Cultivating Climate Action: Plant-Focused Education in Botanic Gardens and Arboreta
Climate change presents a significant global challenge, profoundly impacting plant life, from the food we consume to the trees that provide cooling shade in our communities. Conversely, plants are crucial in many solutions employed worldwide to combat climate change. Botanic gardens and arboreta are uniquely positioned to educate the public about these vital connections. The Plants and Climate Change Education (PLACCE) initiative supports these institutions in maximizing their impact through plant-centered climate change education.
The Plants and Climate Change Education (PLACCE) Initiative
The Plants and Climate Change Education (PLACCE) is a peer learning group dedicated to learning together; creating and testing plant-centered climate change education models; and sharing new understandings, resources, and best practices across the public gardens community. It is a collaborative effort between the Botanic Garden (USBG) and the American Public Gardens Association, engaging cohorts of peer institutions interested in exploring how botanic gardens and arboreta can maximize the impact of a plant-centered climate change education niche.
Goals of the PLACCE Program
The PLACCE peer learning group supports botanic gardens and arboreta interested in:
- Engaging public audiences with climate change through plant-centered programs, activities, or interpretation.
- Interacting with peer institutions to get feedback and share ideas on programmatic approaches in plant-centered climate change education.
- Creating and sharing plant-centered climate change education models with the broader community of botanic gardens and arboreta.
PLACCE Funding and Participation
Participating institutions receive \$50,000.00 to carry out this work and participate in PLACCE Peer Learning Group activities. Funds must be used to support the applicant’s proposed plant-centered climate change education project and the awarded organization’s staff’s participation in cohort activities.
The cohort participates in two in-person gatherings. The first is an in-person cohort meeting. The second is an in-person presentation. All other cohort meetings are virtual. PLACCE funds may be used for staff participation in PLACCE Peer Learning Group activities, including participation in virtual and in-person meetings and presentations. This includes staff time and travel. The Peer Learning Group anticipates meeting regularly, and the group will also meet to plan and implement their end-of-program presentations, including one in-person presentation.
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Eligibility for PLACCE
Eligibility is limited to botanic gardens and arboreta. Organizations that have previously participated in PLACCE are not eligible to apply. However, there might be cases where your organization supports a network of gardens or arboreta. In this case we’d suggest that you consider applying with one of the gardens or arboreta in your network and partnering with them to support the proposed program, activity, or interpretation.
Volunteers at your garden or arboretum whose volunteer roles function similarly to staff roles (e.g., volunteer gardeners, volunteer docents) would not be considered a public/external audience for PLACCE. Schools and teachers would qualify. Botanic gardens or arboreta based at institutions of higher education, even state-supported, are eligible to apply. The garden or arboretum should be the applicant.
Application Details
The application includes information about your proposed program, activity, or interpretation: goals, target audience, focal topic(s)/content that your plant-centered climate change education will address, high-level overview of how you will engage your target audience with this content, and anticipated outcomes.
Priority is given to applicants demonstrating strong potential to provide models for other gardens and arboreta interested in plant-relevant climate change education. If you are proposing to create and test multiple program models through your participation in PLACCE, please ensure that your application describes how each program model you are creating and testing would be able to serve as a model for other gardens and arboreta by the end of the PLACCE timeframe. Please also ensure you describe the feasibility of creating and implementing multiple program models within the PLACCE timeframe and budget.
With your application materials, you will be asked to complete a provided budget template detailing proposed uses of funds. Budget categories can include: personnel, fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, contractual, construction, and other. All expenses must further the proposed work described in your application. PLACCE programs, activities, or interpretation may not include policy advocacy or lobbying of any kind.
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Reporting and Outcomes
At the end of the program, you will be asked to report: expenses, general program information (number of participants, audiences engaged, number and types of engagements), responses to reflection questions about your team’s learning from the PLACCE experience. You will also be asked to share program products and communications materials. Finally, you will be asked to participate in up to two presentations.
The Role of Native Plant Education
The GNPS Educational Pathway is a curated experience for people to more easily access the most helpful and trusted information on native plants. This online course was developed after receiving much feedback from our members about the overwhelming amount of information available publicly about native plants. We have provided what we feel is the best information and resources for learning about native plants. Each module features core content, self-quizzes and additional resources to go beyond the basics. Course materials were curated by the GNPS Education Committee, many who have decades of knowledge and experience learning and teaching about native plants. The best part is that it is FREE to access for GNPS members. You must be a current GNPS member to access the Pathway. You will register for the course through the GNPS member portal and enroll through Canvas, an online course platform. Click on “Educational Pathway Access.” If it does not appear, your membership may not be up to date. Follow the prompts for registering.
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