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Outline of Topics for General Tours DRAFT (2016)

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Outline of Topics for General Tours DRAFT (2016) Tour Topics | 1 Education Department Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Outline of Topics for a General Tour revised January 2016 Mission Statement The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden fosters the conservation of California's native plants through our gardens, education, and research, and serves as a role model of sustainable practices. Vision Statement The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden envisions a world where society understands the interdependency between people and plants, and acts to preserve the natural world. Introduction Garden docents become familiar with twelve principal topics, in addition to Garden Basics. Several topics together might serve as background material for a well-rounded Garden walk. A good rule of thumb is to be prepared to discuss three plants for each topic that you select. The purpose of the tour is to use individual plants to explain and illustrate the topics, to emphasize our mission, and to inspire action in fostering the conservation of California’s native plants. For each topic in this guide, we provide examples of plants you might choose to illustrate your tour. It is also effective to bring natural items such as pinecones, seeds and fruits, leaves, and other plant materials with you on your tours; many docents carry a personalized bag of ‘props’. The Education Department can supply props, or you can pick them up on the trails as you go. A hand lens can be useful for examining small flower parts, leaf surfaces, or insects. We have enough for tours participants, field guides, and even a small field microscope that can be checked out. The Education Department also maintains a circulating library for Education Department volunteers. The nature of your walk will be determined by a combination of your individual style and the level of interest of your audience. Remain adaptable, and sensitive to your audience’s engagement. Draw on what you learn in docent training, California Naturalist and other classes, conversations with horticulturalists and botanists, and personal observation in developing your own ‘menu’ of tours. Tour Topics | 2 Contents Garden Tour Basics Topic #1 California Native Plants Topic #2 Biodiversity Topic #3 Plant Communities Topic #4 Plant Adaptation Topic #5 Fire in the Garden Topic #6 Conservation Topic #7 Geology Topic #8 Native Plant Horticulture Topic #9 Mission Dam Topic #10 Chumash Uses of Plants Topic #11 Teahouse Topic #12 Garden History More topics may be added in future revisions. If you would like to contribute a topic, or add to an existing topic, please contact the Education Department. We highly encourage docents to assist in the development of our interpretative guides, training, and other programs. Tour Topics | 3 Garden Tour Basics Before starting the tour Introduce yourself, and welcome tour participants Ask participants to briefly introduce themselves and share where they are from Share the following facts, which you may incorporate into parts of your tour: The Garden . o is dedicated to the conservation of California's native flora – an all-native garden. o is a private, non-profit scientific and educational institution. o relies largely on memberships, donations, and grants for support. o was established in 1926 by Anna Dorinda Blaksley Bliss, who wished to preserve this special place for all to enjoy. o has 78 acres of land and several miles of trails. o is a living museum collection that preserves plant biodiversity. o grows display gardens of California natives to inspire to stewardship. o primarily ‘naturalistic’ style of landscape design; some examples of formal. o provides a broad diversity of educational programs in the areas of conservation, plant science, horticulture and sustainable landscape practices, natural history, local field trips and travel, botanical arts and letters, family programs and special events. o participates in study of and restoration of degraded wild landscapes. o specializes in the California Channel Islands and island biogeography. o conducts research on the flora of California and related floras of the world. 70% of the Garden was burned or scorched in the Jesusita fire in May, 2009. Mention current changes that are happening in the Garden, such as garden renovations, progress in the Meadow, and construction. (Supplemental topics available on ‘Docent Corner’ website. www.sbbg.org/get-involved/volunteer/docent-corner) At the end of the tour tell them about areas of the Garden you have not visited on the tour, and orient visitors on the map. o Japanese Tea House, Porter Trail, Manzanita Section, Home Garden point people to the Garden Shop and Nursery Thank them for joining us and wish them a good visit in the Garden! Topic #1 California Native Plants A California native plant is one that 1) was present in California prior to the immigration of European settlers, and 2) grows in the wild California without cultivation. Examples of native plants: Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.), California Sycamore (Platanus racemosa), Coast Live Oak (Quercus agrifolia), and Blue-eyed Grass (Sisyrinchium bellum). Tour Topics | 4 Examples of non-native plants: "California" Pepper Tree (Schinus molle), a native of Peru; Eucalyptus sp., native to Australia; Common Oleander (Nerium oleander), native to the Mediterranean; and Sweet Alyssum (Lobularia maritima), native to Europe. Although many trees, shrubs, and flowers from all over the world thrive in Santa Barbara only California native plants are grown in the Garden. There are 5,047 species (6,272 plant taxa) of native plants in California. More than a quarter of the 17,000 native plants in the United States are found in California. There are many threats to California native plants: population growth and development habitat loss and habitat fragmentation invasive species pollution of land, air, and water climate change (dry lands become drier, bringing fire and pests) wind and solar projects, especially in the desert There are 35 designated BIODIVERSITY HOT SPOTS in the world. The California Floristic Province is one of three in the United States, the others are Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and the pine oak woodlands of New Mexico and Arizona. Hotspots refer to regions with a high degree of endemism (plants that grow no where else in the world) accompanied by much habitat loss. These areas are especially in need of protection. Topic #2 Biodiversity We use the expression "species diversity" or “biodiversity” to describe the richness of species – the number of species in a given area. This does not address to abundance of each – the number of individuals of each species. There is a complex interdependence between all species of living organisms. Only plants can convert the sun’s energy into food. All animal life on the planet depends on plants, either directly or indirectly, for survival. Loss of a single species can have effects that ripple through an entire ecosystem. Species of plants are gathered into groups called genera (singular, genus), and related genera are grouped into families. A species may be defined as a group of related plants that closely resemble one another and breed only with each other or, if they hybridize, the offspring of the hybrids are not fertile. Since reproduction between individuals of the same species results in fertile offspring, the species are said to "share the same gene pool." To illustrate the reasons for the remarkable diversity of plants in California, use the map provided in your handbook from the Jepsen Manual. Because California has a multitude of geographic subdivisions, plants have adapted to thrive in each unique environment. The great diversity of plants native to California is due to five key factors. Tour Topics | 5 1. Elevational Range. Climate, particularly temperature and rainfall, vary with elevation. Generally rainfall increases with elevation while temperature decreases. The elevational range in California extends from -282' at Badwater in Death Valley to 14,495' on the top of Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada – the greatest range in the US. 2. Latitude. California covers over 1000 miles from north to south. California's northern border with Oregon is roughly at the same latitude as Boston, Massachusetts. California's southern border with Mexico is roughly the same latitude as Savannah, Georgia. Vegetation varies from north to south. 3. Geology. There is great diversity of rock and soil types in California including Sierra Nevada granites, Cascades volcanics, Klamath region metamorphics, and the sedimentary and serpentine rocks of the Santa Barbara area. 95% of the rock in the Santa Barbara region is sedimentary. The mineral composition of these different California rocks and soils affect the plant life of any given area. 4. Mediterranean Climate. Santa Barbara has a Mediterranean climate, named for the similar climate of the European Mediterranean region, with mild rainy winters and warm dry summers. The prolonged summer drought may last for six months or more. The five Mediterranean climate zones are all found on the western ends of continents. In addition to California and Mediterranean Europe, they include central Chile, the western Cape of South Africa, and western and southern Australia. Mediterranean climates occur on less than 2% of the world's total land area. Most plants grow during the warm, wet months of the year, but in California the warm months are dry, and growth takes place in winter and spring after the rain arrives. Plants that have survived through the millennia in California often have special features that enable them to endure severe annual drought. Some, such as the Sages (Salvia spp.) and California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica) become virtually dormant in the long dry summer, and it is the arrival of rain in the late fall and winter stimulates these plants to produce new growth and flowers. 5. Habitat Diversity. California's terrain is extremely varied. It encompasses: Four major mountain ranges, the Sierra Nevada, Coast Ranges, and Peninsular Ranges, on a north to south axis, and the Transverse Ranges on an east to west axis.
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