online at www.chicagobotanic.org/pr. For digital images, contact Julie McCaffrey at (847) 835-8213 or at jmccaffrey@chicagobotanic.org.

The Chicago Botanic Garden, one of the green treasures of the Forest Preserve District of Cook County, is a 385-acre living plant museum featuring 23 distinct display gardens surrounded by lakes, as well as a prairie and woodlands. With events, programs and activities for all ages, the Garden is open every day of the year. Admission is free; select event fees apply. Parking is $15; free for members. On Tuesdays, senior citizens age 62 and older pay just $7 for parking. The Garden is located at 1000 Lake Cook Road in Glencoe, Ill. Visit www.chicagobotanic.org, or call (847) 835-5440 for seasonal hours, images of the Garden and commuter transportation information.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is managed by the Chicago Horticultural Society. It opened to the public in 1972 and is home to the Joseph Regenstein, Jr. School of the Chicago Botanic Garden, offering a broad array of adult classes in plant science, landscape design and gardening arts. Through the Division of Plant Science and Conservation, Garden scientists work on plant conservation, research and environmental initiatives that have global impact. The Center for Teaching and Learning brings the wonder of nature and plants to children, teens and teachers. The Garden's Horticultural Therapy and Community Gardening programs provide nationally recognized community outreach and service programs. The Garden is also breaking new ground in urban horticulture and jobs training through a 15-acre project in the North Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago called Windy City Harvest. The Chicago Botanic Garden is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a member of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). In 2006, the Chicago Botanic Garden received the Award for Garden Excellence, given yearly by the APGA and Horticulture magazine to a public garden that exemplifies the highest standards of horticultural practices and has shown a commitment to supporting and demonstrating best gardening practices.