GCA's Shirley Meneice Conference is a packed two day event now in its fifteenth year given by and for fortunate GCA members. Named for and honoring a 93 year old woman's passion for horticulture, the conference offers education, connections and new and old friendships.
GCA President Anne Copenhaver opened the conference with references to Betty Smith's A Tree Grows In Brooklyn and then unleashed two full days of lectures, tours, power point presentations, networking and information.
Shirley Meneice encourages us to plant seeds we may never get to see grow. Brooklyn Botanical Garden (BBG) President Scott Medbury embraces that sentiment with the BBG vision focusing on youth, environment and education. In partnership with schools in New York City, the first BBG childrens' garden was planted in 1918. Ongoing site refinement has been strengthened by a $100 million campaign that has the dubious distinction of launching one week before the collapse of Lehman Brothers. They met their goal.
The spectacular green roof over the BBG Visitor's Center, aided by a 21 million gallon per year storm water overflow system, has won 20 awards including the prestigious National Honor Award by the AIA.
So called the "United Nations of Children", the BBG sponsors "Operation Green Reach". Children are nominated by their teachers to attend a six week program at BBG that includes a childrens' farmers' market and even camping. Teacher education focuses on "Urban Advantage".
With attendance of one million visitors in 2016, BBG's largest single day attendance to date is 56,000 visitors to the magnificent bird filled botanical garden.
Lectures offered to GCA members were given by experts in their fields. BBG's Curator of Native Plants, Uli Lorimer noted that botanists helped find plants and gave input into the early foundation of BBG.
Melanie Griffen, VP of Horticulture and Facilities at BBG spoke to the Sustainable Site Initiative, a complex and intensively run program to ensure re-development of brownfield sites, ensuring future resource supplies, monitor the effects of the urban heat island that is NYC and numerous care of ecosystems supporting nature,
Landscape Architect David Morrison gave insights into where art and nature meet. He explained that garden designers learn from scientists and enthusedabout the movement of grasses bringing a landscape alive. His recipe for landscape design includes mystery, complexity, coherence and legibility. He is no fan of sharp lines!
Amy Goldman told us about her enormous heirloom seed production that has been documented by a photographer using daguerreotype as his only photographic method.
Dave Borak, BBG's orchid expert noted that 27,800 orchid species date back to the Cretaceous Period, 800,000,000 years ago.
A tour of the Visitors Center green roof was only a glimpse into the engineering genius of a 9,000 square foot or ¼ acre grass garden that is geothermally independent.
This barely scratches the surface of what one can bring back from such a conference as the Shirley Meneice. It is a privilege offered by GCA for GCA members. It requires the attendee to reflect on how garden clubs can further their purpose in the preservation of horticulture and natural environments.
Barbara Cooch
Garden Club of Wilmington
President.
Christopher Roddick, an ISA-certified arborist at BBG, leading a workshop on the Holistic Approach to Caring for Trees. He is also the coauthor of the BBG handbook The Tree Care Primer, a BBG All-Region Guide.