The New England Botanical Society will hold its June meeting at Wellesley College on Friday, June 23 at 6:30. The speaker will be Dr. Kristina Jones, Director of the Wellesley College Botanic Garden. Her topic is A Sustainable Conservatory in New England? Lessons from Wellesley College’s Global Flora Project. The talk will be followed by a tour of the Global Flora Conservatory. For more information and to register, visit https://www.rhodora.org/meetings/upcomingmeetings.html
With a focus on diversity of form, and various microhabitats in the Dry House and Wet House at the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens, Global Flora will be a unique resource for experiencing and studying botanical wonders. Botanic Gardens Director Kristina Jones will go over the details of the project and answer questions. If you have favorite flora of fabulous form, please be ready to suggest them, as the list of taxa for initial inclusion is not yet closed. The event will take place in the greenhouses on Thursday, November 9 from 10 – 12. Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens free, nonmembers $10. Register by emailing wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu, or call 781-283-3094.
Explore the exciting opportunities for engaging in plant science at Wellesley College. Botanic Gardens Director Kristina Jones leads a tour of new gardens with a science education and research focus: the Creighton Educational Garden, Climate Change Monitoring Garden, Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden, and Farm in a Box, on Tuesday, September 23 from 3 – 4:30. After the garden tour, Kristina presents plans for Global Flora: transforming the five major houses of the Ferguson Greenhouse complex into an innovative display of plants from around the world, incorporating aesthetics, sustainable design, and new areas for plant study. Co-sponsored by Wellesley College Alumnae of Boston and the Wellesley College Botanic Garden Friends. Free for WCAB and WCBG members, non-members $15. Register by calling 781-283-3094, or email wcbgfriends@wellesley.edu.
The Wellesley College Botanic Gardens have some exciting new research gardens that are engaging students in multiple ways. On Tuesday, October 15, from 1 – 3, journey along with Kristina Jones, Director of the Botanic Gardens, and explore through the eyes of an ecologist the Creighton Educational Garden, the green roof planted with native species, the Climate Change Monitoring Garden, and the in-progress Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden, all within a short walk from the starting point at the Greenhouse Visitor Center. The tour is offered in collaboration with New England Wild Flower Society and Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens. WCBG members $24, non-members $28. Sign up at www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends, or call 781-283-3094.
The Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens are excited to announce a challenge pledge: a generous donor will match every contribution towards a Botany Fellow through the Center for the Environment, doubling the impact of your gift. If the Friends can raise $160,000 by May 1, they will be able to hire a Botany Fellow, with a focus on sustainable agriculture, possibly as soon as this fall. Gifts should be made out to Wellesley College, with an indication that they are for the Center for the Environment fund. You may also follow the directions at www.wellesley.edu/wcbgfriends and make a gift online: in step 2 click on the box to the left of “I would like to direct my gift to the following area(s)” and under “Other Designation” enter “Center for the Environment Fund.” For more information please call Kristina Jones at 781-283-3027.
Looking for a way to get a bigger bang from your garden, be it a small or large space? Struggle no more. Follow nature’s lead by combining plants into guilds – diverse assemblages of plants growing in healthy, self-sufficient communities in nature. Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Director Kristina Jones will explore the functions and interrelationships of organisms in natural plant communities, and how they can be applied to our gardens. A primary example will be the Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden at Wellesley College, where the understory communities are designed to support the needs of focal fruit and nut trees. Following the lecture, if the weather cooperates, join us for a late winter tour of the Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden and a spot of tea. Offered in collaboration with Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, Boston Junior League Garden Club, New England Wild Flower Society, and Friends of Wellesley College Botanic Gardens. Members $10, non-members $15.
Dr. Kristina Jones, Director of the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens and Assistant Professor of Biological Sciences at Wellesley College will address the New England Botanical Club on Friday, November 2, beginning at 6 pm at the University Museum’s Haller Lecture Hall, Room 102, at 24 Oxford Street in Cambridge. The public is invited. Dr. Jones’ topic is A Passion for Plants: How to Get Students Excited About Botany. For more information, visit www.rhodora.org.
