Chicago Botanic Garden

for immediate release

Chicago Botanic Garden to Break Ground
On Rice Plant Conservation Science Center

New facility will serve as focal point for Garden’s efforts
to save the plants and save the planet

 

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

GLENCOE, Ill. (May 27, 2008)—The Chicago Botanic Garden has announced that it will break ground June 3 on the Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center, a laboratory facility designed to serve as an international center for plant conservation research and home to the nation’s only doctoral program in plant biology and conservation.

When completed in fall of 2009, the 38,000-square-foot Daniel F. and Ada L. Rice Plant Conservation Science Center will provide state-of-the-art laboratories and teaching facilities for over 200 Ph.D. scientists, land managers, students, and research staff, and will include teaching facilities required for a unique doctoral program in plant biology and conservation that the Chicago Botanic Garden will conduct with Northwestern University.

While the Chicago Botanic Garden has conducted a plant conservation research program for more than ten years, the Rice Center will enable the Garden to expand research capabilities into the study of native plants for medicinal and economic benefits, reproductive biology, seed biology and population genetics, and soil research that could lead to better understanding of the manner in which native plant habitats can absorb carbon from the atmosphere.

The building will feature a viewing gallery designed to provide the Garden’s nearly 800,000 visitors with an opportunity to see Garden plant scientists at work. It will also feature two 8,000-square-foot living green roofs, open to the public to demonstrate the best plants for green roofs in the Midwest.

Designed by Booth Hansen, the Rice Center will use materials and systems to earn a “gold” rating for sustainable design from the U.S. Green Building Council.

The groundbreaking ceremony will be preceded on June 2 with an afternoon “Seeds for the Future” ceremony involving students from three Chicago Public Schools. Together with Garden scientists, the students will contribute items to a “Seeds for the Future” time capsule, which will be placed in the Rice Center to be opened in 50 years.

Why Save Plants?

According to the World Conservation Union, 30 percent of the world’s plants are threatened with extinction by 2050. Since plants provide all the necessities of life: food, shelter, clothing, medicine and oxygen, the continued loss of plant life poses enormous threats to the health and well-being of humans.

The new Rice Center will provide the facilities to enable the Garden to conduct research that will impact the work of those trying to save plants around the world.

For example, the Chicago Botanic Garden is on a mission to collect 20,000 seeds from each of the 1,500 native plant species of the tall grass prairie, one of the world’s most threatened ecosystems, now reduced to less than 0.01 percent of its former range. The Rice Center will provide the seed banking equipment and facilities to bank seed more effectively, seeds that one day may cure disease, provide food for millions or become viable parts of healthy ecosystems.

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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, except Dec. 25. 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.