UNC Botanical Gardens #SpotlightOnCLT Great Outdoors
UNC Botanical Gardens
Today's #SpotlightOnCLT brings us to the great outdoors at UNC Botanical Gardens. Its mission is to inspire a love for nature and plants through programming, classes, and displays. The gardens are free and open to the public, but also offer low-cost classes and tours for children and adults. In 2018, the Gardens had two Titan Arums bloom in the greenhouse, a rare sight in the world's botanical gardens. We spoke with Christen Hoover to learn more about the gardens, and their impact on the community.What would you like the community to know about the challenges your organization is trying to solve?
The UNC Charlotte Botanical Gardens provide a beautiful, welcoming space to connect our community with the world of plants through garden displays, educational courses, and fun events. We have a particular emphasis on building healthy ecosystems through incorporating native plants in the community through plant sales and our certificate in native plant studies courses that are open to the public. Admission to the Gardens is always free.
What is your organization’s role in the community?
We are a nonprofit, free botanical garden located on the campus of UNC Charlotte. We're open to the public 7 days a week and offer botanical displays, seasonal plant sales, educational classes and workshops, and fun events.
We love impact stories, could you share one?
After the campus shooting at UNC Charlotte in 2019, a student who was suffering from anxiety attacks told us that when she felt them coming on, she would RUN to the Gardens. Sitting on a bench surrounded by the beautiful trees and plants helped her ground herself, breathe deeply, and find peace to carry on through her day. We offer up this space as a place of beauty and respite, and education for not just the campus community, but the greater Charlotte community as well.
About the image pictured above: The Bonnie Cone entrance of the VanLandingham Glen portion of the Botanical Gardens.
Contact: Christen Hoover
Email: choove10@uncc.edu
SHARE Charlotte Nonprofit Profile: UNC Botanical Gardens