THE RESPONSE OF BOTANICAL GARDENS TO THE REGIONAL AND GLOBAL LOSS OF PLANT BIODIVERSITY
by Karen H. Tillinghast
An Investigative Project submitted to Sonoma State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in Interdisciplinary Studies
D Jean Merriman Copyright 1996 By Karen H. Tillinghast
11 AUTHORIZATION FOR REPRODUCTION OF MASTER'S PROJECT
I grant permission for the reproduction of this project in its entirety, without further authorization from me, on the condition that the person or agency requesting reproduction absorb the cost and provide proper acknowledgment of authorship.
DATE: gj.~_
iii THE RESPONSE OF BOTANICAL GARDENS TO THE REGIONAL AND GLOBAL LOSS OF PLANT BIODIVERSITY
Investigative Project by Karen H. Tillinghast
ABSTRACT
Purpose of the Study:
My purpose was to review existing educational programs at other botanical gardens and to apply what I learned to develop environmental education curricula that can be used in the Sonoma State University Native Plants Botanical Garden. These curricula will bring about awareness of biodiversity loss and provide opportunities for action to restore that loss.
Procedure:
I explored the methods and philosophies of other botanical gardens by examining national and international garden organizations, and attending networking conferences. I also examined the goals of major local gardens through interviews with garden directors.
Findings:
Providing educational programs and creating thematic collection displays are the primary methods used by gardens today to increase public awareness of loss of biodiversity. Gardens have mission statements that help define their purpose as well as materials for guided or self-guided tours available for distribution to the public that focus on both their visitors' interests and the goals of the gardens.
Conclusions and Outcomes:
Although excellent educational material is available, gardens, recognizing the seriousness of the loss of biodiversity, need to develop programing that provides the public with more opportunities for participation in the restoration of biodiversity.
iv To address this need, I've adapted what I learned from other gardens to: create a Mission Statement for the Sonoma State University Native Plants Botanical Garden; shape the design and development of the SSU Garden; and publish written materials for self-guided educational curricula to be available in the Garden.
Chair: Date:
MA Program: Interdisciplinary Studies Sonoma State University
v TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page I. The Loss of Plant Biodiversity ...... 1 TI. Historical Role of Gardens ...... 6 m. The Modern Garden - World-wide Network...... 13 IV. Bay-area Gardens - Mission Statements ...... 20 V. SSU Garden Development ...... 27 VI. SSU Mission Statement...... 33 VII. Appropriate Curricula - Informal Learning ...... 35 VTIr. SSU Curricular Materials ...... 45 IX. Summary and Conclusions...... 91 Appendix ...... 92 Bibliography ...... 103
vi 1
Chapter I. The Loss of Plant Biodiversity
Our planet has a profound diversity of life. All its species are interdependent, united in a web of life... functioning as one. Peter Raven... the renowned Director of the Missouri Botanical Garden, explains biodiversity as follows:
Biodiversity is the sum total of all the plants, animals, fungi and microorganisms in the world; all of their individual variation; and all of the interactions between them. It is the set of living organisms that make up the fabric of the planet Earth and allow it to function as it does, by capturing energy from the sun and using it to drive all of Ufe's processesi by forming communities of organisms that have, through the several billion years of life's history on Earth, altered the nature of the atmosphere, the soil and the water of our planet through their life activities. (Raven 1994) The realization that this diversity is at risk is rapidly becoming common knowledge. We have all, even the youngest of school children, heard of endangered species. We all know about the clear cutting of our northern woods and the destruction of our rainforests. But the true extent of this loss and its consequences still may not be thoroughly understood or, more importantly, clearly heart-felt by the general public. Although extinctions are an innate part of the changing climate and conditions that have occurred on Earth, human impact in recent times has accelerated their rate. In effect, the majority of extinctions now result not from natural processes but from the actions of one single species, our own. Jon Rousch {1986} describes the human impact, in an article in the California Native Plant Society Journal, Fremontia, this way:
We have only a rough idea of how many species inhabit the earth, perhaps as many as ten million. But we do know that they are vanishing at an alarming rate. Normally, existing species become extinct at approximately the same rate as new 2 species evolve, but since the year 1600 that equation has grown increasingly lopsided. Informed estimates put the present extinction rate at forty to four hundred times normal... If the current trends continue some twenty percent of the species now on Earth will be extinct by the year 2000. (Rousch 1986) There are obvious reasons to care about loss of biodiversity. One is the need for diversity to keep natural systems in balance. Scientists agree that there is a minimum level of species diversity below which an ecosystem cannot function (Miller 1994). The removal of any element of a system can ultimately weaken the whole. Another reason is the fact that there may be unpredictable, and yet undiscovered, benefits to humans that could be derived from a single species. But another less Ilpractical" reason, though perhaps one just as important, is to recognize that the human spirit needs communication with other forms of life, in all their uniqueness and wonder, in order to fully experience life on our planet. Biologist E.O. Wilson describes this connection with other species over eons of time as the fabric that has made human beings what they are:
The destruction of the natural world in which the brain was assembled over millions of years is a risky step. And the worst gamble of all is to let species slip into extinction wholesale, for even if the natural environment is conceded more ground later, it can never be reconstituted in its original diversity. (Wilson 1984) He further explains:
What event likely to happen during the next few years will our descendants most regret? Not energy depletion, economic collapse, conventional war, or even the expansion of totalitarian governments. As tragic as these catastrophes would be for us, they can be repaired within a few generations. The one process now going on that will take millions of years to correct is the loss of genetic and species diversity by the destruction of natural habitats. This is the folly our descendants are least likely to forgive us. (Wilson 1984) 3 There is a spiritual and ethical mandate now before us. If we are to stop the loss of biodiversity, we must find a way to change our attitudes, overcome our lack of caring, and develop respect towards other species. We must learn to live by a new philosophy, like the one expressed by Aldo Leopold in A Sand County Almanac:
We now know what was unknown to all the preceding caravan of generations: that men are only fellow-voyagers with other creatures in the odyssey of evolution. This new knowledge should have given us, by this time, a sense of kinship with fellow-creatures; a wish to live and let live; a sense of wonder over the magnitude and duration of the biotic experience. (Leopold 1966) Personal commitment is a first step. Even a single individual can make a difference. But in addition, governments and public organizations must get involved. As U.S. Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt recognized the threat to biodiversity, and attempted to define a national policy:
If we truly want to protect biological diversity, we need to avoid crisis and confrontation. We can't afford to drag our feet until a species is on the brink of extinction and then argue about protecting its last small corner of habitat. We need a new approach: one that encourages us to think ahead and plan for the future; one that encourages us to look at whole ecosystems and not just tiny parcels of land. (Babbitt 1994) Conserving entire ecosystems rather than focusing on single species is fundamental to the preservation of biodiversity. Plants form the basis of life on this planet, and it is important to realize how they interconnect. Plants cannot function as individuals species, existing alone. They can only survive in an interdependent community. We will never save single species unless we understand they exist as part of a larger functioning unit. Nor can isolated plant communities exist as separate units. Saving small pockets of habitat in preserves, untouched, is not a viable solution. Studies of island biodiversity 4 have proven that isolation of habitats weakens species' ability to handle the stresses of an ever changing environment. The best way for the public to understand and appreciate biodiversity is to get to know the local flora and fauna. Here in California, human influences have endangered our regional biodiversity. There has been a tremendous population growth. Two hundred years ago, the population was made up of 300,000 Native Americans, but it is now expected to double from 30 million to 60 million by the year 2012 (Barbour et al. 1993), causing a tremendous impact on the biota.
California's plant diversity is great. With elevations ranging from 282 feet below sea level to 14,495 feet in altitude, climates ranging from desert to coastal, to foggy redwood forest, and to snowy alpine, and with eleven of the world's major soil groups, California has one of the most diverse vegetations in all of the United States (Barbour et al. 1993). More than 5,000 native plant
species are found here. Over 30% of California1s natives are found nowhere else in the world, but California's plant population is now under tremendous threat from weedy, introduced species. In 1894 there were only 16 known
weed species in the California landscape, but now, at least 1023 introduced species threaten our native vegetation and the animal species that depend on them. In addition to overpopulation and introduction of exotic species, grazing, fire suppression, lower air quality, and loss of land to development are also factors that continue to threaten the habitats of our native plants. The actions we take, as individuals, or as members of a larger organization or community, to learn about and to cherish life's diverSity, can make a significant difference in the future of our planet. Where can we go to find out more about plant diversity and what we can do to preserve it? Botanical Gardens have historically been places where plants were collected 5 and displayed for the public to view. What role do gardens play today in stopping the threats to biodiversity? 6 Chapter II. Historical Role of Gardens
Botanical gardens have taken the role of keepers of plants throughout the history of civilization. Studying the past role of the garden may give an indication of their potential for the future. Review of the History of Botanical Gardens Since their first appearance on earth, people have developed relationships with plants. Part of this developing relationship resulted in the collection, naming, and cultivation of plants in special gardens. Gradually, the collection and naming of plants from different areas of the world became the focus of what is known as the botanical garden. Changes in society are reflected in the changing role of the botanical garden; the history of people is accompanied by the history of people's gardens. The earliest known record of collecting and assembling plants into gardens dates back to about 1500 B.C. in Egypt where hieroglyphics tell the story of the existence of sacred gardens of useful plants (Cary 1996). Other early gardens were known to have existed around this time period in ancient China, Japan, and preMHispanic Mexico, but little information is available about them. Recorded Western history provides us with the most information about the development of gardens. The literature describes gardens in the Western world dating from the early middle ages in Europe and traces the botanical gardens of Western Europe through four distinct stages of growth during four major historical periods (Heywood 1987). 1. Middles Ages, Medicinal or Physic Gardens, also called Gardens of Simples The earliest known gardens in Europe were the herb gardens maintained at monasteries. During the Middle Ages, gardens of herbs were further developed in association with medical schools. The earliest of these 7 was established in Italy, at Pisa in 1543 (Heywood 1987). These early gardens existed primarily for the function of providing plant material for the instruction of students of medicine. At this time, all plants were believed to have a medicinal Use. The properties of many of the plants were known from herbals published over the centuries and were based on the classic work by Discortes, De Materia Medica, from the 1st Century A.D. Gardeners were expected to know the medicinal uses of the plants. These early gardens were all designed in a similar fashion, shaped in a square, and divided into four sections, with a fountain in the center. The sections represented the four corners of the world, and gave gardens a heightened symbolism. 2. The Classic European Garden Gradually, during the Age of Exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries, gardens expanded their collections, becoming centers for the display of plant diversity, with the four sections of the garden layout representing the four known continents. Plant material from the New World was added with great enthusiasm. Priest (1981) stated: "No visit to a modern Botanic Garden can now convey the excitement with which, between three and four hundred years ago, these first encyclopaedias were compiled." Great collections of plants from all over the world were established at large estates belonging to the aristocracy. Plant collections became status symbols. Garden layout was quite formal. By the 1700s, the Linnean binomial system ofplant classification became popular and collections of plants were counted, catalogued, and valued as possessions, rather than for medicinal usage, as in the past. 8 3. The Colonial Tropical Botanic Garden The gardens of the 18th and 19th century were motivated by trade, functioning as commercial enterprises rather than as classic botanic garden displays (Heywood 1987). The focus became the economic value of plants as crops, and the goal was the transportation of agriculturally useful plants from the colonies to the mainland. Glass houses were created for over wintering tender tropical plant material, called "greens"; hence the term "greenhouse" came into use (Cary 1996). The scientific role of the garden as a research and agricultural facility eliminated any effort to include or educate the public. 4. The Civic or Municipal Garden In the 19th and 20th centuries in Europe and the United States, as a result of growing democracy movements, many municipal, or public, botanical gardens sprung up. Often they were part of a educational institution such as a college or university. As time went on, gardens were established by city governments, as a symbol of their economic prowess (Lighty 1996). This rapidly became a golden age for gardens in the United States. Often abandoning the scientific role of research, the municipal gardens were institutions for people to enjoy. They resembled parks, less formal than the classic garden, with a community orientation and an emphasis on horticulture. During the same era, many large private estate gardens were established in both Europe and the United States as a result of a growing upper-class. Formal display gardens designed after the classic European model, these estate gardens eventually were opened to the public as a result of philanthropy on the part of the rich, or on some occasions, as a result of changes in taxation and inheritance laws (Lighty 1996). No single focused mission, other than display, existed in either the municipal or modern estate 9 garden. Little or no networking between gardens existed in the early part of the 20th century. Rather, all the varied interests representative of the long tradition of gardens were combined, including obtaining plants from around the world, naming and displaying taxonomic collections, and doing research for horticultural or commercial value. This was both a time of abundance and a time of lack of focus for botanic gardens. Today's Changing Role of Botanical Gardens By the 1970's, as we entered an era of increasing environmental awareness about the loss of biodiversity, many botanical garden staff members saw the need to take a role in plant preservation. Two possible strategies aimed at preventing further loss of plant biodiversity began to develop (Koopowitz and Kaye 1984). The first strategy involved attempting to grow and, hence, to preserve, threatened or endangered plant spedes. One method of accomplishing this goal was to save seeds of selected plant species in gene banks and grow them out periodically in garden beds. This strategy was first developed by the Royal Botanic Garden at Kew England. tiThe plan was to hold seeds in the bank until spedes could be repopulated in the wild" (Koopowitz and Kaye 1984). The first seed banks at Kew held seeds from plants Originally cultivated on site. The hope was to proceed to obtain seeds from plants grown in other gardens all over the world. However, as Koopowitz and Kaye indicated, it soon became evident that seed from cultivated plants "tends to have a restricted genetic base, with each new generation containing genes that allow the plants to succeed only within the narrow environment of the grower" (Koopowitz and Kaye 1984). In addition,· gardens began to realize that they were pursuing their own horticultural bias. By growing only the "best" plants, they may have overlooked unnoticeable survival characteristics in 10 favor of the more noticeable physical characteristics such as showy flowers. While it is now understood that collecting seed from the wild, rather than from cultivation, and periodically growing out that seed to retain viability, is a preferred strategy in gene banking, it too may have a limited significance. The costs in time and money may be high without achieving the desired goaL Plants grown in the controlled environments of most gardens ultimately loose their genetic variation and ability for long-term survival, as the very plants that are being saved are taken out of their natural context. In addition, a single environmentally adverse condition befalling a garden collection could wipe out whole populations of endangered species that were intended to be saved. Seeds held in freezers and plants grown in garden environments have a limited effect on saving the diversity of species that creates the balance of life on this planet. It is now obvious that conservation of habitat is a better way to save species diversity. This is usually an impossible strategy for botanic gardens themselves to follow, as most gardens are limited by acreage and location. Growing endangered plants in gardens as a conservation strategy does have validity, however, and has been taken up, and modified by conservationists who have been developing separate organizations devoted to this purpose. In the United States, an organization called the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) facilitates the role of the botanic garden as a partner in what is now called ex situ conservation. The focus of the program is to address the problem of endangered species and take action when a last resort attempt is needed. The CPC provides gardens with seeds from locally threatened populations from the wild (in situ), and then coordinates their cultivation in gardens (ex situ). The Center follows up to assist with their 1 1 reintroduction back to the wild. The Center is aware of the limitations of this aspect of their work and is careful to make it clear that "these programs are seen as an experimental, last resort strategy that is not an accepted alternative to protection and management of natural areas" (White 1996). However, the Center's commitment to have each garden that joins their organization "agree to a set of operating procedures that carefully define a major, long-term commitment to the care of plants from its particular region" (Thibodeau and Falk 1986) touches on a theme that needs to be in every modern garden's agenda: celebration of their own local flora. The second and now preferred strategy taken by botanical gardens to stop the loss of biodiversity as we enter the twenty first century is developing the role of the garden in education. Through education, gardens can inform the public of the serious threats to plant diversity and the need for immediate action. Peter White, a garden director from North Carolina, summarizes the garden's role as a leading force in conservation education:
It is not surprising that conservation has become a major theme in botanical gardens. When the first botanical gardens were founded, nature must have seemed an inexhaustible resource to be mined for its treasures. Sadly, we now can see the limits to our small world. Many botanical gardens have now recognized the moral obligation, the research challenges, the educational mission, and the public appeal that conservation represents. We must participate in the conservation of the very resource that gives our institution a reason for being. (White 1996) Rather than become the home of museum-like displays of extinct plant life, gardens can use their role in education to become centers where people can directly experience the beauty and diversity of plant life. William Feldman, another garden director, reminds us of the timeliness of this role:
We, more than any institution in our society, have the potential to touch people directly through an immediate experience of the beauty, diversity, wonder and sacredness of life itself. Botanical 12 gardens in the 21st century can be a celebration of life from which people emerge altered, imbued with the knowledge that time places them at a critical point of choice, and that they should choose life. (Feldman 1996) At this critical stage in the loss of biodiversity, gardens must expeditiously coordinate and help each other to refocus and change through networking. Sharing ideas about educational programming facilitates the development of the role of the garden in education. The following chapters focus on educational programming at botanical gardens globally, regionally, and locally. 1 3 Chapter III. The Modern Gardens - World-wide Network
Today, there are over 1600 major botanical gardens worldwide which receive over 150 million visitors each year (Willison 1994). Such a large public exposure could have a far-reaching effect on public opinion. The historical role botanical gardens once played in education creates a firm basis for further development. As we approach the year 2000, gardens are in the process of redefining their role. Valid educational programming must address the topics most vital to the issues of our modern world. Topics of traditional education in gardens included herbology, plant identification, and horticulture. Topics to be explored in modern garden education programming must expand to include new material, such as the value of native plants, the functioning of ecosystems, the web of life, and the seriousness of the loss of habitat and the related loss of biodiversity. With an effective educational agenda, botanical gardens can make an important contribution towards helping people make informed decisions about the future of our planet. The momentum for increasing the educational programming in gardens has an international and historical context. The following timetable, outlined in a book entitled Environmental Education in Botanic Gardens by Willison (1994) and published by Botanic Gardens Conservation International describes the series of international conferences attended by numerous governmental and international conservation organizations that lead to worldwide acknowledgment, even at the highest levels of government, of the loss of biodiversity and the need to make a commitment to Environmental Education: 14 1977 Tbilisi - The United Nations Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education (EE) defined the goals of EE to include fostering awareness of our problems, providing opportunities to gain knowledge, values, and skills, and offering the chance for acting upon this knowledge and awareness to create change. 1980 World Conservation Strategy - Published by the World Wildlife Fund, this document strengthened the call for a holistic approach to EE. 1985 1st International Conference on Botanic Gardens - Recognizing the role of the botanic garden in education, this conference called on governments, schools and industries to support garden programs through moral support, funding, and direct involvement. 1989 2nd International Botanic Gardens Conservation Congress - This conference recommended that all botanical gardens communicate the value of conservation to the widest possible audience. 1991 Caring for the Earth, A Strategy for Sustainable Development This conference emphasized the need for the people of the world to reexamine their values and change their way of living to conserve our planet's resources. It was recommended that information pertinent to the survival and well-being of the world's societies be disseminated through formal and informal educational programs. 1992 Global Biodiversity Strategy - This conference published a strategy emphasizing the importance of education in developing
biodiversity conservation. 1992 Earth Summit in Rio - This international conference sponsored by the United Nations emphasized the need for more education and
training on loss of biodiversity. 15 1993 Convention on Biological Diversity - This conference developed a new task force to educate about the loss of biodiversity (Willison 1994).
The result of this worldwide attention given to the loss of biodiversity and the subsequent call for action sparked the beginning of a movement among botanical gardens to take a stronger role in conservation education. Botanical gardens worldwide began establishing their own global networking organization in 1987. Known as the Botanic Gardens Conservation International (BGCI), an affiliate of the World Conservation Union (IUCN), this organization places a strong emphasis on public education. In 1994, they published a set of guidelines to help gardens develop educational programs of their own. Gardens were encouraged to create their own individual strategy, based on the extent of their facility and the make-up of their visitors. The BGCl recommended that each garden use a holistic approach, linking the educational programming aims to the overall aims of their garden by simultaneously developing an educational program along with a mission statement. Following the fundamental elements of an EE program outline by the Tbilisi conference, the aGCl suggested the following educational agenda
for all gardens: 1. Increase public awareness of environmental issues such as *the major threats that face the world's flora *the consequences of plant extinction *the local environment and its global context 2. Provide opportunities for the public to gain knowledge using their large collections of plants to interpret lessons in *the incredible diversity of the plant kingdom I 6
*the complex relationships that plants have developed with their environment *the importance of plants in our lives economically, culturally and aesthetically *the links between native plants and local and indigenous peoples 3. Promote the development of skills for action by *learning the practical and theoretical aspects of plant conservation through propagation and landscaping *learning how work carried on in the garden itself to save and conserve the world's flora can be practiced in other places In the United States a subgroup of the BGCI was created as the official national organization uniting all botanical gardens into one centralized group. It is called the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboretae (AABGA). As part my investigative project, I attended the 1994 national conference of the AABGA, hosted by the Huntington Botanical Garden in Passadena, California. The theme of the conference was liOn Common Ground." Seminars dealt with many issues such as preservation and restoration of biodiversity, fundraising, and multiculturalism. But the topics discussed most often and with the greatest enthusiasm were issues surrounding the importance of education in the botanical garden. In his introductory remarks, Robert Allen Skotheim (1994), President of the Huntington Botanical Garden, pointed out that in America, belief in education is a unifying force in our culture. "Education can be a path toward secular salvation" he stated. "More than ever before, cultural institutions such as ours are being asked to deliver education to the public.II 1 7
Keynote speaker, Dr. Daniel B. Botkin (1994), from the Center for the SttJ.dy of the Environment, urged public gardens to view their role in eO. tlcation as their primary focus for the 21st century. Gardens were c}.1.allenged to present biodiversity as the centerpiece of their efforts. They were also advised to provide informal science education, presenting topics apd programming in the humanities within the public garden context, to approach education from the visitors' perspective, and to recognize that human issues, as opposed to intellectual ones, motivate more significant le"Vels of garden visitation. Botkin challenged gardens to broaden their role in education in the following way: 1. Provide education about plant communities, their dynamiCS, and their importance to sustain life; this is especially important in light of the recent public interest in rain forests, old growth forests, and other plant communities and the attendant misinformation in the press. 2. Provide education about plant taxonomy, botany and natural history, acting as a refuge for an academic discipline currently undervalued by colleges and universities.
3. Provide education about the role of science in society ~ what science is, how it happens, and the role it plays in the progress of knowledge (Lee 1994). Botkin's emphasis on the need for gardens to display their collections With the concept of plant communities to stress the value of habitat, is a Significant and important departure from the traditional emphasis most gardens placed on display of single species. He also encouraged gardens to Change their programing to appeal to a larger audience. Reaching out, especially to a multicultural audience, was a major topic of concern at the Conference. What Botkin neglected to emphasize, however, was the ir:ttportance of the garden's role in providing its larger visitor audience with 1 8 the necessary tools and opportunities for their participation in solving environmental problems. In an article in the Journal of Environmental Education, Hungerford and Yolk (1990) discuss how educational programs can change behavior to promote responsible citizenship. They describe a three part progression that takes the learner from awareness of environmental issues to actions to solve them. Awareness of environmental issues is an important first step, and one that most botanical gardens now feel comfortable providing. However, awareness alone does not necessarily produce desired changes in behavior. The next step, one that does promote changing behavior, is ownership. The learner becomes aware that his/her own actions do have an effect on environmental problems, feels a part of the issue, and makes a personal committment to change their actions. The third and final step is empowerment, whereby the learner discovers ways to act to alleviate problems. The importance of this final step is that through action, learners realize that they are not just observers, that "they have the 'power' to use citizenship strategies to help resolve issues" (Hungerford and Yolk 1990). The AABGA conference offered a series of hands-on workshops in which examples of educational techniques were offered to conference participants. Most programing focused on awareness of biodiversity and environmental issues, as well as historical interactions between plants and people. Some provided action strategies. Regardless of the program, each presenter freely offered their ideas for everyone to use, borrow, or modify for their own gardens. The general feeling was that we are running out of time for each garden to go through the steps of reinventing an educational program from scratch. Any material that could be of use from garden staff who had already done some groundwork in educational programming would 1 9 be freely given to other gardens. The use of discovery carts, storytelling, game playing, and interactive interpretive signage were offered as possible ways to in"oIve visitors in active learning experiences. In addition to the workshops, examples of educational material published by gardens from allover the United States were available to participants. In these materials, I looked for common educational philosophies, themes, and methods that could be adapted to our gardens at Sonoma State University. I realized that most gardens, even those with extensive collections of plants from other regions, were increasingly focusing on the plants native to their region, and were often incorporating nature trails into their more cultivated collections. All gardens were concerned with changing people's attitudes about the importance of plants by using interactive ways of in.volving their visitors. Families and children were the usual target audience. Typically, gardens had budgets, staffing and volunteer organizations far more extensive than our garden. However, it was also obvious that much could be done even with limited resources. Although there was great enthusiasm about developing extensive programming! many gardens were undergoing serious financial constraints.
A t the same time that more was expected from garden education programs, public funding was becoming more scarce. The conference organizers made a great effort to help gardens find new funding sources for their programming. The limitations in public money in the nineties necessitate creative grant
~riting aimed at the private sector and the search for endowments, also from the private sector. After the conference! I visited several Bay-area gardens to get a closer look at what was happening regionally. 20 Chapter IV. Bay-area Gardens - Mission Statements
I scheduled interviews with four Bay-area garden directors to learn about gardens in our region and examine their goals and their educational programs. I interviewed each garden's educational director, when such a position existed. When there was no such position, I interviewed the garden director. The interviews each lasted about an hour, after which I toured the gardens. A list of interview questions is included in the Appendix. My first question to each garden director was inquiring about their garden's mission statement. Examining the mission statement of each garden was of primary importance to me to determine how the garden saw its
role. From there, I questioned the directors about their programsI their staff, their financial resources, and their goals for the future. The interviews were a valuable part of my inquiry into the role of the botanical garden in educating about the loss of biodiversity. Each garden had a devotion to the preservation of the world's flora, and each had their own way of emphasizing that goal within the context of their garden. In the following section, I have included exerpts from the texts of the gardens' missions statements and discussed what I considered to be the main focus of each garden's educational programs. Additional excerpts from the interviews are included in the appendix. Berkeley Botanical Garden The first garden I visited was the University of California Botanical Garden in Berkeley. Located in Strawberry Canyon just above the city of Berkeley, this garden has a large collection of plants from all over the world, including a greenhouse containing tropicals displayed in a manner resembling a tropical rainforest. One section of the garden was devoted to 21 displaying California natives. This section was undergoing renovation. A natural area made up of redwood forest was part of the garden's nature trail. As part of UC Berkeley, an institution with a focus on research, the garden saw a major part of its role as support for botanical research. The following is the text of their mission statement:
The mission of the Botanical Garden of the University of California at Berkeley is to study, interpret and preserve the diversity of plant life - our environmental heritage. In keeping with the University's rich tradition of academic excellence in science, the Garden serves as an important international education and research resource for scholars, students and the community. As a museum of living plants representing the world's major floras, the Garden is dedicated to advancing under standing of plant ecology, diversity and evolution. The Garden aids the university's mission of research, education and public service through instructional programs that feature the study and conservation of plants. The Garden's major role is to provide instruction and research opportunities in plant biology, ecology, ethnobotany, conservation and evolution to students and faculty from the campus. In serving this community, the Garden can provide a context for increasing the awareness of natural diversity, biological principles, environmental problems, and a heightened sense of the role of plants in our lives. Provision of information about plants (and their associated fauna) carries an urgency in this era of shrinking resources, vanishing species and growing concern for the quality and survival of our environments.
Berkeley's Education Director, Carol Baird, was particularly devoted to community outreach. She was instrumental in creating an environmental education program for the local children from Oakland and Richmond inner city communities. She saw the role of the garden, especially in a community where there was limited exposure to nature, as a place to teach love. She felt that without first exposing kids to this feeling of love for nature, lessons in 22 ecology and science would have little meaning. This is an excerpt from the interview:
~at can you do when you have a maximum of six hours with ~hildren for their whole life, here at the garden? We do mformal science education, not formal. What we feel we're really doing is teaching love and respect for the environment. Th~t's the first th~ng. Because if you can't excite people about their natural environment, they're not really going to be into conserving it. We're dealing, of course, with Oakland inner city kids, kids from Richmond, people we take by the hand and walk into the Redwood grove over there across the street, who are scared that there are bears in there and are reluctant to go in. Then we can't pull them out. It's an incredible experience and we have them handle a banana slug or see a lizard running around the garden. It's been an incredible experience for all of us. Tilden Regional Park Botanical Garden Tilden Park Botanical Garden, located in Wildcat Canyon, specializes in California native plants, displaying several thousand species from allover California. As the brochure states, "Tilden encompasses one hundred sixty thousand square miles in ten acres." The mission statement for the Tilden Regional Park Botanic Garden is a lengthy document of several pages, describing both the mission and the his tory of the garden. I will quote a few of the key statements:
The mission of the Regional Park Botanic Garden within the East Bay Region Park District is to enhance public knowledge and appreciation of the native flora of California: its beauty, its ecology, its history, its uses, and its threatened and endangered statuS. The garden displays native plants so the public can conveniently see, first-hand, their uniqueness and beauty;. and allows garden professionals to interpret them, so the pubhc can benefit from the accumulated knowledge of botanists, ecologists, horticulturalists and naturalists. The Regional Parks Botanic Garden offers the public irreplaceable encounter~ ~ith inten~e floristic diversity. H~re citizens gain an apprecIation of native plants and natural hIstory that they often do not achieve in the greater parklands. 23
The R~gior:a~ Par~s Botanic Garden is a safe refuge for many' of Cahforma s rapldly vanishing species, and as such it constitutes one of the East Bay Regional Park District's vital contributions to the future of the East Bay and all of California. The garden's most important contribution " however is a con~entr.atlOn. of all the best, most beautiful, and rarest plants in Cahf~rn.la, in geographic, ecological systematic, and horticultural assOCIations, designed to give visitors a heightened awareness and appreciation of the natural values not only of California in general, but also of the East Bay Regional Park District in particular. Steven Edwards is the Director of the Tilden Park Garden, which is part of the regional park department's holdings. The primary focus at the garden, according to Director Edwards, is to display the native flora in a manner that grabs people's attention. By designing the garden with sweeping areas of color, and including water features and forest trails that focus on the beauty of native plants, he feels he will encourage Californians to preserve their local flora. The garden is also beautifully designed for educational purposes, its sloping space divided into nine major regions corresponding to California'S natural areas. Along with the plant display are easy to read signs with common and Latin names written in large print, rare or endangered status if appropriate, information on elevation at which the plant flourishes, and a color code to know at a glance which areas the plant is from. Davis Arboretum Davis Arboretum is located on the UC Davis campus, and as such, comprises part of the campus landscaping. It is therefore a garden without gates and is open to the public at all times. The major focus of the garden is educational programming for both the UC Davis student population and for the community. Because of an extensive academic program at Davis that focuses on horticulture, agriculture, and botany, the garden serves as a outdoor laboratory for experimenting with natives in the landscape. In fact, a 24 large part of their programming for the community deals with the value of native plants in drought tolerant gardening. Additional acreage along Putah Creek, located just beyond the campus grounds, is also a part of the garden, and is used as a nature trail, primarily for children and families from the community. The University Arboretum has seven stated goals.
1. The University Arboretum shall serve as an outdoor laboratory and classroom to support the existing academic curriculum for botanically-oriented or landscape-oriented courses. 2. The University Arboretum shall serve as a documented collection of plants available for study by professional botanists and other scientists. 3. The University Arboretum shall provide educational programs for the University and the general public 4. The University Arboretum shall provide a means for horticultural trial of new plants under Central Valley conditions. 5. The University Arboretum shall provide areas demonstrating the landscape use of California natives, as well as other introduced drought-tolerant, disease resistant and low maintenance plants. 6. The University Arboretum shall participate in the conservation of rare and endangered California native plants, as well as rare and endangered plants from other parts of the world, where conformity within existing collection goals can be defended. Conservation of endangered habitats of the Central Valley will also be a priority for the Arboretum. 7. The University Arboretum shall serve as an open space and greenbelt to enhance the aesthetic qualities of the campus and surrounding community, preserve the history of the area and serve as a recreation area. The Education Director at Davis Arboretum is Diane Cary. Programs run by the garden are offered every weekend to families, and docents take school children on hikes all year long where programs have a strong emphasis on botany and landscaping. These topicS are approached by encouraging repeat visits to see how plants change over the seasons. The 25 ethnobotanical uses of plants are also a major topic in their educational programming. In addition, the botanical garden is beginning to participate more in local restoration projects. Mendocino Coast Botanical Garden
The Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens is located in a "banana beltll on 47 acres 3 miles south of Fort Bragg. The garden collection contains both exotics and California natives. Private landowners sold 12 acres of the original site to the California Coastal Commission in 1977. However, in 1986, when the private investors decided to develop the remaining acres, there was public outrage and as a result, the Coastal Conservancy bought the remaining 35 acres. Consequently, part of the mission of the garden is to provide coastal access to the public. The garden is divided into three sections: the display gardens, the canyon filled with rhododendrons and lush coastal rainforest species, and the winding trail to the shoreline through stands of native bishop pines and shore pines interspersed among windswept meadows. Their mission statement was brief and obviously written in a format for public distribution. I liked the fact that it was something that they wanted
the public to know about. It reads as follows:
* To maintain a quiet, aesthetic botanical garden for the education and enjoyment of residents and visitors to the Mendocino Coast. ... To provide public access to the coast. ... To preserve and protect the Garden's pro:r:erty for the . conservation of plants which are appro:r:nate to ~he umque climate of the Mendocino Coast and WhICh contrIbute to global plant conservation efforts. . . .. ,.. To protect and enhance wildlife and theIr habltats wlthm the Gardens. ,.. To provide facilities for comm,:ni~y-serving uses which are compatible with the overall ObjectIves of the Gardens. 26 Mendocino Coast Garden is a small but very well organized garden. It is unique in its funding in that the garden is self-supported. An admission charge, a gift shop run by volunteers, garden memberships, and plant sales make up the cost of running the garden. The staff is small. Ken Montgomery, the director, was attempting to define the future direction of the garden. There was a need to balance the several very different focuses of the garden which included: maintaining a unique collection of horticultural plants, including rhododendrons, camellias, and fuchsias; developing the trail to the coast as a display of the California flora native to the coastal region; and creating an educational program that would consist of hikes for school children and an experimental organic garden for community involvement. His primary aim was showing people how to blend the cultivated garden with the natural environment. He had a strong commitment to displaying the uniqueness of the California Coastal habitat. Each garden I visited had the common goal of reaching out to the public to encourage them to appreciate the local flora. This is also a goal of the Sonoma State University Native Plants Garden. Going beyond appreciation of the flora and reaching out to the public to encourage active involvement in its preservation and restoration is a challenge that each garden must meet according to its individual resources. The next chapter
examines the development of our garden. 27 Chapter V. SSU Garden Development
The History of the SSU Native Plants Botanical Garden: The Early Years The Sonoma State University Native Plants Botanical Garden is one of many botanical gardens worldwide that are exploring their mission and experimenting with relevant educational programing. Looking at a garden's history and reexamining its goals and methods is helpful in guiding future decisions. The information about the history of the garden recorded in this section was obtained from an interview with the founder of the SSU Native Plants Botanical Garden, Dr. Kenneth Stocking. In 1973, Dr. Stocking, Professor of Biology and Environmental Studies,
founded the Native Plants Botanical Garden as an educational project to demonstrate the concept of plant communities to students at Sonoma State University. One of the incentives for its creation was actually the political climate of the late sixties and early seventies, when the shortage of gasoline abruptly put an end to the longer field trips that biology classes regularly took to places such as Yosemite and Calavaras Big Trees. Creating a garden on site was a timely educational project, and was approved by the University
Administration. An architect, Ken Anderson, was employed by the State of California to oversee the design and layout of the garden. His recommendation to create hills a.nd berms as part of the garden design was followed in the construction process. Biology Professor Dr. Chuck Quibell recommended the addition of locally available specialized rock to simulate native substrate. Three hundred seventy five yards of Sonoma metavolcanics, from a quarry on petaluma Hill Road, were imported to the area that was to become the Oak Woodland Plant 28 Community. Two hundred and fifty cubic yards of Franciscan shale, an old formation prevalent around the Occidental area, was appropriately placed in the Chaparral Plant Community. This rock was obtained from a quarry on Mark West Springs Road. Finally, 24 cubic yards of serpentine, imported from Calavaras County, were placed in the area which became the Serpentine Plant Community. Major rocks were placed as specimens (also included in the original design of the landscape architect). The native soil of our campus, adobe clay, supported the rest of the garden plantings, with the exception of the Copeland Creek Communities, where the soil naturally occurring along the creek was a rich sandy loam. The Native Plants Garden was laid out into 15 plant communities that were intended to represent the major floristic provinces of California, based on A California Flora (Munz 1968). Those represented included:
1. Oak Woodland 2. Yellow Pine Forest 3. Douglas -Fir Forest 4. Mixed Evergreen Forest 5. Freshwater Marsh 6. Swamp 7. Grassland 8. Chaparral 9. Serpentine 10. Redwood Forest 11. Red Fir Forest 12. Riparian Forest 13. North Coast Coniferous Forest 14. Closed Cone Pine Forest 15. Vernal Pool Besides being a place to study the biotic communities, the garden provided the additional dimension of offering students the opportunity for hands-on experience with plants. Beginning in 1973 with the first tree plantings, students played a major role in the development of the garden. Almost the entire collection of plantings came from stock purchased in one 29 gallon sized pots, and planted by students. Other species were introduced from seed, purchased or collected, and then raised by university students or employees. Students got a chance to work in the garden as part of their participation in the class offered by Dr. Stocking entitled "Native Plants, Indians, and Survival.!! The educational component of this class emphasized uses of native plants as drought resistant landscaping, as medicinal plants, and as edible plants, from an historical and ethnobotanical perspective. In addition to the available university coursework, many students worked in the garden on their own individual projects. One student pioneered a trail along Copeland Creek, where non-native blackberry plants dominated the vegetation. Another placed a memorial log, with plantings, in an area in the Redwood Community, to honor a friend who lost his life in Vietnam. Anthropology students built a hogan, as a replica of a Native American structure. A psychology student built a fire pit and conducted a fire ceremony, reminiscent of ceremonies held by primitive cultures. Even after their graduation, former students working in the environmental field have continued to contribute to the development of the garden with services, such as volunteer labor from Circuit Riders, or donations of plants, such as those given by California Flora Nursery. Such creative uses of the garden by Sonoma State University students and former students have always been encouraged. These opportunities still exist in the
garden today. Support from the Administration has been ongoing and appreciated. In fact, over time, as the value of the garden is more clearly known, the support has increased. The only major conflict with the University over the twenty four year history of the garden has been the discussion over the 30 placement of roads, through and adjacent to the garden, to provide additional access the rest of the campus. These issues now seem to have been resolved. Dr. Stocking, in his vision for fulfilling the potential use of the garden, hopes that the garden will continue to be used as a place "to develop communities among people, by encouraging human activities that bring people together in positive ways." Recent Developments and Future Plans For the Garden My role in the Garden has been to continue and to expand upon the original concept of the garden. I have worked in the Garden since 1980, first as a work-study student and then, starting in 1982, as a campus employee. Since I first began my graduate program in 1989, my focus has been to learn more about environmental education so I could apply this knowledge towards enhancing the garden's potential as an educational setting. The recent projects I have helped to develop in the garden have been part of a plan to integrate my studies and my work with a hands-on thesis project. The Garden's self-guided tour booklet, revised and expanded in a project I did as part of my graduate coursework for Biology Special Studies, is regularly used in courses at the University. It is also available to individuals and to tour groups. Almost a thousand copies have sold so far. Plant communities in the garden are constantly being modified to resemble more accurately the areas they represent. Some of the communities have been more successful than others. The Oak Woodland, at the entrance of the Garden, has become a successful display of our most representative local flora. Additions of wildflowers and other understory vegetation would enhance the beauty of this area and draw more attention to this plant community. The riparian trail is another very successful part of the Garden. The four plant communities represented there, Redwood Forest, Red Fir 3 1
Forest, Riparian Forest, and North Coast Forest, all have blended in a trail lined with native and naturalized plants that meanders along the creek. The atmosphere gives the feeling of being far from the rest of the campus environment. The Freshwater Marsh, though filled artificially, has developed as a beautiful representation of a wetland, and is an excellent bird and insect habitat. The Grassland, with the adjacent Valley Oak Savannah and Vernal Pool, is slow to develop but has great long-term potentiaL With the winter plantings of meadow foam; the Vernal Pool has been more successful over the past two years than ever before. Additions of other wildflowers, especially our locally endangered vernal pool species, would enhance its beauty. In the Grassland Community, the native grasses are slowly establishing themselves in the meadow, but the competition of annual grasses is a challenge. With additional work and funding, a wildflower meadow could be established in this community, and it would contribute tremendously to the appeal of this area. We are now in the process of writing a grant for the extension of the butterfly garden into the grassland meadow. Student involvement is still an important part of the garden, but should be expanded. Student interns aid in maintaining garden trails and keeping up with garden maintenance. With the help of students, planting records are kept on a computerized filing system. The Demonstration Garden area is a place for students and volunteers who want experience gardening with natives. Development and layout of the new Butterfly Garden planting area, adjacent to the Demonstration Garden, is the main focus of the hands-on portion of my thesis project. (See Garden map in the appendix.) The Butterfly Garden Curriculum, included in this thesis project, is a result of my own hands-on learning experiences with local butterflies and their habitats. Many of the new plantings in the garden 32 in the last several years have focused on this horticultural area, since it seems to offer the best opportunity for beginning an EE program. The Butterfly Garden represents all that is stated in the mission of the garden: beauty of display, lessons in ecology, the creation of a restful atmosphere, and opportunities for actual experience with restoration of habitat. In addition, the Butterfly Garden has been important in encouraging the creation of a base of volunteers froIn the community. Since 1993, members of the Santa Rosa Women's Garden Club have been coming to the Butterfly Garden on a weekly basis to work on the plantings. Volunteers have also raised money for the garden by applying for and receiving a grant from the P.E.T.A.L.S. project. Sponsored by Shell Oil Corporation, this grant was given to support Environmental Education in gardens. 33 Chapter VI. SSU Garden Mission Statement
Part of the individuality of each garden is reflected in its mission statement. Along with the overriding goal of plant conservation, mission statements are based on the nature of the displays, the extent of the collections, and the requirements of the garden's financial affiliations or obligations. There are many far reaching goals and vital issues, both local and international, that can be included in a mission statement. These are simplified into four broad categories, that most gardens address in their own way, in an article by Shannon Smith, Director of Horticulture at Missouri Botanical Garden, who stated "Research, education, display and conservation, in many forms, are what we do" (Smith 1996). The Sonoma State University Native Plants Garden operated for almost 25 years without a written mission statement. As a part of my investigative project, I composed a set of goals for the Garden based on its history and potential for the future. In writing the SSU Garden Mission Statement, I wanted to focus on simple, attainable goals that addressed the Garden's role in preserving plant biodiversity. On the following page is our mission statement, one that combines our history with our potential for future growth. 34 SONOMA STATE UNIVERSITY NATIVE PLANT BOTANICAL GARDEN MISSION STATEMENT
TO DISPLAY THE FLORA OF CALIFORNIA IN A WAY THAT EXEMPLIFIES THE NATURAL BEAUTY AND DIVERSITY OF THE BIOTA AND ENCOURAGES THE APPRECIATION OF THE NATIVE PLANTS OF OUR
REGION.
TO SHARE KNOWLEDGE OF THE HISTORY, THE ECOLOGY, AND THE ETHNOBOTANY OF OUR NATIVE FLORA., PROVIDING TOOLS AND INFORMATION FOR EDUCATING OUR COMMUNITY.
TO CREATE A QUIET, PEACEFUL AND MEDITATIVE ATMOSPHERE FOR THE PEOPLE OF OUR COMMUNITY, AS A REFUGE TO ENJOY IN AN
INCREASINGLY URBAN ENVIRONMENT.
TO PROVIDE OPPORTUNmES FOR PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE
PRESERVATION AND RESTORATION OF PLANTS AND THEIR HABITATS, CONTRIBUTING TO BOTH LOCAL AND GLOBAL PLANT
BIODIVERSITY, FOR ALL FUTURE GENERATIONS. 35 Chapter VII. Appropriate Curricula - Informal Learning
Creating environmental education programs in gardens has tremendous potential. Each garden must focus both on what message they want to share with the public as well as what the public needs to understand most, and then try to accomplish that. In order to develop the best educational materials possible, it is also important to have an understanding of how people learn and what unique experiences gardens have to offer as places of learning. The goal of environmental education programing to foster responsible citizenship can only be addressed in garden programs where visitors feel that there are opportunities, either in the garden or as a result of their visit to the garden, for them to participate and succeed in activities promoting stewardship. The Informal Approach Formal a.nd informal learning environments are both part of our educational system in America today. Since the 1980s, a new understanding of how people learn, and the variety of learning styles, has encouraged teachers to try new approaches to classroom learning. The classroom still retains a more formal setting, however, with certain required agenda. Gardens are not constrained by the necessity to comply with any particular agenda, and have the freedom to choose their own subject matter in an informal learning center. Gardens are interdisciplinary in nature, displaying both art and science in an atmosphere that combines beauty and learning,
something a school setting cannot often accomplish. When developing garden education programs, it is important to contrast as much as possible with the more formal classroom learning approach to get the attention of the visitor. In a comparison of formal and 36 informal learning methods, Dr. Stephen Bitgood (1992) described informal learning as being more visual and kinesthetic than formal Iearmng, ' w h'lC h IS ' often characterized by sitting and listening. He also saw the motivation of the learner in an informal setting as more self-directed than in the formal setting. In addition, he described informal learning as emphasizing experience rather than knowledge. Field experience in the garden can offer the best in informallearning, giving the visitor a chance to gain an awareness of nature first hand which can then lead towards actions in support of nature. The experience of a walk through a garden woodland or forest leads to discussions of the ecology of forest communities, A walk along a creek trail, with an accompanying explanation of how a creek feeds into a greater watershed that ebbs and flows with the changing seasons, helps explain riparian ecology. Knowledge of the ecology of these comm.unities, and subsequent awareness of the threats to these and other ecosystems can then lead to a discussion of issues and values surrounding human influences on these ecosystems. Gardens then have an opportunity to show visitors what they are doing to limit the destruction of habitat and the accompanying loss of biodiversity. They can provide inspiration, encouragement and ideas for the visitor to participate in related
activities on their own. Gardens should examine their programs to determine whether they are effectively reaching out to involve their visitors. Cynthia McKenzie (1994), of the Chicago Botanical Garden, provides a checklist, based on research by museum professionals, for assessment of the best informal learning experiences. When establishing informal curricular materials, she
suggests you ask the following ten questions: 37
1. Is the experience self-paced and self~directed? 2. Is the experience nonlinear, with no set beginning Of end? 3. Is the experience visually oriented? 4. Is the experience fun? 5. Does the experience allow for social interaction? 6. Does the experience allow direct access to all the senses? 7. Does the experience require only small amounts of simple reading and allow everyone to be a beginner? 8. Does the experience allow for discovery and mystery solving? 9. Does the experience accommodate individual learning styles, allowing the reader to read, the doer to do, the listener to listen, etc.? 10. Does the experience appeal to people of all ages? These questions can serve as a helpful guideline in developing educational programs, though programs vary in their ability to conform to all the points on the list. Self-guided tours, for instance, are self-paced, as in point number one, but often not sodal, as in point number five. Docent-led tours are not self-paced, and can often be more linear experiences, but they tend to be more social, kinesthetic and discovery oriented. In addition to the ten points on this list, a final question should be added: Does the experience lead the visitor to actions that empower him/her to participate in solving environmental problems? The latest research in environmental education points out that knowledge of environmental problems alone not only fails to significantly change behaviof, it often leaves people feeling hopeless about the extent of the problems. Gardens must find ways to reach people that offer them real opportunities for action, or the public garden will loose its significance as we 38 enter the twenty~first century. The research of Hungerford and Volk (1990) provides an educational model for gardens that can successfully translate awareness into responsible citizenship. Knowledge provided by gardens about ecosystems encourages the visitor to develop sensitivity to the environment. Visitors must then acquire feelings of ownership, that they are an important part of the world around them. Empowerment, the final and crudallast step, where action skills and strategies are shared, must become the focus of gardens today. Topics in the Garden Choosing topics and creating programs that will follow the Hungerford and Volk model for successful EE programing is the challenge to educational directors. One of the most developed and most cooperative programs presented at the 1994 AABGA Conference was given by a representative of the Midwest Public Garden Collaborative Project. This project serves as a good prototype for developing programs for school children that focus on science education. Funded by the National Science Foundation, the program consisted of a Public School - Public Garden partnership for improving science education in the schools of the midwestern region with garden field trips. Local schools were given the chance to experience informal science education in one of the five regional gardens: Chicago Botanic Garden, Missouri Botanic Garden, Morton Arboretum, Holden Arboretum, and University of Minnesota Landscape Department. The program was heavily supported by the public schools because the basis of the curriculum was the use of subject matter from the school's science framework, presented in an informal setting. The gardens worked together to develop their programs. The field experience model used in this project, and the one commonly used in most informal educational settings, consists of three events: 39 1. The orientation (pre visit) conducted at the school site by either a docent, parent, or teacher during which subject matter is introduced.
2. The explorational field trip, utilizing site resources for a hands-on experience. to acquire skills and develop a more complete understanding of the science concepts being explored. 3. The reinforcement (post visit) in the classroom consisting of a discussion of science concepts learned at the site, often including an evaluation or feedback by both teachers and students. The Midwest Public Garden Collaborative Project identified five major topics in plant science that fit into Midwest public school science frameworks and that could be easily taught in hands-on lessons at botanical gardens.
These discovery units include: 1. Life processes - In order to survive, all living things perform processes of obtaining and utilizing air, water, food and energy, in addition to developing means of protection and reproduction. 2. Structure and function - The parts of living things are intimately connected with and related to the life processes which ensure their
survival. 3. Diversity and plant adaptations - Living things exhibit a great deal of diversity and a remarkable capacity for adaptation. These qualities allow individuals and communities to use available
resources efficiently. 4. Interdependence of life - Members of plant and animal worlds depend upon each other for their ongoing survival, both as individuals and as members of communities and ecosystems. 40 5. Human impact and stewardship - People as individuals and as a group depend on plants. As members of a global ecosystem, humans impact the environment which supports them in a wide variety of ways. When developing garden curricular projects for school children, the concepts offered above could be included to address school science frameworks, although frameworks do change from state to state. Other disciplines, however, are also appropriately addressed in the garden setting and should not be left out of a garden curriculum. Integrated approaches to curriculum will more fully involve the visitor. Arts and crafts are important to those who learn by doing, and there are many materials and inspirations in a garden for these projects. Writing, story telling, and vocabulary skills add to make it an integrated and interdisciplinary learning experience. I found one of the most positive aspects of this regional program to be the extent of the cooperation that existed between the schools and the gardens of an entire geographic area. Bringing people together in cooperation is also an important action skill that gardens can promote. Programs for schools and programs for the casual visitor do not necessarily have to vary tremendously. In an article in the AABGA newsletter, edu.cation director Carol Fialkowski (1990), discussed how the programs at the Chicago Botanical Garden, one of the gardens involved in the Midwest Collaborative Project, developed their approach. In all their public programs, the Chicago Botanical Garden tried to "incorporate two models - awareness through the use of process skills, and understanding and empowerment through ownership, investment and knowledge" (Fialkowski 1990). Fialkowski found that the best way to involve visitors was to start with an environmental issue or problem that needed to be solved. Using the issue
41 as the starting point proved to be a successful way to actively involve the casual visitor as well as provide teachers with a structure for science lessons. She then created an activity surrrounding that issue that worked back to knowledge acquisition. Finally, strategies for action were generated by either visitors' ideas or suggestions from the garden. Audience Assessment - Tools to Reach The Public Reaching the largest possible audience is one of the challenges of gardens today. Education programs in gardens often focus on children. Since the fate of the world's biodiversity depends on the actions of future generations, children are perhaps our most important audience in the long run. Most gardens hope to attract a variety of people,however, and promote lifelong learning by appealing to all ages. Hands-on, active learning has a universal appeal. Including philosophical issues keeps the attention of the older children and the adults by adding a depth to the experience. Good programing includes both of these components. Printed educational materials are a part of all garden education programing. One of the simplest ways for a garden to introduce ideas and activities to an audience is by publishing an educational brochure. Self guided brochures can be available in the garden for distribution to visitors without the need for staff to be present to interpret. Kevin Niemi, Education Coordinator at Olbrich Gardens (Niemi 1995), suggests: "Inexpensive to produce and easy to update, self-guided tour brochures are one way to educate
and involve visitors.lt Four basic elements should be considered when
creating a small brochure. 1. Audience - It is always necessary to assess your audience as to age group and level of knowledge before writing the brochure. However, for an introductory brochure, the informational content 42 for adult and child may not need to be so different. A simplified format is most appealing to all ages. 2. Layout - A desirable layout consists of bright, bold drawings and sparse text. Niemi suggests this rule of thumb: "Write it, then cut out half." 3. Content - A thematic approach is an important attention getter. Walking tours of numerous plant species have their place, but a theme focuses the attention of the visitor. An example of a good theme is edible plants, or ethnic uses of plants. Interactive brochures in which you are directed to find certain things in the garden is a good approach for families. 4. Evaluation - Monitoring the number of brochures used and questioning the people using the brochures for feedback will give you ideas on the effectiveness of your materials. When writing the brochure, consulting with others knowledgeable on the selected theme may help. Don't hesitate to change what doesn't work, come up with something new, and try again. Brochures are relatively easy to publish, but are limited in their effectiveness. It is important to try to ask questions or pose mysteries to be solved to make the brochure more than just informational. Unfortunately, brochures have the disadvantage of lacking interaction between the garden staff and their visitors. Whenever possible, a garden should offer more than just printed materials. Workshops, classes, or touring opportunities are more active ways to be sure that the message gardens are offering is made clear to its
visitors. 43 Garden Layout. Gardening Techniques The layout of the garden, and the method in which the plantings are presented to visitor influences their experience in the garden. In an article by lain Robertson in The Public Garden, the quarterly publication of the AABGA, Robertson described the garden setting as an ideal place, in an increasingl y urban and technological world, for people to redefine their relationship to nature. For the past several centuries, he stated, people have understood their world by taking it apart. Gardens did the same. They collected plants, categorized them, and displayed them as individuals, separating them from each other. "Plant collections composed of individual representatives of different species were the basis of all botanical garden collections and defined the most traditional role of botanical gardens" (Robertson 1996). In this critical time of loss of biodiversity, gardens must shift away from exhibiting single species and rather place their emphasis on exhibiting habitats and ecosystems. Identifying individual species is less important than identifying the dynamic connections between species and their environment, portraying the natural world as a functioning whole rather than as a series of separate entities. This approach brings the greatest understanding of
biodiversity and our part in it. Garden plantings can be arranged to show how plants function together, how they are connected to animal life, and how they respond to the non-living parts of the environment, such as water and sunlight. A garden layout that displays plants with a thematic approach, such as drought tolerant gardens, wildlife gardens, butterfly gardens, and restoration sites, also provides visitors with new ways to approach their own horne landscape. 44 Gardens need opportunities to discuss horticultural techniques and their effect on the environment. Methods such as nutrient recycling through composting and natural mulching eliminate the necessity for chemical fertilizers and herbicides, and also save water. A garden that emphaSizes eliminating the use of pesticides provides an example of successful organic methods and shows how the food chain works without human manipulation. These approaches to learning and teaching can be adopted to succeed in any garden. The curricular materials to be offered at SSU will reflect its audience, setting, and mission. Our garden is a small oasis of native and naturalized plants in the middle of the urbanized environment of Rohnert Park. Our audience consists of the University community, including students and staff, children on field trips, and members of the community, primarily groups of retired people. We have very limited usage of the garden by families. Given constraints of funding and personnel, the self-gUided brochure is one appropriate format for reaching some of our garden visitors. The garden must be realistic about how much can be done with the limited financial and staff resources that are provided through the university budget. Ways to overcome constraints should be pursued, however. The best assurances that our mission can be more effectively fulfilled depend upon building a volunteer base, including a core of student interns, offering a college course for studying botanical garden development, and continuing to
supplement the budget with grant funding.
I
45 Chapter VIII. Curricular Materials
As the culmination of my project, I have identified five themes for the development of curricular materials at the Garden. These themes make the best use of our plant resources while exploring topics based on relevant contemporary ideas. The following is a list of titles and short descriptions of each theme:
1. Butterfly Meadow Trail - This trail begins in the Grassland Plant Community and consists of a pathway throughout the meadow. A series of benches under the oak trees facilitates observing butterflies in action. Tips on butterfly gardening demonstrate how even small backyard restoration projects can have a positive effect on providing habitat for butterflies and other wildlife species and give home gardeners a way to participate in stopping the loss of biodiversity. 2. Web of Life /Basketry Trail- This trail utilizes the circular path around the marsh and the small adjacent gathering place to study the wetland food chain. Certain marsh plants important in ethnobotany show how humans have always been a part of the web of life. Arts and crafts projects, induding weaving with plant materials, involve students in hands-on
activities with plants. 3. Nature's Drug Store - This discovery brochure includes a search for medicinal plants throughout the garden. A discussion of the origins of medicines in the plant kingdom leads to the realization that the loss of biodiversity, as a result of deforestation and development, threaten medicinal plants worldwide. Searching for plants teaches basic botany and
plant identification techniques.
46 4. To Eat or Not to Eat - This trail follows the Copeland Creek Riparian Community, exploring a habitat with many edible and poisonous plants. The value of this ecosystem in providing wildlife with food and habitat along a continuous corridor illustrates the values of a continuous regional watershed, and encourages strategies for stream protection and restoration projects throughout our community. 5. Gardening with Oaks - This trail through the Oak Woodland Community informs people of the importance of the native oaks, their horticultural requirements, and how to work with them in landscaping. Studying the water needs of oaks leads to discussions of the value of drought tolerant gardening. Examples of appropriate plant materials offer ideas for home gardening. Each idea goes through some or all of the following stages of development to become a complete educational package: ,. Begin with an idea that captures interest.
It- Develop the landscape with new or modified plantings.
It- Produce a concise informational brochure for distribution to the
public. ,. Install an interpretive sign on site. ,. Produce an expanded packet of information for teachers or other
interested people. The following description of the Butterfly Meadow Project follows the
steps described above. The Butterfly Meadow Trail -The Idea The most developed of these themes in the garden is the Butterfly · h 's included at the Meadow Trail. The informal curriculum for t hIS t eme 1
47 end of the thesis project. It serves as the prototype for future curriculum projects in the garden. The Butterfly Garden has been an on-going project since 1992, when I first worked with a student intern to create a section of the garden devoted to butterfly plants. Shortly thereafter, volunteers from the Santa Rosa Women's Garden Club showed an interest in the project, and we began to meet on a weekly basis to weed and plant in the butterfly garden. In 1994, members of the Garden Club and myself worked together to get a grant to expand our project. We received five hundred dollars from a Shell Oil P.E.T.A.L.S. Grant. We are now working on a new grant from the California Horticultural Society the expand the Butterfly Meadow TraiL The Garden Layout The Butterfly Garden is located in the center of the SSU Native Plants Botanical Garden (see map in appendix) in a section devoted to horticultural uses of native perennials. The butterfly plantings have now extended out into the grassland meadow. We intend to continue the display along the
grassland trail. The Butterfly Brochure In the Appendix is a copy of the Butterfly Garden brochure I wrote with the volunteers from the Santa Rosa Women's Garden Club. The brochure was written for the general public as an introduction to butterfly gardening. It was funded by the grant from Shell Oil's P.E.T.A.L.S. Project. It is available
for free in mailbox at the Butterfly Garden. The Interpretive Sign Funding through a grant will be used to place an interpretive sign on the wall of the garden work center, located adjacent to the Butterfly Garden.
48 The panel will inform visitors of the loss of butterfly habitat and promote backyard butterfly gardening as a way to restore it. The Extended Package of Information The Butterfly Gardening packet (text only without graphics) is included here. This extended packet will be available as a garden publication for those who want additional information on butterfly gardening, and will be published in its final version, graphics included, with grant funding. The first in a series of theme garden publications, the packet is written for a broad audience, including college students, community members and elementary school teachers, with special sections of activities for children.
49 BUTTERFLY GARDENING
"I offer this, then, as a formula of reenchantment to reinforce poetry and myth: mysterious and little known organisms still live within reach of where you sit." E. O. Wilson 50 Table of Contents
Prologue I. Why Make a Butterfly Garden? II. How·to Basics of Butterfly Gardening Elements of a Butterfly Garden Garden Design Planting a Butterfly Garden III.Butterfly Biology Life Cycles and Adaptations to the Environment Vocabulary Butterfl y Classifica tion IV. Nectar Flowers for the Butterfly Garden Non-Native Flowers Native Flowers V. Some Common Butterflies - Can you find these in the garden? VI. Larval Plants for the Butterfly Garden vn. Garden Activities for Adults and Children Observation Restoring a Meadow Raising Caterpillars Building a Butterfly House Joining a Butterfly Organization VIII. More Activities for Children: Stories About Butterflies/ Arts and Crafts
Projects 51 Prologue
This booklet was written as a guide to observing, conserving and restoring one of the miracles of life that goes on around us daily: the life cycle of the butterfly. Butterfly Gardening introduces us to the interactions between butterflies and plants, and is an activity, in which everyone can participate, that opens up a new world of gardening based on creating backyard habitat. Some of the information in this book is written for adults, to promote an understanding of the methods of habitat gardening. Activities are also added to encourage teachers and families to include children in butterfly gardening projects. The booklet is based on research and on original observation of butterflies and flowers at the Sonoma State University Native Plants Botanical Garden. For further information, contact the Landscape Services Department of the
University. 52 L Why Make a Butterfly Garden?
Butterfly gardening grabs everyone's heart because of the magic of the butterfly itself. The flight of the butterfly is symbolic of freedom. Its form is immensely beautiful. Its metamorphosis is magical and inspirational. Observing these creatures sipping the nectar from flowers is an exciting experience, a miracle of everyday life. Anyone can start a butterfly garden in their own home or school and become part of a growing movement among gardeners world-wide who are particpating in creating butterfly habitat. Teachers can use butterfly gardening at their school site in a curriculum that includes active learning about ecological relationships such as host plants, life cycles, and predator /prey relationships. Studying the natural history of butterflies teaches us about co evolution and patterns of change over time. The presence, or absence, of butterflies can indicate something about the health of our environment. The decline of butterfly populations, both locally and worldwide, indicates a decline in environmental quality. Butterflies are dependant on plants, especially wild plants, and are vulnerable to the loss of habitat caused by human impacts such as urbanization and agriculture. Robert Michael Pyle, renowned author, butterfly expert, and founder of the Xerces Society, an organization devoted to the preservation of butterflies and other insects, describes his reasons for creating butterfly gardens:
I am very concerned about what I call the extinction of experience - the loss of everyday species within our own radius of reach. When we lose the common wildlife in our immediate surroundings, we run the resk of becoming inured to nature's absence, blind to delight, and eventually alienated from the land. This is where butterfly gardeners come in - they create and 53 maintain diverse habitats for species that need not become endangered, bolster the numbers of species in our midst, and collectively engage themselves in the rewarding nearness of nature. (Pyle 1994)
Gardening for butterflies is more than just planting flowers. It is a broadened, more meaningful, form of gardening that focuses on creating habitat. It introduces us to the native plants of our region. It teaches us preservation and restoration skills, and the use of scientific observation to study the interactions between plants and animals. In addition, it reminds us to value a garden environment free of chemicals and pesticides and devoted to encouraging life while respecting the balance of nature. Most of all, butterfly gardening empowers people with the knowledge and skills to do something, even on a small scale, to take care of their environment. Dennis D. Murphy, in the introduction to a book published by the Xerces Society entitled Butterfly Gardening: Creating Summer Magic in Your Garden, states:
The reintroduction of natural landscape elements into urban and suburban neighborhoods that are otherwise dominated by introduced species may be the greatest contribution to ecosystem conservation that we can make. Planting local native plant species in a rich well-planned butterfly garden reduces the isolation of native plants in preserves and parks, provides essential corridors between remaining patches of habitat, and aids in repairing the patchwork of ecosystems that remain. (Murphy 1990) 54 II. Basics of Butterfly Gardening
Elements of a Butterfly Garden While there is no such thing as a typical butterfly garden, there are some elements essential to attracting and supporting populations of butterflies that should be included in every butterfly garden. The secret of success is to provide a wide variety of habitats within the garden to both accommodate the needs of butterflies at each stage of their life cycle, and to accomodate the lifestyles of many different butterflies. A garden planted with this in mind will attract a greater variety of butterflies than any standard flowerbed. Designing a butterfly garden is a good opportunity to think about habitat, and to look at a landscape as such. It is important to remember that a good habitat provides food, shelter, and water for butterfly survival. The job of the gardener is to supply these things for butterflies during all of their life stages. Be sure your garden has these four physical elements. 1. A Sunny Location Since butterflies are cold-blooded creatures, your first consideration would be to choose a sunny exposure, protected from the wind by trees, shrubs, a fence, or a building. Butterflies begin their morning by basking in the sun to warm their bodies so they can be ready for flight. Since rocks and gravel absorb the heat, they become important elements in the garden. Butterflies are only active when the sun is out and the temperature reaches about 75 degrees or above. 2. A Water Source A shallow pool of water, such as a bird bath or a mud puddle is essential to butterfly gardening. Find a spot near your water source to inel ude such a pool. Many butterflies also feed on the moisture provided from dew, tree 55 sap, rotting fruit and even manure. These will supply butterflies with needed mineral nutrients and moisture. One way to supply this extra moisture and mineral content is the addition of a fruit tree to the butterfly garden. A compost pile, complete with manure and kitchen waste, is also a good addition. 3. Cover Butterflies need hiding places, places to spend the night, to lay their eggs and sometimes, to overwinter. They must hide from predators as well as avoid harsh environmental conditions. These places in the garden can be provided by tree bark, leaf litter, dense shrubbery, and wood piles. Leaving an unmanicured comer of the garden is essential. A small grassy meadow, complete with weeds and left unrnowed, is a valuable element of the butterfly garden habitat. You will be amazed how many butterflies prefer the weeds to the flowers. 4. A Place for Recording and Observation You'll want to include benches for sitting areas in the garden. A place for observation is important for sitting back and enjoying the butterflies. You will also want to begin identifying your butterfly visitors. Placing the garden in view from the indoors is also a good way to facilitate observation. Garden Design If you are starting your garden from scratch, it will be helpful to make a drawing before you start planting. A typical garden design is planted according to height, with the taller plants (often including shrubs or trees) forming a background. The intermediate area is then filled with flowers of various heights and colors. Since butterflies prefer large groupings of the same species rather than random plantings, design your garden by placing 56 several plants of the same species in clusters. The foreground of a garden typically consists of low growing border plants. A uniform border planting of the same species in the front of the garden will tie it all together. Your plan should also include a pathway leading through the garden to a shady spot for an observation bench. This standard garden design allows for the best viewing of all plantings. It will also provide the additional shelter from the wind that is important to a butterfly garden. These design considerations are worth considering when planting a semi-formal garden. However, they are only guidelines and are not necessarily vital to the butterfly garden itself. You can add butterfly plants to any existing garden or backyard. Remember, the best butterfly gardens may be quite loosely arranged, and are often characterized as 1I0rganized chaos." Be creative! Planting a Butterfly Garden Butterfly Gardens can be as small as a window box, or as large as space allows. When choosing your plants, it is best to start with the nectar plants that butterflies love. Most butterfly gardeners agree that if there are any butterflies at all in the neighborhood, the surest way to attract them is to grow two of their favorite plants: Butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii and Tall verbena, Verbena bonariensis. These and a few other selected nectar plants (see section IV) will attract the adult butterflies. Once you see who arrives, you can start planting, interspersed among the flowers, the larval plants that will keep them there throughout their entire life cycle (see section V). An important point to mention is that you should always follow the principles of organic gardening in your butterfly garden. Using organic methods will increase the value of your garden as habitat. Maintenance techniques such as leaving the leaf litter from trees and shrubs on the ground
57 as a natural mulch provides habitat for butterflies during the egg laying and pupal stages, Eliminating the use of pesticides will allow the butterflies to survive through the larval (caterpillar) stage. Organic gardening enables you to observe and appreciate the predator/prey relationships present in a natural setting. Gardening with the seasons is a good way to proceed. Plan your project according to the time of year: 1. FALL: Fall is the time to prepare the soil and to plant. No matter what kind of soil you have, amendments such as compost, aged manure, and organic matter (like fallen leaves) will help your garden. Select some areas for planting, add these soil amendments, and then mulch with a thick layer of wood. chips or straw to keep the weeds under control during the winter rains. Next, notice the trees in your area. Are any of them native (see section V)? Do any produce fruit? If you have room to plant a tree, fall is the best time. The winter rains will help it to establish a strong root system. Your first fall season, purchase and plant one or more Butterfly bush, Buddleias, and some Verbena bonariensis. Most local nurseries will carry these in one gallon sized cans. 2. WINTER: Winter is the time to look through seed catalogues and choose some annual flowers from the list of non-native nectar plants (see section IV). This is a good project for children since they like ordering seeds and getting them in the mail. In late winter you can start the seeds indoors to get an early start on your garden. 58 3. SPRING: Spring is prime gardening time. Plant the annuals that you started from seed in clusters in the garden. Purchase and plant some of the perennial native and non-native nectar plants listed in section IV. Watch for the arrival of the early spring butterflies. 4. SUMMER: With the warm summer temperatures comes increased butterfly activity. Observe and record the types of butterflies that come to your garden. Identify them by examining a field guide, where their larval plants will usually be listed with the butterfly species (also see section VI). As the next fall season arrives, purchase and plant the appropriate larval plants for the butterfly visitors you had, and you will have the beginnings of a complete butterfly habitat in your garden. 59 III. Butterfly Biology
Life cycles and Adaptations to the Environment The wonder and excitement in studying butterflies lies not just in admiring the beauty of the butterfly visiting a flower. It also includes understanding and appreciating the difficulties and adverse conditions the butterfly must face in all four life stages in order to survive and mature. Each stage presents a potential hazard. Over eons of time, butterflies have found ways to adapt and survive. Each of the four stages of a butterfly's life is entirely dissimilar from the nextJ and each has its own challenges. How do butterflies meet the challenges during each life stage? FOUR UFE STAGES OF BUTTERFLIES EGG: The egg has a hard outer shell, comes in many shapes, forms, and sizes, starting at a fraction of a millimeter and up to two millimeters in size. How do they make it through this stage? To survive, the eggs are usually hidden in bark or on the undersides of leaves. The hard outer shell protects them from weather conditions. Only about one out of a thousand eggs makes it to the adult (butterfly) stage. CATERPILLAR: This is the larval stage of the butterfly life cycle. The baby caterpillar chews its way out of the egg. Caterpillars come in many color combinations. Some are highly decorated. Why do they come in so many differently colored patterns? The purpose of this coloring is to camouflage them from predators, such as birds and spiders, by making them look invisible. Some pose as bird droppings. Some are the same color as the plant they feed on. Some actually have horns or spines that they will extend in an attempt to scare away 60 predators. Others have bright colors that are nature's warning to a predator that they are poisonous or inedible. What do caterpillars eat? Caterpillars are very selective feeders, and some eat only one plant for their entire diet. This is called the larval plant, or host plant. The egg is layed on or near this plant, so when the caterpillar emerges its food is immediately available. Whatever it is they choose to eat, they are completely devoted to eating for a living. A strong set of mandibles will chomp off a leaf in no time. The caterpillar goes through five instars, which are growth stages, during which the caterpillar sheds the skin that has become too small in favor of a larger one. When the caterpillar is ready to pupate, it must stop eating and search for a place to form its chrysalis. CHRYSALIS also called PUP A: The caterpillar finds a place, spins some threads and attaches itself to a a hard object to prepare for its last shedding of skin. This shedding reveals the hard outer shell of the chrysalis. How does it survive through this stage? With neither feet nor wings, the chrysalis must remain hidden until it can complete its metamorphosis. Since the only defense at this stage of transformation is to be out of sight, the caterpillar must find a protected spot, under twigs or in leaf litter, for a hiding place. BUTTERFLY: When it first breaks open the chrysalis, the butterfly is tiny and delicate. It slowly unfolds, stretches, and reveals the amazing creation of wings, a complete metamorphosis. It pumps up its veins, filling them with liquid. When its wing scales dry and firm up, it is finally ready for flight. How long does a butterfly live? Lifespans vary from two weeks for some species, and up to 10 months for migrating or over~wintering species. Immediately after emerging, the 6 1 butterfly looks for nectar to sustain the high energy needed for flight. It must then find a mate. Males mate throughout their lifespan. Females,. after mating, search for the larval plant they need to lay eggs upon and start the cycle over again. How do butterflies defend themselves from predators, such as birds, lizards and spiders? Eye spots, erratic flight patterns, camouflaged coloration, chemical defense making them distasteful or poisonous to predators are some of the ways butterflies survive. Some species survive by mimicing another species successes. Butterflies, at various stages of their life cycle, go through a period of waiting before they move on to the next stage. This stage is called diapause, and it occurs when environmental conditions are harsh, due to cold spells or dry spells, or when no food is available. Diapause may occur during any of the four life stages of the butterfly. Sometimes, this waiting period changes with the seasons. Diapause during the egg stage, for example, might occur as follows: eggs laid in spring may hatch within two weeks when lots of fresh food is available for the emerging caterpillar, while eggs laid in late summer may not hatch until the following spring. Another example would be a butterfly hibernating during the winter months and becoming active with the warm weather. 62 Butterfly Vocabulary Learn the language associated with butterflies and their life cycle. 1. Metamorphosis - A change in form or structure. The pupa undergoes metamorphosis to become the adult butterfly. 2. Larva- The immature form of an animal that changes structurally when it becomes an adult. The caterpillar is the larva of a butterfly. 3. Pupate- The process during which the immature form of an animal changes into the adult form. 4. Instar- The stage during which an insect sheds its outer skin. The caterpillar goes through several instars in order to grow. 5. Extinct- When a biological species is no longer alive. The Xercis Blue, once found in San Francisco, was the first butterfly to become extinct in California. 6. Over-winter- Resting dormant during the winter reason. Some butterflies spend the winter hibernating, thus over-wintering as adults. 7. Migration- Moving from one region to another with the change of seasons. The monarch butterfly is famous for its migration. 8. Frass - Caterpillar droppings. They make great fertilizer. 9. Restoration- Bringing back to a former condition. Restoring a habitat for butterflies includes planting the wild plants the butterflies need and making places for them the hide and lay their eggs. 10. Diapause - A period of delayed activity or growth. The butterfly can be in this resting stage during any part of its life cycle. 11. Habitat - The place where an animal or plant lives. Different butterflies have different habitats, but a sunny, flowering meadow is a common one. 12. Native - Something that occurs naturally in a given area and whose occurence is not influenced by human activity. 63 Butterfly Classification AU of the earth's known species have been classified into groups according to their similarities and differences. Butterflies are members of the insect group. Insects comprise about 90% of the Earth's estimated 10 mUllion species. There are over 700 species of butterflies in North America; 253 of them are found in California, and 142 are found in the San Francisco Bay Area. The great diversity of habitat and plant species found in California accounts for such a large variety of butterflies. The following is a list of six common butterfly families. The families are classified according to color, shape and other physical characteristics. Getting to know these few families will give you a good working knowledge of butterfly classification. 1. SWALLOWTAILS: The Swallowtails are usually large and colorful and have a tail at the end of each wing. Common examples include:
Pipevine Swallowtail - Battus philenor Larval plants: Dutchman's Pipe Western Tiger Swallowtail - Papilio rutulus Larval plants: Native trees such as willow, poplar, sycamore, prunus, and alder 2. WHITES AND YELLOWS: This is the family of white and yellow mid sized butterflies that commonly feed on weeds and agricultural plants. Their bright color makes them conspicuous to predators but they are not eaten because of their bad taste. An example is:
European Cabbage White - Pieris rapae Larval plant: Mustard family and Nasturtium family 3. GOSSAMER WINGS: This family includes many small copper, brown, and blue butterflies. Examples are:
Acmon Blue - Icaricia acmon Larval plant: Legumes, Lupines 64 Grey Hairstreak -Strymon melinus Larval plant: Mallow and Legume family 4. BRUSH-FOOTED BUTIERFLIES: These butterflies have stunted front legs which are covered with hairs. Their small legs barely reach the end of their bodies. One third of all North American butterflies are in this family.
Buckeye -]unonia coenia Larval plant: Plantain, Snapdragon family Red Admiral - Vanessa atalanta Larval plant: Nettles
5. MILKWEED BUTTERFLIES: This family of mostly tropical butterflies consists of two members in North America whose larvae feed only on milkweed. This diet makes them poisonous to predators. An example is:
Monarch -Danaus plexippus Larval plant: Milkweeds 6. SKIPPERS: These miniature butterflies look like fighter planes darting through the low growing grasses. They ''skip" over the vegetation in a rapid flight pattern. An example is:
Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus ) Larval plant: Grasses Mournful Duskywing (Erynnis tristis ) Larval plant: Oaks 65 IV. Nectar Plants Why do certain flowers appeal to butterflies more than others? Actually, we don't know for sure, but here are some facts about butterflies preferences that might help answer this question:
1. The best plants for attracting adult butterflies are flowers with abundant nectar. This sugary liquid carbohydrate is their main food, and they need plenty of it, for flying demands a lot of energy. 2. Butterflies seem to like to visit large masses of the same kind of flower rather than hop from one species to another. It has been said that their favorite colors are yellow and purple. Butterflies, like many other insects, see differently than we do. In a book entitled Butterfly Gardening: Creating Summer Magic in Your Garden, Miriam Rothschild describes the way butterflies see:
Butterflies see more colors than we do. Perhaps their appreciation of the red end of the spectrum is not as good as ours, but unlike us, at the opposite end they can see ultraviolet. Many flowers that seem uniformly colored to us, if photographed under an ultraviolet light, reveal dark nectar guides around the center. These petal guidelines, invisible to us, assist a flying insect in finding the spot where the nectar is stored. (Rothschild 1990) 3. Butterflies prefer flowers with a heavy perfume rather than subtle scents. They smell and taste not only with their tongue (proboscis) and antennae, but also with their feet. On the following pages are lists of some of the best non-native and native nectar plants. They will produce beautiful flowers and attract plentiful butterflies to your garden. 66 Non-Native Nectar Plants 1. Butterfly bush - Buddleia davidii The fact that this plant is called "butterfly bush" tells it all. Plant this and you will attract whatever butterflies are in the neighborhood. This deciduous or semi-deciduous shrub, which grows up to ten or twelve feet tall, is named for its universal appeal to butterflies. It comes in many
shades of pink and purple and even white. Prune it back to three feet each fall to keep it from getting leggy and to encourage new growth. 2. Tall Verbena - Verbena bonariensis This perennial is tall and airy with spikes of purple flowers. It is extremely drought tolerant once established, and very attractive to butterflies. 3. Purple Coneflower - Echinacea purpurea This summer blooming perennial from the sunflower family has stiff pink to purple flowers with orange centers. 4. Butterfly Weed - Asclepias tuberosa This perennial milkweed native to the eastern U.S. produces bright orange flowers and needs only moderate summer water. This species and other members of the milkweed family also serve as larval plants. 5. Red Valerian, Jupiter's Beard- Centranthus ruber This fast growing perennial will naturalize in almost any soil conditions, including poor and dry soils. It provides blooms of pink to crimson shades in dense clusters throughout the spring and summer. Plant on the edges of the garden to give it ample room. 6. Aster, Michaelmas Daisy - Aster frikartii, A. novae-angliae, A. novi-belgii There are over 600 species of true aster. The aster species mentioned here are perennial and available in many horticultural varieties, ranging in height from six inches to three feet. The color ranges from pink, to purple 67 to white. Asters bloom continuously from summer through fall, thriving in most soils. 7. Lantana - Lantana camara This low growing, often semi-woody, perennial comes in many bright colors and blooms profusely most of the year. It will survive all but the coldest winters. 8. Zinnia - Zinnia elegans This annual from the sunflower family is easy to grow from seed and comes in a myriad of colors and sizes. Plant in May or June when the weather warms up. 9. Joe Pie Weed - Eupatorium purpureum This annual flower is easy to grow and attains a height of 7 to 9 feet. Plant it in the background of your garden. It produces large clusters of pink to purple to white flowers. 10. Cosmos - Cosmos bipinnatus These annuals, also in the sunflower family, grow prolificly in all soils, forming masses of light pink, dark pink, and white colored flowers that range from two to four feet tall. Though annual, they reseed from year to year. 11. Mexican Sunflower - Tithonia rotundifolia This rapid growing annual produces spectacular orange flowers on bushy plants up to six feet tall. It is heat and drought tolerant. 68 Native Nectar Plants
1. Showy Milkweed -Asclepias speciosa , also A. cordifolia, A. fascicularis This tall perennial with pink flowers, which dies back late each summer, is appealing as both a nectar and larval plant. But beware, it spreads rampantly. 2. Goldenrod - Solidago californica A late-summer blooming perennial, goldenrod's bright yellow flowers are available long after other spring blooming natives are past their prime. 3. Yarrow - Achillea millifolium This hardy perennial blooms in late summer with abundant purple flowers, a good combination when planted next to Goldenrod. 4. Coyote Mint - Monardella villosa The mints are a favorite nectar of butterflies. This low growing purple flowered mint thrives with moderate summer water. 5. Sage - Salvia clevelandii This purple aromatic perennial/shub grows to five or six feet in width in one season. It blooms most of the summer. 6. Aster - Aster chilensis Asters, members of the sunflower family, provide abundant purple flowers in late summer.
7. Red flowered Buckwheat - Eriogonum grande rubescens also E. giganteum, E. arborescens, E. nudum, E. fasciculatum There are many species of buckwheat that provide nectar for butterflies as well as serving as a host for the larval stage of some species. They are extremely attractive as well as hardy and tolerant of dry, poor soil. 69
8. Coyote Bush ~ Baccharis pilularis This winter flowering shrub provides nectar when there is little else around. 9. Seaside Daisy - Erigeron glaucus This perennial with purple flowers and yellow centers is a good border plant because of its low growth habit. 10. Buckeye - Aesculus californica The only tree on this list, the California Buckeye produces wonderful spikes of pinkish white flowers with abundant nectar. 70 V. Some Common Butterflies - Can You Find These In The Garden?
Butterflies have personalities just like you and me. You can learn about them by observing things such as what they look like, where and how they fly, what they like to eat, and where they lay their eggs. Look at the pictures on the next page. These represent some of the most common butterflies that visit the Sonoma State University Native Plants Botanical Garden. When you visit the Garden, see if you can find them. The adults may be found flying around on a sunny day, feeding on the flowers or the grasses in the meadow. Their eggs, larvae, and pupae may be hiding on the undersides of leaves, in tree bark and twigs, or in leaf litter on the ground. Read their descriptions to get a feel for their personalities. Soon it will be easy to identify them. 7 1 Common Butterflies at SSU Native Plants Botanical Garden
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5 6 72
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9 IO
I I I2 73 Descriptions of Butterflies Commonly Seen At SSU 1. The Red Admiral- Vanessa atalanta
The Red Admiral appears to be very sociable to humans. It may even land on your shoulder! It flies in a zig zag, often erratic manner and likes perching on trees. It feeds on summer flowers as well as weedy plants and also loves to feed on rotting fruit and sap. The Red Admiral often inhabits
disturbed sites where it finds its preferred larval food plant, Nettle (yes, stinging nettle is actually their favorite food)! If you're lucky, you may observe the male Red Admiral perched in its territory where it will fly out, unafraid, to investigate whatever comes by, whether it be a person, bird, or other butterfly. The Red Admiral, in the brushfoot family, is of medium size, mostly black with white spots on the wing tips and orange bands on the middle and bottom their wings. It is very common in all of North America, and a permanent resident of the warmer climates. It is a summer migrant to the northern areas where it will die in the winter cold. 2. Lorquin's Admiral - Basilarchia lorquini Similar in coloring to the Red Admiral, Lorquin's Admiral will move powerfully when disturbed from its perch, appearing to be on the attack. Perhaps it behaves this way because it is so tasty to predators and is used to being sought. Lorquin's Admiral is an abundant West Coast Species. It was named after a French collector who sent it back to Europe from
California. It lays its eggs on willows and poplars. 3. Mourning Cloak - Nymphalis antiopa Watch in early spring for this large and very distinctive member of the brushfoot family. Its coloring is predominantly a shiny brown with a 74 cream colored border and blue spots at the base of its wings. Mourning Cloaks are known for their long life span of almost 10 months. They over winter as adults, usually hiding in protected crevices or under old logs or other debris. When the temperature gets above 60 degrees, they emerge to bask in the sunshine, which is why they are often one of the first butterflies sighted in spring. They may look kind of tattered, from having spent the cold season hidden in a crevice. Females lay their eggs in willows, where the larvae hatch and feed on willow leaves, often staying in large groups. The adult prefers feeding on sap and decaying fruit and other organic matter rather than flower nectar. 4. Painted Lady- Vanessa cardui Called the "thistle butterfly" because the thistle is its preferred host plant, the Painted Lady is perhaps the most widespread butterfly in the world, found throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, many islands, and North America. They are migrating butterflies, like the monarch, migrating north as soon as the frosts end. But unlike the Monarch, they do not make the return flight south in fall. 5. West Coast Lady- Vanessa annabella The West Coast Lady looks very similar to the Painted Lady. Because of its ability to withstand moderate winter temperatures, the West Coast Lady can often be seen almost year round in the lower elevations in California. Plants in the Mallow family are its favorite host species. 6. Anise Swallowtail - Papilio zelicaon Originally dependant on natives in the parsley family for its host plant, the Anise Swallowtail adapted to human disturbance of these species' habitat. It now lays its eggs almost exclusively on the introduced anise plant, Foeniculum vulgare, also called wild fennel, which commonly 75 grows along roadsides and in disturbed habitats. Consequently, this large and beautiful yellow and black butterfly is often seen gracefully flying around vacant lots and on roadsides. Swallowtails use their ability to smell with their feet to find the right larval plant. They also have extra long mouthparts and can feed on the long tubed flowers. The larvae of these butterflies are easy to find and rear. 7. Western Tiger Swallowtail - Pterourus rutulus A most conspicuous butterfly in the West, the Western Tiger Swallowtail loves to congregate in spectacular numbers around mud puddles or beside streams. Its coloring is similar to the Anise Swallowtail, with yellow and black stripes, hence its common name. It lays its eggs in riparian trees, such as willow, poplar, alder and sycamore, where its bright green caterpillar blends in with the leaves. 8. Pipevine Swallowtail - Battus philenor The Pipevine Swallowtail is an irridescent black/blue color. The distasteful host plant for this butterfly, the pipevine,Aristolochia californica, gives its caterpillar a bad taste, so predators avoid it. 9. Buckeye - Junonia coenia The characteristic multicolored eyespot on this butterfly is the key to identifying it. The eyespot is actually an attempt to scare predators by trying to resemble a larger animaL Its larval plant is the monkey flower, or other members of the Snapdragon family. It is common in California from spring to falL 10. Monarch - Danaus plexippus Perhaps the most famous of all butterflies, the Monarch is known for its dramatic migration south in the winter and back north in spring. Monarchs from eastern and central U.S. travel south to the Sierra Madre 76 fir forests in the mountains outside of central Mexico; Monarchs from the
western U.S. travel to the southern and central coast of California to cluster in pine, cypress and eucalyptus groves in wintertime. During their migrations, they roost in trees along the way, often with thousands of other Monarchs. Milkweed is their larval food, and the toxins in the plant make the Monarch unpalatable to predators. 11. Acmon Blue· lcaricia acmon Also called the "emerald-studded blue" this is the most commonly found member of the subfamily of small blue butterflies. Blues lay their eggs on the flower buds of the wild buckwheats and legumes, and when the larvae hatch, they eat the flower's seeds. 12. Mournful Duskywing - Erynnis tristis This small blackish-brown butterfly with white trim on the bottom of its wings uses several of our native oak tree species for its host plant and is
common in the woodlands of the San Francisco Bay region. It likes hilltops, flying and perching on low-growing vegetation. 13. Skippers There are several different kinds of skippers that frequent the Garden, and although not identified by species here, they are too common to omit from this list. While not true butterflies, they are considered a type of intermediate between a butterfly and a moth. Skippers are small and orange in color. They usually show up in summer, and like to live in the grassy meadows. They 11 skip" over the vegetation, with a rapid, darting flight. Because they fly close to the ground, they are often the prey of spiders. Grasses are their host plants, as are the wild legumes. 77 VI. Larval Plants
Once you have begun identifying the butterflies that frequent your garden, you may start planting the larval plants they will need to stay there throughout their life cycles. Larval plants are usually native or naturalized plants that have co-evolved with the butterflies over eons of time. The following plant list is based on the butterfly species that frequent the garden at Sonoma State University. You will need to plant the larval plants appropriate to the species of butterfly in your own garden. Larval Plants
1. Milkweed - Asclepias fascicularis, A. speciosa, A. curassavica, and A. cordi folia Milkweeds are herbaceous perennials that die back in the winter and emerge in the spring when temperatures warm up. It is the primary larval food of the Monarch. The caterpillar incorporates the toxins in the plant into its system, becoming distasteful to predators 2 Willow - Salix sp. Host plant for the Mourning Cloak, Western Tiger Swallowtail, and the Lorquin's Admiral, this deciduous tree is often found growing naturally along rivers or streams, or where summer water is available.
3. Stinging Nettle ~ Urtica holosericea Host plant for the Red Admiral, this herbaceous perennial, originally a native of Europe, has naturalized in the U.S. A skin irritant to humans, Nettles are the main diet of the Red Admiral caterpillar. 78 4. Thistle - Cirsium californicum Both the native and the non-native (naturalized) thistles are the main food plant for the larval stage of the Painted Lady. Because of their sharp leaf tips, thistles are best placed on the outskirts of the garden. 5. Mallow - Lavatera assurgentiflora Several species of the mallow family are acceptable food for the West Coast Lady caterpillars. The mallows make showy garden plants. 6. Wild Anise - Foeniculum vulgare A naturalized plant, the wild anise, long with garden parsley, carrots, and other members parsley family, comprise the diet of the Anise Swallowtail's larval stage. 7. Dutchman's Pipe - Aristolochia californica The vine called Dutchman's Pipe is a common member of both the chaparral and oak woodland community. It is the larval food of the Pipevine Swallowtail. 8. Monkey flower - Diplacus aurantiacus The Monkey Flower is a woody perennial with orange flowers that is the host plant to the Buckeye butterfly. 9. Eriogonum sp. - Buckwheat-
Also mentioned as a good nectar plant1 the buckwheats are the larval host plant for the small Acmon Blue. 10. Quercus sp. - Oak Several native oaks are hosts to the Mournful Duskywing, who lays its eggs in the branches so the emerging caterpillars can feed on the leaves. 11. Grasses Skippers live almost entirely at ground level, and lay their eggs on the grasses and weeds where the larval stage feeds. 79 VII. Garden Activities for Adults and Children
There are many activities for children and families to accompany butterfly gardening. Here are some suggestions: Observation You can identify which butterflies visit your garden by using a field guide to identify them. One of my favorite field guides is the one written by Robert Michael Pyle and published by the Audubon Society, Field Guide to North American Butterflies. Additional regional guides may describe butterflies more specific to your particular area. You don't need much in the way of equipment to identify butterflies, but, besides the field guide, the following items may come in handy:
1. A butterfly net- Use a net to catch butterflies if you need to observe them more closely. Nets are available from biological supply houses or hobby stores. Butterflies are best caught when they are perching. Remember to move slowly, as rapid movement scares butterflies. Once caught, the butterfly can be place in a clear container so you can examine them closely. With this method a whole group can observe and identify a butterfly. Once the species type is identified, gently release the butterfly.
2. A lOx hand lens or a strong magnifying glass. 3. A pair of binoculars, the compact 6x model is useful. 4. A notebook and pencil to record your observations- Writing about the butterflies and caterpillars you see will help you identify them and discover things about them. You might want to record things such as weather conditions, dates, times of day, and plants they like. A simple chart, such as the one on the following page, helps record sitings. BUTTERFLY SIGHTINGS 1996 l I I I an eb Mar P,pr May Uun Uul ~ug Sep Oct Nov Dec 234 234 ~234 n234 ~234 ~234 ~234 ~234 ~234 d234 ~234 ~234 ::rn I Ill 1\cmon Blue I .;,..,.. ~mer. Painted Lady I 0' ~uckey_e I ""i ~abbage White I :;atifomia Sister I I I I ~ ::;heckered Skipper I I I I (") =iecy S!Gpper g I I I I 0.. _upine Blue I T I I ...... IAonarch I I I ~ Vloumful Dusk)'Wng ! I I I I Vlylitta Crescentspot I I I ~ Prange Sulpher 1 I I ::; Painted Lady 1 I ={_ed Admiral I 5waHowtail, Anise ~ I C/) Swallowtail, Pipevine I I ...... Swallowtail, W. Tiger ~ Jmber Skipper ::r. Jeined White I N. Meadow Fritillary ~ Nest Coast Lady Nest Tailed Blue
Noodla(ld S\Gpper -
00 0 81 Restoring a Meadow Restoring a meadow is a creative and educational project for anyone with enough land available to set aside a small patch for butterfly habitat. Simply take an area that is normally mowed, and in spring, instead of mowing, let it grow. Along with the grasses, many flowering weeds will probably show up. These can be valuable nectar sources for the early emerging butterflies before the more frost sensitive annuals and perennials begin their growth. Eventually, you may be able to add small patches of wildflowers and native bunch grasses to your meadow. To be successful in growing native wildflowers and grasses, you must eliminate the weed competition. Select a few patches of the meadow and cover them with mulch (plastic or newspaper and bark) to smother the weeds. Eventually, it will be ready for seeding with natives. A good resource for backyard restoration ideas and seeds is:
Larner Seed Company P.O. Box 407 Bolinas, Ca. or call 415-868-9407 for a catalogue Raising Caterpillars Raising caterpillars is the best way to see the miracle of metamorphosis. It becomes very exciting and very real when you see it before your eyes. In addition, the caterpillar will have a better chance of survival when you protect it and feed it properly. If you are lucky enough to find eggs or caterpillars in the garden, you can bring them inside. Otherwise you can order them from:
Insect Lore P.O. Box1535 Shafter, CA. 93263 or caU800-LIVE BUG for a free catalogue 82 Teachers interested in purchasing curriculum guides which include experiments... activities, and integated subject materials involving the life cycle of butterflies can refer to the Insect Lore catalogue (above) or to the BioQuip catalogue listed below, which also has an extensive assortment of entomological supplies:
BioQuip 17803 LaSalle Avenue Gardena, Ca. 90248-3602 or call: 310-324-0620 Raising caterpillars is simple and requires very little space or materials. The illustration below, reprinted from a book by Mathew Tekulsky entitled The Butterfly Garden (1985) shows all you need: a jar of water with plenty of fresh food (the larval plant that suits your caterpillar's diet); a branch for the pupating caterpillar; a netting covering it all to keep the caterpillar from wandering off. Cover the jar with a piece of cardboard so the caterpillars won't fall in and drown; leave a hole only for the food plant stems to be placed into the water. Don't handle the caterpillars when they are very young. They are friendlier when they get bigger. And, when the butterfly emerges from the chrysalis... release it in your garden. 83 Building a Butterfly House A simple wooden box can serve as a hibernation habitat for overwintering adult butterflies. This diagram, reprinted from an illustration obtained from Virginia Kincaid, The Butterfly Survival Project, 1994, gives simple directions for construction.
BUlTERFLY HIBERNATION BOX
Bevel Front Edge
Bevel Sack Edge
r---'"t I I I Roef I IL ___.J I
~o" 8ack I I I Screw to Bottom I I of Roof 'S6/if"l Left Side
Slots are 1/2" Wide I I &31/4 Long I I III I I I I Screw inside strip to }Ei lett side of Sox 2e" 30" 111\ I Side lillis"
I-I :1111 I ,I iz'j , I W Botlom
Lumber: one 1" x 8'" x 8' one 1'" x 10 x 4'
ll ..E ~ "DE' ~.... F-=oo ~~~==~3~0~"======~'~'====~;======'~'======;======~'~'==:;I~u ~ 5~ 84 Joining a Butterfly Organization There are several organizations dedicated to the preservation and restoration of butterflies and their habitats. By joining an organization, you can network with other interested people. Choose from the following list: 1. Butterfly Gardeners Quarterly P.O. Box 309331 Seattle, Washington 98103
Dues: $8.00 per year 2. Monarch Newsletter P.O. Box 178671 San Diego, California 92177
Dues: $25.00 per year 3. North American Butterfly Association 4 Delaware Road Morristown, New Jersey 07960
Dues: $25.00 per year 4. Xercis Society 4828 S.B. Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, Oregon 97215 Dues: $25.00 per year 85 VIII. More Activities for Children: Stories About Butterflies/Arts Projects
Stories Butterflies are romantic creatures that inspire the imagination. Listen to this Native American Legend, from the Papago Indians of the Southwest, about the origin of the butterfly. You may want to write a story of your own.
***HOW THE BUTTERFLIES CAME TO BE***
(reprinted from a book entitled Keepers of the Animals" by Michael J. Caduto and
Joseph Brachac, 1991) Long ago, not long after Earth-Maker shaped the world out of dirt and sweat he scraped from his skin, Iitoi, our Elder Brother, was walking about. It was just after the time of year when the rains come. There were flowers blooming all around him as he walked. The leaves of the trees were green and bright. He came to a village and there he saw the children playing. It made his heart good to see the children happy and playing. Then he became sad. He thought of how those children would grow old and weaken and die. That was the way it was made to be. The red and yellow and white and blue of the flowers would fade. The leaves would fall from the trees. The days would grow short and the nights would be cold. A wind brushed past Elder Brother, making some fallen yellow leaves dance in the sunlight. Then an idea came to him. "I will make something/' Elder Brother said. flIt will make the hearts of the children dance and it will make my own heart glad again." Then Iitoi took a bag and placed in it the bright-colored flowers and the fallen leaves. He placed many things in that bag. He placed yellow pollen 86 and white cornmeal and green pine needles in that bag and caught some of the shining gold of the sunlight and placed it in there, as well. There were birds singing around him and he took some the their songs and put them into that bag, too.
"Come here," Elder Brother called to the childrenl "come here. I have something here for you." The children came to him and he handed them his bag. "Open this/' he said. The children opened Elder Brother's bag and out of it flew the first butterflies. Their wings were bright as sunlight and held all of the colors of the flowers and the leaves, the cornmeal, the pollen and the green pine
needles. They were red and gold and black and yellow1 blue and green and white. They looked like flowers, dancing in the wind. They flew about the heads of the children and the children laughed. As those first butterflies flew, they sang and the children listened. But as the children listened to the singing butterflies, the songbirds came to Elder Brother. "Iitoi," the songbirds said, IIthose songs were given to us. It is fme that you have given these new creatures all the brightest colors, but it is not right that they should also have our songs." "Ah," Elder Brother said, "you speak truly. The songs belong to you and not to the butterflies." So it is to this day. Though they dance as they fly, the butterflies azre silent. But still, when the children see them, brightly dancing in the wind, their hearts are glad. That is how Elder Brother meant it to be. 87 Another story from the same book tells about the migration of butterflies. Listen to the story and then try the "Monarch Migration Maze" on the following page. Think of all the obstacles a butterfly must encounter on its migratory journey. Don't erase your mistakes; they will help show the difficulties of such a trip.
***MIGRATING MONARCHS***
(reprinted from a book entitled Keepers of the Animals.. by Michael J. Caduto and
Joseph Brachac, 1991)
From late summer through autumn each year monarch butterflies begin a migration of hundreds of miles south to their wintering grounds, Each night they rest individually or in groups of only a few to several thousand. They prefer roosting in pines, maples, eucalypts, and willows. Large groups may congregate at the edge of lakes, the tips of peninsulas and wherever land projects into a large body of water. When migrating monarchs reach something that blocks their route, such as a mountain, building, cliff face, or tall trees, they usually fly up over the obstacle. Monarchs from the eastern part of North America overwinter by the millions in small areas of only 20 to 30 acres in the mountains of Mexico. Their western counterparts follow the coast as they migrate south. Their roosts are found in eucalyptus trees and Monterey pines between Los Angeles and San Francisco on the coast of California. When the spring migration begins in March the monarchs work their way northward. Some monarchs do not stop to lay eggs on milkweed until they reach the northern parts of their range in May and June. Some, however, do lay eggs in the south as they push northward.
********************************************* 88
This maze was reprinted from Keepers of the Animals, by Michael J. Caduto and Joseph Brachac, 1991.
Mountains too tall to fly over.
Blown off course by wind. Hit by a car. P
~ ~______-,____-L~
Roosting trees cut down for Your r---...l construe· tion. winter home! (Finish)
Start 89 Art Projects These flower mazes, from An Educational Activity/Co/Dring Book of
Flower Mazes, by Peter Spizzirri, 1984, represent some of the nectar sources for butterflies. Imagine you are a hungry butterfly, trying to find your way through the maze into the center of a flower and back out. Then, remembering the way butterflies see ultraviolet light with guidelines pointing towards the center of the flower, color the flowers (see section N). Use your imagination.
Aster
Complete the MAZE. Draw a line from STAAT to FINISH 1 without crossing any black l . 90 More mazes Cone Flower
START
Draw your own flower garden. 9 1 Chapter IX. Summary and Conclusions
The loss of plant biodiversity has reached a critical level. What is lost in our lifetime will never be available for future generations. Responsibility for reversing this loss rests on both individuals and organizations. Public organizations have historically taken leadership roles in critical times, and this is a time for action. As public institutions that attract many visitors, botanical gardens are in a good position to help determine the future of plant biodiversity. Their accumulated knowledge, the respect they have gained as an institution that has survived over the centuries, and their capacity to network, both regionally and worldwide, give them a strong basis for action. They must, however, find more innovative ways to involve the community or their efforts will be isolated and ineffective. Developing relevant public educational programming is a necessary step in community involvement. The botanical garden must capture the attention of the widest possible audience and offer that audience ways to act on a group or personal level or their message will be forgotten. Whatever audience or programming gardens choose to pursue, they must pursue it with a commitment to respecting all life. This is the most important message a garden can offer. 92
APPENDIX 93 Appendix A - Interview Questions I. Present Status of the Garden
1. Does your garden have a mission statement or policy detailing the aims and objectives of the garden? What are these aims? 2. What is your collections policy and procedure? How do you collect and display rare and endangered plants? 3. What kind of educational programs do you have at your garden? a. Tours - guided or self-guided b. Signage c. Printed information available to the public on propagation, gardening with natives, resource conservation, ethnobotany, etc. n. Staff/Visitors 4. How do you utilize your staff and volunteers? What types of background do they have? How do you attract volunteers? Describe your docent training procedure. 5. What do you know about the visitors to your garden? a. Number of visitors b. How they find out about your garden c. Their reasons for coming to your garden Do visitors have the opportunity to assess or give feedback to your garden, through an evaluation or questionnaire, after their visit? 6. In what ways do you encourage visitors to make a connection between preservation of plant life and their potential personal contribution as responsible citizen? What skills or options do you offer them to act upon this awareness? 94 m. Outreach 7. What are the primary sources of funding for this garden? Has this changed in recent years? Do you anticipate a need to change this funding for the future? 8. Is your garden involved in community outreach programs to local schools, organizations, or revegetation projects? If so, how? 9. To what extent are you involved in networking with other gardens? Are you linked to any local, regional, national or international conservation programs? 10. Have the goals of your garden changed over the years regarding collection policy or educational programs? Is there anything more your garden could be doing? If so, what are your plans for the future? 95 Appendix B - Excerpts From Interviews Excerpts from the Interview with Carol Baird at the University of California at Berkeley Botanical Garden, February 25, 1994:
We have had tours here for twenty years, since we became a public garden. The guided tours are led by volunteer docents. We generally have between 50 and 100 tours a month. On weekends there are also guided tours led by volunteers. In addition we lead many student groups from various courses on campus around and senior groups. For self-guided tours we have a Chinese herb garden tour that we have just redone and you were probably unable to get a copy of yet. We have a dinosaur days tour which is on plant evolution. It is a winter tour since it doesn't emphasize flowers. We have everything from cycads to ginkos to horsetails, so we send people around on that. Its written for families so it has a kind of humorous interpretive approach.
We have several major programs here at the garden. One was recently funded by the San Francisco Foundation and it is called California Alive. It is in its third year. We reach about 50 schools a year on this program and it emphasizes California biodiversity education and California biodiversity conservation. It is applicable anywhere. We have contacted the AABGA, and the Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden, the Strybing Arboretum, all these gardens have major educational programs and we are interested in disseminating the information on this program. What we are trying to do here, well, its right on my door. We have these kids coming to the garden, a one or two shot deaL What can you do when you have a maximum of six hours with children for their whole life, here at the garden? We do informal science education, not formaL What we feel we we're really doing is teaching love and respect for the environment. That's the first thing. Because if youcantt excite people about their natural environment, they're not really going to be into conserving it. We're dealing of course with Oakland inner city kids, kids from Richmond, people we take by the hand and walk into the Redwood grove over there across the streetl who are scared that there are bears in there and are reluctant to go in. Then we can't pull them out. Its an incredible experience and we have them handle a banana slug or see a lizard running around the garden, It's been an incredible experience for all of us. We've really learned a great deal from doing the program. Because its funded by the San Francisco foundation, two thirds 96 of the schools we are reaching are educationally disadvantaged kids. So we have a special mission above and beyond our stated mission. Again, it isn't the facts so much that we are trying to teach, although depending on the sophistication of the kids that sometimes does get across, but also how wonderfully diverse the state is, and that it is the equivalent of living the in tropics, and that we should be responsible stewards for this magnificent biotic heritage that we have.
So that's California Alive. And I have a freshman seminar also called California Alive that I teach that I mentioned earlier and it's of course more sophisticated but we're having a wonderful time with these kids, and I'm getting more than freshman, I have sophomores and some seniors in the class. We cover in depth a lot of the various biotic communities and we do field trips, in fact tomorrow I'm doing a 12 hour field trip. So for city kids, and most of these people are, its been a good experience. The point I'm trying to emphasize here is the interaction of our programs for the community and the university, that they really do, public service and the university community, really can benefit and it's a mutual thing that California Alive really shows particularly well. We have a Rainforest program going on right now, its a winter program, and we stress tropical ecology and conservation in that as welL And we're talking about not just rainforests but dry forest and savannah and cloud forest We have children here for about one and a half hours and we have a tropical house. We take them into that. And we're trying to stress adaptations of plants for a tropical environment. Excerpts from the interview with Stephen Edwards at the East Bay Region Parks Botanic Garden at Tilden, March 18, 1994:
Our aims are education of the public about the threatened and endangered status of the California native flora and also its horticultural values. So educating the public is number one. Number two is just making a horticultural display that is beautiful. Number three is protecting and preserving rare and endangered plants.
Our educational program is in the dark ages, but it does exist .... We lack the most basic item in an educational program that all botanical gardens should have" an education coordinator. It should be a fundamental thing you establish when you establish a serious botanical garden. 97
In any garden situation, an experienced gardener realizes that every experience in horticulture is a matter of temporary successes and permanent failures, and you have to just keep the successes at a high enough rate so it masks the permanent failures.
The basic thing we do is show the beauty of places, talk about biodiversity, talk about problems and then let them (visitors) make their own inferences about what to do, Sometimes we hand them the literature for the CNPS but generally we don't push that they should take any particular action.
Botanic gardens world-wide tend to be seen as luxuries when economic times become restrictive, Our intention is to have the garden become totally endowed,
I feel that the mission, the goals of the garden, in philosophy, have never changed. But in the articulation, actually working it out, there has been a change. In the past, the director focused all his efforts on horticulture and the preservation and conservation activities and none of his emphasis on the educational ones, except for providing labeling... Now, given the constraints the best thing we can possibly do is make it the most enchantingly beautiful garden we possibly can and then everything else will in time follow. But if it's a garden that doesn't draw people in and inspire people and fill them with awe. then nothing else will follow. So thafs the bottom Une. Excerpts from the interview with Diane Cary, at the Davis Arboretum, April 18,1994:
The education program has its own mission. < ltfocuses on introducing new plants into the horti€1dtuNlil,trade,promotimg appropriate landscaping techn! In theory we start with our educational goals amigobaek fl'otrr there in setting up our collections. Inl"eali:ty, weha~eB'(x)llStaillt struggle with a superintendant who likes to brin':ginplants from all over that don't belong in the collections. 98 We have conflicted feelings about ex situ conservation and our response has been to include rare plants in the native collection but not go out of our way to collect or display them. We aim at the educated amature. That is who we think of as our audience. Our range of topics is horticultural, botanical and environmental. The main way we address this (opportunities for action) is through our childrens's program which has a real strong conservation emphasis. We talk very specifically about how people's choices and actions influence the natural world and what things they personally can do to make a difference. Excerpts from interview with Ken Montgomery, at the Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, May 6, 1994: We are trying to get a clear idea of what kind of collections are appropriate for us, what kind of collections we can manage, breaking out collections according to scientific botanical collections verses display collections, educational collections ... Anything can be a collection. What were trying to do now is develop an understanding that different collections have different purposes. Some may have international plant conservation value, others are for school children to touch hairy leafed plants in a group. Alot of the vegetation in our botanical garden has nothing to do with our collections at all; such as the lawn areas. The policy now is not to add new collections until we define were we are going with our collections policy. There is interest in endangered plants (at our garden). There is interest in pines from Mexico. There are more species of pines in Mexico than any geographical area. Many of them are in extreme danger because of spreading urban development and farming and so forth. But we're not sure yet whether we will go that direction because, what's the point? Is it germ plasm conservation? Would it be better to take the same money and energy and underwrite a conservation effort where those plants are native? Does the museum bring the last great elk into a zoo or does it have more to do with habitat where they are. Certainly native plants of our area, this is a kind of conservation. Whether we'll get into global conservation is another issue. 99 Botanical gardens and arboretae tend to be evaluated often times, fairly or unfairly, I'm not sure which, based on the attractiveness of the labels. Alot of times people think botanical gardens are parks that have labels on the trees. I think the goals of the garden have been very carefully deliberated through the master plan and the mission statement. I think that we are on the same track as when we started. We have strayed, frequently, but then brought it back to center. As long as we can keep in mind, that as the mission statement says, we must balance the maintenance of natural areas of dosed cone bishop pine forest with summer irrigation to maintain exotic plant collections. We need to move forward with innovative educational programs. I think everything we do here should be connected to education somehow. I think every public garden has that responsibility. The other thing is not to violate what makes this place unique, which is that it is a country garden with a walk to the ocean. SONOMASTATEUNNERSITY NATIVE PLANT GARDEN ",J_ " .. ~ ~ r.g - 5...... x , ... J2. Rell.wooll. Forest ,,- -_ _ _ ~------~- , ...... ~~~----- n ',,,.---_ ..... f - .... \ -- ...... _/...... !.. C) -..., ..... -~ ~ _- , / L Serpentine H2. Chaparral .-"'... ft !:j ~ ~ Parking Parking \ -;,.,<""'(' 1fII//III*---- \ , , A. Oak Woodland I--' o o > 10 MOST COMMON n CREATING YOUR OWN 0 BUTTERFLIES at SSU and "U BUTTERFLY GARDEN BUTTERFLY GARDEN '< their HOST (lARVAL) PlANTS 0..,.. SONOMA STATE UNIVERSflY 1. Choose a sunny location. s:..... Butterflies need warmth to fly. Acmon Blue * Buckwheat species til Anise SWallowtail - CT 2. Shelter the garden from wind "1 Wild .Anise (FenneQ 0 with a screen of shrubs or a fence. n Buckeye· Monkey Flower ::r's= 3. Add rocks to absorb the sun's "1 ~ California Sister - Oak Tree species co '"'d heat and to serve as a perch for Chalcedon Checkerspot - Bee ..... ('I) til !'j Plant & Sno\N'berry ..... p. butterflies to sit upon and warm :i ...... their wings. FJery SkIpper· Grass species .....n X Monarch - Milkwesd species s= 4. Include a small pool of water or 0 0 Mourning Cloak - IN/ffow Trees ro 0- mud puddle. as a source of mineral Thistles & Mallows Ant.. Swallowtsll Painted Ladles - 0 ;1 Butterfly populations are declining nutrients. Red AdmIral - Neffle ~ ('I) r.. worldwide due to [ass of habitat 5. Choose a diversity of plants that g g; and consequently. the loss of food will create a long series of bloom so TOP 10 CALIFORNIA NATIVE ....,...... 0'...... m butterflies always find food. NECTAR PLANTS for ...- l-i sources provided there. Butterflies 0 are a part of the web of life. They Butterflies prefer large clumps ADULT BUTTERFLIES ~ ~ Buckeye tree S· help pollinate flowers and are a rather than Single flowers and are oq ~ attracted by both scent and color. Buckwheat species* ""d 0 source of food for birds, l» n 6. Include plants that provide both California Aster oq !:i" amphibians and reptiles. Many t'\) nectar for the adult butterfly and Ceanothus species til ~ species of California native plants ('I) Coyote Brush provide food and nectar for leaves, flowers. and seeds for the larvae to feed on. Lupine species butterflies and their larvae. You, 7. DO NOT spray pesticides in Mint species too. can help conserve butterflies. your butterfly garden. Monkey Flower'" even in your own backyard, by 8. 8e sure to leave a corner of your Salvia species planting the nectar and larval garden unpruned and unweeded YarralA!"' plants they need to survive during ...... for additional habitat for eggs. • Also II good HOST (LlllYal) Plant 0 all stages of their fife...... 2. Next comes the LARVAL stage. Most adult butterflies live only cr' o"'1 LIFE CYCLE OF A The egg hatches into a caterpillar. about two weeks in the which immediately begins feeding summertime. However, some ~"'1 BUTTERFLY on the plant on which the egg was species may live for many (t) laid, the larval plant. As the months and even hibernate or caterpillar grows, it periodically migrate in the winter. ~ sheds its skin. This is called :~~ molting. As the caterpillar *****••*._*******.******************* continues to grow, it is capable of This garden was funded by a '" ',~ .' _~. 2. LARVAL moving on to other vegetation. P. E. T.A L. S. (P rotect the EnvironmentT hrough Action, ~;,t 3.The caterpillar eventually enters Learning. and Service) Grant, an Environmental Incentives Program the PUPA stage. It attaches itself by the joint efforts of the to a plant or some other object by National Council Of State Garden 3. PUPA weaving a sticky patch of silk. Clubs Once attached, it molts one last & time and the pupa skin emerges Shell 011 Company from beneath the old caterpillar SPECIAl THANKS TO: 4. BUlTERFLY skin. The pupa skin hardens to Santa Rosa Garden Club protect the caterpillar as it Mary Merritt & Volunteers There are four stages in the life transforms into an adult butterfly. Karen Tatanlsh, SSU Landscape Staff & Volunteers eycfe of a butterfly. The pupa is commonly called a Chf)lS8fis. Healdsburg SIgn Johnson's Rock 1. life begins with an EGG, laid 4. When mature, the adult Harmony Farm Supply by the adult buttertlyl which Cal Flora Nursery BUTTERFLY crawls out of the usually takes 5 to 10 days to Mostly Natives chrysalis with its wings all folded hatch. Eggs are often laid on the Phyllis Oswald - Art Work undersides of leaves, on twigs or up. It finds a place to rest until its Julie West - Computer Design in garden reaf litter. wings harden and it can fly. 3·27·96 ..... o N 103 BIBLIOGRAPHY Alexander, Martin, Herbert Zim and Arnold Nelson 1961. Amen'can Wildlife and Plants. Dover Press. . Arno, Stephen. 1~73. Discove~ing Sierra Trees. Yosemite Natural History Assoc. an~ SequoIa Natural HIstory Assoc. in cooperation with the National Park Servtce. Arnol S~ephen, and Ramona Hammerly. 1977. Northwest Trees. The MountaIneers. Seattle, Washington. 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