New York Botanical Garden

Bronx, New York

Organization description:

The New York Botanical Garden founded in 1891, serves as an iconic oasis for NYC. The 250-acre site's verdant landscape supports over one million living plants in extensive collections. Each year 900,000 visitors enjoy the Garden not only for its remarkable diversity of tropical, temperate, and desert flora, but also for programming. The Garden is also a major educational institution that serves 300,000 people annually—among them Bronx families, school children, and teachers— who come learn about plant science, ecology, and healthful eating through NYBG's hands-on, curriculum-based programming. Nearly 90,000 of those visitors are children from underserved neighboring communities, while more than 3,000 are teachers from New York City's public school system participating in professional development programs that train them to teach science courses at all grade levels. NYBG also operates one of the world's largest plant research and conservation programs, with nearly 200 staff members—including 80 Ph.D. scientists—working in the Garden's state-of-the-art molecular labs as well as in the field, where they lead programs in 18 countries.

Organization Goals:

To conduct basic and applied research on the plants of the world with the goal of protecting and preserving them where they live in the wild
To maintain and improve the gardens and collections at the highest horticultural standard
To use the Garden itself as a venue for teaching the public about plant biology, horticulture, and the natural world

Phenology Project Description:

The New York Botanical Garden Phenology Trail began in 2002. The program is currently led by Jessica Arcate Schuler, Director of the Thain Family Forest. The trail is currently monitored completely by citizen scientists who train new volunteers every year! This project is actively recruiting citizen scientists and is testing curriculum for school groups and teacher professional development workshops. Visit the Thain Family Forest or the Forest Research websites for additional information.

To learn more about the NYBG Phenology Program or to get involved: