Bob Chabot, Chief Operating Officer and Horticulturist at Zoo New England, which runs both Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo, will discuss Franklin Park’s plans for creating a rock garden at the Zoo as a beginning step to transforming the Zoo into a botanical garden.
Did you realize that the term
“zoo”—historically a place to house and show animals—is actually short
for “zoological gardens?” While animals may dominate our thoughts on
zoos, what about the “garden” component? As animal conservation has
moved to the forefront of modern zoos throughout the world, plants are
also becoming an integral part of zoo collections and their conservation
initiatives. How a zoo is landscaped becomes an important reminder that
plants form crucial elements of the animal habitat. Landscaping creates
the opportunity to draw public attention to plant conservation as
essential to the preservation and vitality of the entire animal kingdom,
environmental sustainability, and—for that matter—the health of the
human race globally.
Before taking the helm at ZNE, Bob
was Director of Horticulture, Facilities, and Exhibits at the
Jacksonville Zoo, where his gardens, botanical displays, and programming
transformed the zoo into an internationally-renowned, award-winning
horticultural destination. At Zoo New England, Bob will oversee
strategic plans that will make significant changes in its horticultural
exhibits, conservation initiatives, education and public programming,
and the overall appearance of Franklin Park Zoo and Stone Zoo.
Before Jacksonville, Bob was the
Curator of Horticulture for Zoo New England in Boston for ten years,
during which time he worked with the Boston Committee of the GCA on an
extensive, historic woodland rock garden. He was also Director of
Horticulture at Roger Williams Botanical Garden in Providence, R.I. Bob
served as Past President of Greenscape of Jacksonville and as a past
member of the Board of Directors of the Association of Zoological
Horticulture.
Bob’s lecture will examine his
transformative work in the gardens at Jacksonville Botanical Garden and
the exciting future potential at ZNE. He will examine the unique
potential offered by zoos to engage the public on the importance of
plant conservation and the essential role of plants in supporting animal
and human life and the future of our planet.
The talk, originally scheduled for last spring but cancelled due to the coronavirus shutdown, will take place online on Zoom on November 19 beginning at 10 am. The meeting is open to club members of clubs belonging to The Boston Committee of the GCA, and for more information visit www.bostoncommitteegca.org.
