ProfessionalDevelopment for Educators

Botanic Gardens Conservation International Education Review

Volume 10 • Number 1 • April 2013

Crossing borders, sharing knowledge

Learning on-line cuts the distancefor Education for Sustainability

Driving educational change through association

Ideas sin fronteras: la influencia duradera de Congreso de Educación de BGCI

r

Participants from the 2012 International Diploma Course in Botanic Gardens Education said….

“The course was a greatopportunity to get

connected to people inother Botanic Gardens andBGCI. I cherish having hadtime to think about the ‘big

picture’ and not juststruggle with everyday

problem solving.”

“Networking was a greatbenefit from attending the

course. I was able todiscuss the daily challenges

of education andorganisational issues withother professionals andgained an inside view in

other institutions.”

“I value the most, theopportunity to have sometime away to reflect on mywork and refocus with some

new ideas and insightswhich I put now in my

practice!”

“Before I attended thiscourse I introduced myselfas an educator responsiblefor just students. I nowfeel that I am responsiblefor everybody and I shouldmake them appreciate theworld of plant and global

issues.”

Have you just started working for education in a botanic garden or are you anexperienced educator looking for opportunities for professional development? Then why not join the next International Diploma in Botanic Garden Education?

Organised by BGCI and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, this five week course aims to equipparticipants with the skills and strategies needed to communicate effectively with their variedaudiences. By the end of the course, participants will have an understanding of all the aspects

required to establish and develop further a learning programme for their site.

The emphasis of the course is on interactive learning and the application of skills to the participants’working context, with lectures, workshops, seminars, practical activities and field visits. Topics

covered include: theory and practice of environmental education, identification of target audiences,project planning, interpretation principles and practices, lifelong learning strategies, informal

education pedagogies, fundraising, marketing, networking and evaluation.

Course dates: 12 May and 13 June

For more information and to enroll on the course visit:www.bgci.org/education/diplomacourseoutline/

• There are a limited number of scholarships available for delegates.• To download an application form please visit BGCI’s website.

• Priority for scholarships will be given to participants coming from Commonwealth countries.

International Diploma in Botanic Garden EducationNew course dates announced

Driving educational changethrough associationJörg Ledderbogen, SchulbiologischesZentrum Hannover, Germany

Educational resources for botanic gardens

INQUIRE in Italy - posing thequestions in science educationSerena Dorigotti, Marina Galetto & CostantinoBonomi, Museo delle Scienze, Italy

First word: A professionalismrooted in training and

development Julia Willison,Botanic Gardens Conservation International

Crossing borders, sharingknowledge Peter Olin, University ofMinnesota Landscape Arboretum, USA and Iurii Naumtcev, Botanic Garden of Tver State University, Russia

Ideas sin fronteras: lainfluencia duradera de Congreso deEducación de BGCI Teodolinda Balcázar,Carmen Cecilia Hernández, Elia Herrera yEdelmira Linares, Jardín Botánico delInstituto de Biología de la UNAM, Mexico

Postgraduate perpectives ontraining Sara Levin Stevenson, The Longwood Graduate Program, USA

The International Diploma - abenchmark for botanic garden educationPat Griggs, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK

Roots is published by Botanic Gardens ConservationInternational (BGCI). It is published twice a year.Membership is open to all interested individuals,institutions and organisations that support the aims of BGCI.

Further details available from:

• Botanic Gardens Conservation International, Descanso House, 199 Kew Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3BW UK. Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5953, Fax: +44 (0)20 8332 5956 E-mail: info@bgci.org, www.bgci.org

• BGCI-Russia, c/o Main Botanical Gardens, Botanicheskaya st., 4, Moscow 127276, Russia. Tel: +7 (095) 219 6160 / 5377, Fax: +7 (095) 218 0525, E-mail: seed@aha.ru, www.bgci.ru

• BGCI-Netherlands, c/o Delft University of TechnologyJulianalaan 67, NL-2628 BC Delft, NetherlandsTel: +31 15 278 4714 Fax: +31 15 278 2355E-mail: l.j.w.vandenwollenberg@tudelft.nlwww.botanischetuin.tudelft.nl

• BGCI-Canarias, c/o Jardín Botánico Canario Viera y Clavijo,Apartado de Correos 14, Tafira Alta 35017, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria, Spain. Tel: +34 928 21 95 80/82/83, Fax: +34 928 21 95 81, E-mail: jmlopez@grancanaria.es

• BGCI-China, 723 Xingke Rd., Guangzhou 510650 China.Tel:(86)20-85231992. email: Xiangying.Wen@bgci.orgwww.bgci.org/china

• BGCI-Colombia, c/o Jardín Botánico de Bogotá, Jose Celestino Mutis, Av. No. 61-13 – A.A. 59887, Santa Fe de Bogotá, D.C., Colombia. Tel: +57 630 0949, Fax: +57 630 5075, E-mail: jardin@gaitana.interred.net.co,www.humboldt.org.co/jardinesdecolombia/html/la_red.htm

• BGCI(US) Inc, c/o Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, Illinois 60022, USA.E-mail: usa@bgci.org, www.bgci.org/usa

BGCI is a worldwide membership organisation established in1987. Its mission is to mobilise botanic gardens and engagepartners in securing plant diversity for the well-being ofpeople and the planet. BGCI is an independent organisationregistered in the United Kingdom as a charity (Charity Reg No1098834) and a company limited by guarantee, No 4673175.BGCI is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation in theUSA and is a registered non-profit organisation in Russia.

Opinions expressed in this publication do not necessarilyreflect the views of the Boards or staff of BGCI or of itsmembers.

Forthcoming IssueVolume 10 Number 2: Audience Development Last submission date: 20 June 2013Volume 11 Number 1: Technology and EducationLast submission date: 20 January 2013

Cover Photo:International Diploma students participate in an educational activity in Millennium Seed Bank,Wakehurst Place, Kew, UK (BGCI)

Design: John Morgan, www.seascapedesign.co.uk

BGCI would like to thank the co-editors for their work inthe production of Roots

For the French Section:Loïc Ruellan – Conservatoire Botanique National de Brest,FranceAnne Lindsey – Spain (loon@alindsey.net)Allison Marshall – France

For the Spanish Section:Lourdes Rico-Arce – Royal Botanic Gardens, KewVeronica Franco – Jardín Botánico Regional Xíitbal Neek’,MexicoOrlik Gómez García – Jardín Botánico Francisco JavierClavijero, Mexico

For the English Section:Jan Chamier – London, UKDavid Jeffreys – London, UKChiara RocciJennifer MarkKate Whittington

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Learning on-line cuts thedistance for Education for SustainabilityWade, London South Bank University, UK

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EDITORSJulia Willison Director of Education

Asimina Vergou Education Programme Coordinator

Volume 10 • Number 1

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01BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)

First wordA professionalism rooted in training and development

Un professionnalisme ancré dans la formation et le développementUn profesionalismo arraigado en capacitación y desarrollo

02 BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) • 02-05

ESPAÑOL

Tal vez seas de los que apenas seinician como educador(a) en los

jardines botánicos, o quizá ya seas unexperto practicante. Cualquiera que seala situación, es apremiante poner lamirada en el desarrollo profesional en estamateria. Después de todo, el escenarioeducativo está continuamentecambiando, partiendo de investigacionese incorporando nuevas ideas, por lo quemantenernos a esa velocidad aparececomo algo evidente, sobre todo si noqueremos dar la idea de que hemosolvidado pensar.

Sin embargo, en la realidad cotidiana lasituación es un tanto diferente.Investigaciones recientes de la FundaciónWellcome Trust, fundación mundial debeneficencia, revelan que, si bien existeun sustancial conjunto de literaturaacadémica que direcciona el quehacercientífico en contextos no formales, éstano es leída por quienes ejercen laprofesión de educadores. En vez de ello,de acuerdo a la investigación, loseducadores de espacios no formales sehan resignado con nociones simplistas y a veces anticuadas sobre el aprendizaje y la ciencia. Se precisa un mayor y másextendido entendimiento de los sistemasde profesionalización y aprendizaje másactuales. Para los educadores de losjardines botánicos, trabajando como lohacemos en los diferentes niveleseducativos –primaria, secundaria, adultos,comunidades- así como diversas áreastemáticas –medio ambiente, ciencia,botánica- la tarea resulta titánica.

Tampoco ayuda el hecho de que laeducación en los jardines botánicos ya esde por sí especializada. Si bien las plantasson el tema central de estudio, el

FRANÇAIS

Peut-être débutez-vous en matièred’éducation dans les jardins

botaniques, ou êtes-vous déjà un praticienexpérimenté. Dans les deux cas, uneévolution professionnelle peut vousparaître nécessaire au cours de votrecarrière. Il est vrai que le paysage éducatifchange constamment autour de nous, touten apportant régulièrement de nouveauxéléments de recherche et de nouvellesidées : nous maintenir à niveau lorsquenous le traversons peut sembler uneévidence. Du moins, vous seriez pardonnéd’envisager les choses sous cet angle.

Dans la réalité du quotidien, cependant, letableau est assez différent. Les recherchesréalisées récemment par le WellcomeTrust, une fondation caritative mondiale,révèlent que, bien qu’il existe une masseimportante de publications universitairesabordant les sciences dans des contextesinformels, celles-ci ne sont pas lues par lespraticiens. Les recherches stipulent qu'aucontraire, les praticiens informels sereposent excessivement sur des notionssimplistes et parfois obsolètes del’apprentissage et des sciences. Unemeilleure compréhension plus généraliséedes apprentissages et des systèmes deformation les plus récents s'impose. Pourles animateurs des jardins botaniques,dont le travail couvre différents niveauxéducatifs (primaire, secondaire, adulte,communautaire) et divers domaines(environnement, sciences, botanique), il s’agit d'une tâche herculéenne ! Ce travail ne bénéficie pas non plus desoutien, car l’éducation dans les jardinsbotaniques est un domaine spécialisé àpart entière. Alors que les plantes yconstituent l’axe de toute étude,l’apprentissage en tant que tel agénéralement lieu à l’extérieur et est

ENGLISH

Maybe you’re just starting out inbotanic garden education, or

perhaps you are a seasonedpractitioner; either way you mightregard professional development as acareer imperative. After all, theeducational landscape is constantlychanging around us, regularlyintroducing new research and ideas,and keeping up-to-speed as we travelacross it may appear axiomatic. Or soyou’d be forgiven for thinking.

In everyday reality, however, the pictureis rather different. Recent research fromthe Wellcome Trust, a global charitablefoundation, reveals that, while there is asubstantial body of academic literatureaddressing science in informal contexts,it is not read by practitioners. Instead,says the research, informal practitionersremain overly reliant on simplistic andsometimes outdated notions of learningand science. A more widespread andbetter understanding of the latestlearning and systems of training iscalled for. For botanic gardeneducators, working as we do acrossmany different levels of education –primary, secondary, adult, community –and several subject areas (environment,science, botany) this is a herculeanchallenge!

It’s not helped, either, because botanicgarden education is a specialised fieldin its own right. While plants are thefocus of study, the learning itself usuallytakes place outside and is experiential.And this exposes a worryingconundrum: while educators may beable to update their theoreticalknowledge through reading educationalresearch, very few practical training

03BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)

aprendizaje tiene lugar al exterior y esvivencial. Ello expone un preocupantedilema: mientras que los educadorespueden actualizar su conocimientoteórico mediante la lectura de textos deinvestigación educativa, se diseñan muypocos cursos prácticos de capacitacióncentrados en la educación en los jardinesbotánicos. Todo el tiempo, con lacreciente y bien documentada rupturaentre la sociedad y la naturaleza, y lapresión para alcanzar las metas de laEstrategia Global para la ConservaciónVegetal, el razonamiento para que loseducadores de los jardines botánicosaumenten proporcionalmente susactividades educativas es apremiante. No hay vuelta atrás, necesitamos máseducadores en los jardines botánicos conla formación adecuada.

Este número de Roots abarca el conceptode profesionalización en el más ampliosentido, y señala diversos caminosmediante los cuales los educadores delos jardines pueden desarrollarseprofesionalmente, desde los programasformales, incluyendo la modalidad adistancia, hasta propuestas bajo lamodalidad no formal explorandooportunidades de aprendizaje a través deredes de trabajo, congresos y talleres.

En el primer artículo, Costantino Bonomi ycolaboradores del Museo de Ciencias enTrento, Italia, describen cómo los cursosen Italia basados en el cuestionamiento yla indagación han capacitado a docentesy educadores de los jardines botánicoscon el método del aprendizaje basado enproblemas (ABP). Los cursos aportaronlos fundamentos para desarrollar unaComunidad de Prácticas diseñada paraenlazar escuelas, museos y jardinesbotánicos.

El altamente posicionado DiplomadoInternacional de Educación en JardinesBotánicos, organizado conjuntamenteentre el Real Jardín Botánico de Kew yBGCI, permanece como un punto dereferencia en los procesos deprofesionalización de los educadores delos jardines botánicos, escribe Pat Griggsde Kew. Desde su inicio en 1995, dichodiplomado ha orientado de manerademandante, incluso a veces agotadora,las exigencias para que los educadoresatraigan a una mayor diversidad depúblicos con una amplia gama temática.El diplomado se centra en el desarrollo deherramientas y estrategias esenciales

empirique. Ainsi se pose une énigmeinquiétante : bien que les animateurssoient en mesure de mettre à jour leursconnaissances théoriques par la lecturede publications issues de la recherchedans le domaine pédagogique, très peude formations pratiques sont conçues demanière à prendre en compte l’éducationdans les jardins botaniques. À toutmoment, compte tenu du fosségrandissant et bien documenté entrel’homme et la nature, et des efforts pouratteindre les objectifs de la Stratégiemondiale pour la conservation desplantes, l’argument pour que les jardinsbotaniques augmentent leurs activitéspédagogiques est irréfutable. Il n’y a pasd’autre solution : nous avons besoin deplus d’animateurs de jardins botaniqueset ils ont besoin de formation ad hoc.

Ce numéro de Roots couvre le conceptd'évolution professionnelle au sens le pluslarge et indique les nombreuses voies queles animateurs des jardins botaniquespeuvent emprunter pour évoluer sur leplan professionnel : depuis la formationformelle, notamment l'apprentissage enligne, jusqu'à l'exploitation d'opportunitésde formations informelles par la mise enréseau, les congrès et les ateliers.

Dans notre premier article, CostantinoBonomi et ses collègues du Museo delleScienze de Trente dans le nord de l'Italiedécrivent comment les cours INQUIRE enItalie ont formé les enseignants et lesanimateurs des jardins botaniques à ladémarche d’investigation dansl’enseignement des sciences (DIES). Lescours ont établi les bases de la mise enplace d’une Communauté de pratiqueconçue pour mettre en lien les écoles, lesmusées et les jardins botaniques.

Le Diplôme international en éducationdans les jardins botaniques (IDBGE)hautement réputé, organisé conjointementpar les Jardins botaniques royaux de Kewet le BGCI, reste un point de référencepour l’évolution professionnelle desanimateurs des jardins botaniques, écritPat Griggs de Kew. Depuis sa création, en1995, la formation diplômante aborde lesconditions exigeantes, voire épuisantesselon certains, selon lesquelles lesanimateurs des jardins botaniques sonttenus de s’investir auprès de publics trèsdiversifiés dans un très vaste domaine.Elle s’attache aux compétences et auxstratégies centrales nécessaires pour faireface à ces difficultés considérables.

courses are designed with botanicgarden education in mind. All the while,with the growing and well documenteddisconnect between people and natureand the drive to achieve the targets ofthe Global Strategy for PlantConservation, the argument for botanicgardens to scale up their educationalactivities is compelling. There’s no wayaround it: we need more botanic gardeneducators and they need the right sort oftraining.

This issue of Roots embraces theconcept of professional development inits broadest sense and signposts themany paths through which botanicgarden educators are able to developprofessionally – from formal training,including on-line learning, to exploitinginformal learning opportunities throughnetworking, congresses and workshops.

In our first article, Costantino Bonomiand colleagues from the Museo delleScienze, Trento in northern Italy,describe how INQUIRE courses in Italyhave trained teachers and botanicgarden educators in inquiry-basedscience education (IBSE).The courseshave laid the foundation for developing aCommunity of Practice designed to linkschools, museums and botanic gardens.

The highly regarded InternationalDiploma in Botanic Garden Education(IDBGE), jointly organised by RBG Kewand BGCI, remains a benchmark for the

Providing educational networking opportunitiesduring the Association of Botanical Gardens in 2012 at Mainz Botanic Garden, Germany. (Jörg Ledderborgan)

professional development of botanicgarden educators, writes Pat Griggsfrom Kew. From its inception 1995, the diploma course has addressed thedemanding, some might say punishing,requirement for garden educators toengage very diverse audiences over avast subject area. Its focus has been onthe core skills and strategies necessaryto tackle these considerable challenges.Given the IDBGE’s longevity and thegeographical spread of its students, ithas potentially impacted on millions ofbotanic garden visitors around theworld. In this respect it is meeting itsTarget 14 obligations under the GlobalStrategy for Plant Conservation, byhighlighting the importance of plantdiversity and conservation and theirincorporation into botanic gardens’communication, education and publicawareness programmes.

The Gardens without Borders project isa decade long, professionaldevelopment collaboration involving theMinnesota Landscape Arboretum andpartners in Russia and Estonia.Minnesota’s Peter Olin and YuriNaumtsev from Tver Botanic Garden inRussia maintain that co-operationbetween well established gardens, andothers that are underfunded but workinghard to connect with and educate theircommunities on the importance of plantconservation, should be central to themission of all major gardens. Bringingsmaller, under-resourced gardens intothe international educational fold isimportant, they argue, to advancingplant conservation world-wide. Jointconferences, staff exchanges, jointprojects and some external funding areall part of the professional developmentmix.

For over 20 years, BGCI’s InternationalCongresses on Education haveprovided a unique forum for educatorsaround the world to meet and exchangelearning and ideas. Last year thecongress convened in Mexico, its firstvisit to Latin America. Here LindaBalcázar and colleagues from UNAMBotanic Garden in Mexico Citydescribe how BGCI’s congresses haveinfluenced the development of UNAM’seducation programmes, both within thegarden and in urban and rural areas,and, further afield, how they haveimpacted at a national and evencontinental level.

Compte tenu de la longue durée del’IDBGE et de la répartition géographiquede ses étudiants, celui-ci a potentiellementeu un impact sur des millions de visiteursde jardins botaniques dans le monde. A cet égard, il remplit ses obligations quantà l'Objectif 14 de la Stratégie mondialepour la conservation des plantes, ensoulignant l'importance de la diversité etde la conservation des plantes ainsi queleur intégration aux programmes decommunication, d’éducation et desensibilisation du public mis en place parles jardins botaniques.

Le projet des Jardins sans frontières estune collaboration pour l’évolutionprofessionnelle qui implique, sur 10 ans,l’Arboretum paysager du Minnesota et despartenaires en Russie et en Estonie. PeterOlin de l’Arboretum du Minnesota et YuriNaumtsev du Jardin botanique de Tver enRussie affirment que la coopération entreles jardins botaniques bien établis et lesjardins en manque de fonds, qui œuvrentcependant pour créer un lien avec leurscommunautés et pour l’éducation decelles-ci sur l’importance de laconservation des plantes, doit constituerun élément central des missions de tousles grands jardins. Il est important depermettre aux petits jardins sous-financésde rejoindre la sphère pédagogiqueinternationale, argumentent-ils, en vue depromouvoir la conservation des plantes auniveau mondial. Dans l’enveloppe del’évolution professionnelle se mêlentconférences communes, échanges depersonnel, projets communs et une part definancements extérieurs.

Depuis plus de 20 ans, les Congrèsinternationaux du BGCI sur l'éducationproposent un forum unique pour lesanimateurs sur le plan mondial, dans le butde se rencontrer et d'échanger sur lesapprentissages et les idées. L’an dernier, lecongrès a été organisé au Mexique, sapremière visite en Amérique latine. Danscet article, Linda Balcázar et ses collèguesdu Jardin botanique de l’UNAM à MexicoCity décrivent comment les congrès duBGCI ont influencé le développement desprogrammes pédagogiques de l'UNAM, àla fois dans le jardin et dans les zonesurbaines et rurales, et au-delà, comment ilsont eu un impact au niveau national etmême continental.

L’Association germanophone des jardinsbotaniques orchestre un groupe de travaildynamique en matière d’éducation, qui

necesarias para abordar los considerablesretos educativos de los JB. Dada lacontinuidad y procedencia geográfica delos participantes, el diplomadopotencialmente ha impactado a millonesde visitantes de los jardines alrededor delmundo. A este respecto, estárespondiendo a la Meta 14 de laEstrategia Global de ConservaciónVegetal, resaltando la importancia de laconservación de la diversidad vegetalincorporándola en los programas decomunicación, educación yconcientización de los jardines botánicos.

Desde hace una década, el proyectoJardines sin Fronteras involucra unacolaboración de desarrollo profesionalentre el Arboretum Paisajes de Minnesotacon sus contrapartes en Rusia y Estonia.Peter Olin de Minnesota y Yuri Naumstevdel Jardín Botánico de Tver en Rusia,mantienen esta colaboración con jardinesbotánicos consolidados y con otros definanciamiento limitado pero que realizanun trabajo fuerte para reconectar y educara sus comunidades sobre la importanciade la conservación de las plantas, lo cualdebería ser central en la misión de losprincipales jardines. Los autoresargumentan que incorporar y acomodar a los jardines pequeños o de escasosrecursos en los fines educativosinternacionales es importante paraavanzar en la conservación de las plantasa nivel mundial. Reuniones conjuntas,intercambio de personal, proyectoscolaborativos y financiamiento externoforman parte de esta mezcla de desarrolloprofesional.

Por más de 20 años, el CongresoInternacional de Educación en JardinesBotánicos de BGCI, ha sido un excelenteforo para que los educadores de todo elmundo se reúnan e intercambienaprendizajes e ideas. El año pasado elcongreso tuvo lugar por primera vez enAmérica Latina específicamente enMéxico. En esta contribución, LindaBalcázar y sus colaboradores del JardínBotánico del Instituto de Biología de laUNAM en la ciudad de México, describencomo el congreso ha impactado en eldesarrollo de los programas educativosde la UNAM, tanto dentro del Jardín comoen áreas urbanas y rurales y más allá, anivel nacional y del continente americano.

La Asociación de Jardines BotánicosGermano Parlantes opera un activo grupoque apoya el trabajo educativo de los

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 04

The German speaking Association ofBotanic Gardens operates an activeeducation working group that supportsthe educational work of Germanspeaking gardens and providesnetworking opportunities for gardeneducators. Jörg Ledderbogen, fromSchulbiologisches Zentrum Hannover,outlines how best practice and ideasare shared, advanced training iscoordinated and new developments,such as Green Schools, are supported.

And from the University of Delaware inthe US, we hear from Sara LevinStevenson who offers us a studentperspective on the Longwood GraduateProgramme (LGP) in Public Horticulture,a well-established, Masters-leveltraining programme renowned forproviding future leaders of publicgardens.

Finally we have news of the first everinternational site-based distancelearning course on Education forSustainability. When it comes todeveloping and delivering educationprogrammes, most outdoor sites sharecommon challenges – understandingaudiences, for example, or developingconservation messages, deciding onlearning activities and theories, planningeducational activities, selecting effectiveinterpretation media and workingthrough ethical dilemmas. To addressthese challenges, a consortium ofinternational organisations that includesBGCI and London South BankUniversity (LSBU) have established theEducation for Sustainability course.

Although small in numbers on a globalscale, our profession occupies astrategically important niche in theworld of environmental sustainability.Sitting at the interface between ourgardens and our local communities wehave a responsibility, therefore, toengage with these communitiesequipped with the best and most up-to-date professional skills and knowledgeavailable. We have to move away fromthe amateurism and, whisper it gently,complacency anatomised by theWellcome Foundation’s report towards aprofessionalism anchored in the higheststandards of training and development.

Julia Willison

soutient le travail pédagogique des jardinsgermanophones et propose desopportunités de mise en réseau auxanimateurs des jardins botaniques. Jörg Ledderbogen du SchulbiologischesZentrum Hannover présente la manière de partager les meilleures pratiques et lesmeilleures idées, de coordonner lesformations supérieures et de soutenir lesnouvelles initiatives, telles que les Ecolesvertes.

De l’Université de Delaware, aux Etats-Unis, nous vient l'article de Sara LevinStevenson qui nous propose un regardd'étudiant sur le Programme universitairede Longwood (LGP) en Horticulture dans ledomaine publique, un programme deformation bien établi de niveau Master,reconnu pour sa préparation de futursdirigeants de jardins publics.

Enfin, nous présentons des nouvelles de latoute première formation internationale sursite par correspondance sur l’Educationpour le développement durable. Lorsqu’ils’agit d'élaborer et de réaliser desprogrammes pédagogiques, la plupart dessites de plein air sont confrontés auxmêmes défis : comprendre les publics, parexemple, ou élaborer des messages sur laconservation, décider d'activités et dethéories d’apprentissage, planifier desactivités pédagogiques, choisir des modesd’interprétation efficaces et travailler touten traversant les dilemmes éthiques. Afind’aborder ces défis, un consortiumd’organisations internationalescomprenant le BGCI et l’Université deSouth Bank de Londres (LSBU) a mis enplace la formation en Education pour ledéveloppement durable.

Bien que les effectifs soient faibles àl’échelle mondiale, notre professionoccupe une niche stratégiquementimportante dans le cadre de la gestiondurable de l'environnement. Siégeant àl’interface entre nos jardins botaniques etnos communautés locales, nous avonsdonc la responsabilité de collaborer avecces communautés, dotés descompétences et des connaissancesprofessionnelles les meilleures et les plus àjour disponibles. Il nous faut nous écarterde l’amateurisme et - murmurez-le avecdouceur – de la suffisance disséquée dansle rapport de la Wellcome Foundation,pour nous tourner vers unprofessionnalisme ancré dans les critèresde la plus haute qualité en matière deformation et de développement.

jardines de habla germana y ofreceoportunidades para trabajar en redescon educadores de otros jardines. JörgLedderbogen, de la Escuela de BiologíaZentrum en Hannover, señala cómo lasbuenas prácticas e ideas se comparten,cómo coordinan y apoyan lacapacitación actualizada y los nuevosdesarrollos como el de Escuelas Verdes.

Y desde la Universidad de Delaware enlos Estados Unidos, escuchamos a SaraLevin Stevenson quien nos presentadesde la perspectiva de los estudiantes,el programa de posgrado Longwood enHorticultura Pública, el cual es unprograma de maestría consolidado yreconocido para la formación de futuroslíderes para los jardines públicos.

Finalmente, tenemos noticias del primersitio internacional del curso a distanciade Educación para la Sustentabilidad.Cuando tenemos que diseñar ydesarrollar programas de educación en espacios al aire libre, generalmentecompartimos los desafíos – lacomprensión de nuestro público, porejemplo, o bien el desarrollo de losmensajes de conservación, el optar porciertas teorías o actividades deaprendizaje, planificación de lasactividades educativas, la selección delos medios idóneos de interpretación y eltrabajo a través de dilemas éticos. Paraorientar dichos desafíos, un consorciode organizaciones internacionales queincluye a BGCI y a la Universidad deLondres en South Bank creó el curso deEducación para la Sustentabilidad.

Si bien aún somos pocos educadores a una escala global, nuestra profesiónocupa un importante nicho estratégicoen el mundo en materia desustentabilidad ambiental. Ubicados enla inter fase entre nuestros jardinesbotánicos y sus comunidades locales,tenemos entonces la responsabilidad deinvolucrarnos con dichas comunidadesequipados con los mejores y másactualizados conocimientos yherramientas profesionales disponibleshoy en día. Tenemos que dejar atrásnuestra inexperiencia, y susurrarsuavemente la autosatisfacción que,siguiendo el informe de la FundaciónWellcome, nos lleve a unaprofesionalización anclada en los másaltos estándares de la formación ydesarrollo de nosotros mismos.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 05

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) • 06-0906

Botanic Gardens are ideal outdoorlearning sites – here students takepart in real-life interactions direct

with nature, engaging with plants andtheir products, building knowledge andskills, investigating a plant or a particularaspect of it by looking at appearance,origin and function.

The INQUIRE training courses aim tobuild the capacity among teachers andbotanic garden educators to deliverinquiry-based science education (IBSE)to pupils aged 9–14. During each coursea good selection of materials, resourcesand case studies is presented to theparticipants to enable them to

appreciate the scope and objectives ofIBSE methodology. They are thenrequested to develop their own IBSEactivity, with the support of the tutors.The courses focus on key topics forsustainability in the twenty-first century,such as plant conservation and climatechange. Here we describe how thecourses were run in Italy and how theparticipants subsequently changed theireducational practice.

Think like a scientist

The INQUIRE course in Italy was entitled‘IBSE, think like a scientist!’ and was runfirst in Trento at the science museumand in its two botanic gardens, ArcoArboretum and Viote Alpine Botanic

INQUIRE in Italy posing the questions in science education

INQUIRE en Italie - poser les questions sur l'enseignement des sciencesConsulta en Italia – planteando preguntas en la enseñanza de ciencias

Italian botanic gardens are key partners in the pan-European INQUIRE project, currently

promoting inquiry-based science education across the European Union. Costantino

Bonomi and his colleagues from the Museo delle Scienze in Trento, describe how IBSE

training is being pioneered in two northern Italian gardens with teachers from primary and

secondary schools and botanic garden educators. Employing a range of workshop formats,

including World Cafés, to encourage the take-up of IBSE, the gardens are building towards

a Community of Practice that will involve schools, museums and gardens.

Inquire has helped develop a thriving Community ofPractice in northern Italy, which includes teachersand botanic garden educators. (MUSE)

Garden, for the academic year 2011/12.The following year 2012/13 it was run inBergamo, as a collaboration between theBotanic Garden and the School ofEducation of the University of Bergamo.Over the two-year period a total of 75students attended, including primary andsecondary school teachers andeducators from botanic gardens, sciencemuseums and natural parks.

The course was structured in fourmodules. The first provided a backgroundto IBSE theory and methodology, thesecond illustrated different case studies,allowing participants to take active part infour kinds of IBSE activity, and thencritically reflect on how they werestructured and realised, analysing thedifferent stages of the methodologyaccording to the 5E model (Engage,Explore, Explain, Elaborate, Evaluate) andidentifying the level of inquiry thatcharacterised the activities (confirmative,structured, guided or open). The thirdmodule used the ‘World Café’ discussion

format to encourage participants to findideas for new activities, promoting abrainstorming discussion in small groupsto facilitate selection of the topic, thechoice of the level of inquiry and how tostructure the activity into the five differentIBSE stages.

In the fourth module each participantfinalised his/her own IBSE activity, tried itout with an appropriate target group andevaluated its success, before submittinga final report. During the whole duration

of the course the work of each participantwas observed by a colleague, providing aconstant peer review. All participants werein fact paired, matching a teacher with aneducator to incorporate differentapproaches and promote an enrichingexchange from different perspectives.

The table below summarises the structureand content of the Italian version of thecourse, which included 30 contact hoursand required approximately 30 further hoursof individual study and experimentation.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 07

The INQUIRE training courses build capacity among teachers and educators to deliver inquiry-based scienceeducation (MUSE)

MODULE 4Testing, reporting and evaluating

16h

Evaluating IBSE lessons, introducinga selection of evaluation methods.Small group analysis and review ofIBSE lesson plans developed by thecourse participants. Peer review,feedback and suggestions on thelesson plans. Trials with classes.Assisted evaluation of theeffectiveness of the activities.Submission of the final reportcontaining a description andassessment of the activity. Finalfeedback on the whole INQUIREcourse with a world café workshop.

Course participants and MUSE Staff

MODULE 3Creative workshop

4h

Developing IBSEquestioning. Brainstormingsession to develop a newIBSE activity using theWorld Café format,suggesting topic ideas,selecting the level of inquiryand structuring the IBSEstages. Working in smallgroups, discussion andpeer-review.

MUSE Staff

MODULE 2Case studies of IBSE

12h

Demonstration and criticalreview of IBSE activities viacase studies specificallyselected to illustrate the fourlevels of inquiry: ‘Plant at risk’as a confirmative inquiry; ‘Anew ski run’ as structuredinquiry, ‘How many seeds’ asguided inquiry and‘International vegetablegardens’ as open inquiry.Parallel analysis of the IBSEsteps using the 5E model.

MUSE Staff

MODULE 1Theoretical basis of IBSE

8h

Theory and practice ofInquiry-Based ScienceEducation. Web clinic:introduction to the IT toolsthat support the project, i.e.the global website, theItalian Inquire forum, thefreelist and the socialmedia.

External lecturers

Title of the module

Total duration 60h

Content

Who

SELF STUDY continuous (20h)Content: self study and bibliographic research on IBSE. Contacts and interaction with other participants andtutors via email, e-forum and social media. Developing and structuring of the individual IBSE lesson plan to trialwith their own class. Peer-review contacts and close interactions.

08 BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)

Peer review was a powerful tool to encourage critical reflection on the development of IBSE activities. (MUSE)

What participants said

Formative and summative evaluationwas carried out throughout the coursetaking advantage of many differenttechniques, including pre- and post-questionnaires, ad hoc interviews, directobservation during teaching using aspecific observation sheet, analysis ofthe documents submitted during thecourse such as the final report on thelesson plan developed and used with theclass, the course journal, the output ofthe course workshops and the WorldCafé workshop as well as eachparticipant’s portfolio of evidence.

Analysis of all these data allowed us todraw solid conclusions on the impact ofthe course on the participants’ teachingpractice, confirming that they haddeveloped new skills and abilities bothpersonal and professional, and theywere effectively using newmethodologies to develop inquiry-centred lesson plans, improving thequality of learning and teaching. TheWorld Café format in particular, wasacclaimed as a very effective way todevelop new ideas and exchangeopinions on specific topics.

Here is a selection of feedback from the course participants:

Overall we can conclude that theINQUIRE course was particularlyappreciated by the participants becauseit offered the opportunity to study amethodology that was not well known in Italy, to analyse it in detail and tounderstand how the different stages of the process contribute to its finaloutcome using the 5E model. There was particular interest in the initialengagement stage, which is oftenneglected, but which we consideressential to create an emotional link withthe topic being addressed, activelyinvolving the students in the learningprocess and thereby promoting a realinterest in science in young people.

The participants also appreciatedsupport when developing their own IBSEactivity. During the World Café sessionwe provided the teachers with the formatof the lesson plan and assistance inevaluation which helped facilitate the

“ I improvedmy method of

teaching, by trying to offereducational activities in

which the student learns andbecomes the protagonist ofthe learning process. ”

“ Becomingproficient in IBSEteaching should be

considered a step by stepprocess, involving abilities thatyou can acquire and applygradually with time andadequate training. ”

“ The INQUIREcourse helped me to

clarify and strengthen myideas and to become moreconfident in my actions.

I gained more credibility withcolleagues through developing

and using IBSE. ”

“ The coursereminded me that the

correct role of a teacher inIBSE is to facilitate thelearning process, askingquestions rather thanproviding answers. ”

“ The IBSEapproach allowed

me to reflect and to analysein detail the activities

proposed in the classroom,paying more attention to the phase of engagement

and evaluation. ”

“ The keyimpacts of the

course on my teaching practice are:

• an increased attention to the students’ engagement;

• a realisation of how important it is toinclude group work in teaching;• a renewed awareness of the

usefulness of continuous assessment. ”

09BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)

evaluar los estados, se siguió un modelo5E, que identifica los niveles depreguntas (corroboración, estructura,guía, abertura). De esta manera parafacilitar el desarrollo de cadaparticipante con su propia actividadIBSE, se les pidio hacerlo con unproceso creativo usando el formato deun taller de café mundial, con constanteinteracción y una revisión mutua almismo nivel. Esto conformo losfundamentos para el desarrollo de unapráctica de comunidad, la cual estáuniendo escuelas, museos y jardinesbotánicos.

Serena Dorigotti, Marina Galetto & Costantino BonomiMUSE Museo delle ScienzeVia Calepina 14 CP39338122 TrentoItalyEmail: costantino.bonomi@mtsn.tn.it(until 1/8/2013)costantino.bonomi@muse.it (from1/8/2013)

creative process. The IBSE questioningactivity which helps to develop teachers’questioning skills was also consideredvery useful in guiding practitioners tochoose the relevant questions – the ‘wh’questions that are best suited forinvestigation by the students,formulating a hypothesis, collecting dataand finding evidence to support or falsifythat hypothesis.

Future relationsThe continuous peer-review interactionwas welcomed too, as an opportunity foran enriching exchange of experienceand different points of view. In particular,during the development of the individualIBSE activity the educators were eachpaired with a teacher, allowing theeducators to gain a deeper insight intothe work of teaching and laying thefoundations for better relations andimproved interaction between schools,botanic gardens and museums.

All the resources used in the course andthe all the activities developed by theparticipants can be found on the projectforum at http://inquire.italiaforum.net (inItalian only); a selection of this materialcan also be found on the INQUIREglobal website www.inquirebotany.orgalso constant news and updates can befound on the Inquire Italia Facebookpage and Twitter account.

RÉSUMÉ

Cet article souligne les progrès effectuéspar les enseignants et les animateurs quiont participé aux cours « INQUIRE » enItalie, illustrant ainsi combien ils ontchangé, amélioré et adapté leurspratiques d’enseignement pour y inclurela démarche d’investigation dansl’enseignement des sciences (DIES) etl’approche de l’investigation. Deuxformations ont été réalisées en 2012, à Trente et à Bergame (nord de l’Italie),destinées à 75 praticiens enseignant dansdes écoles primaires et secondaires. Les cours ont permis de fournir les outilsnécessaires à la compréhension, laconception et l’évaluation des activités dela DIES. Des études de cas sélectionnéesont été présentées aux participants, ainsiencouragés à réfléchir sur la DIES, tout enévaluant ses différentes étapes en utilisantle modèle des 5E et en identifiant lesniveaux d’investigation utilisés(confirmative, structurée, guidée, ouverte).

Ils se sont ensuite livrés à un processuscréatif en utilisant le format de l’atelier «World Café », pour faciliter ledéveloppement des activités de la DIESpropres à chaque participant, dans lecadre d’une interaction constante etd’une inter-évaluation mutuelle. Cela apermis de poser les bases pour la miseen place d’une Communauté de pratiquequi fait le lien entre les écoles, lesmusées et les jardins botaniques.

RESUMEN

Este articulo hace hincapié en elprogreso hecho por profesores yeducadores que participaron en el cursode INQUIRE (PREGUNTA) en Italia,ilustrando como han cambiado,mejorado y adaptado en la práctica de laeducación de la ciencia basada en unaestragia de preguntas (IBSE, siglas eningles). En 2012 en Trento y Bergamo(norte de Italia) se llevaron a cabo doscursos participando 75 encargados de laenseñanza de grupos para estudiantesde primaria y secundaria. Los cursosgeneraron herramientas necesarias paraentender, designar y evaluar lasactividades de IBSE. Se presento a losestudiantes casos estudio selectos y seles pidió reflexionar usando IBSE, para

Teachers during a workshop in Bergamo found the World Café format useful for developing new lesson plansand activities. (MUSE)

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) • 10-1310

Recognising the need forprofessional development

Botanic gardens have a uniquescope for educating people abouttheir natural environment, the

threats it faces and the action needed toconserve it. They are in a position tooffer environmental education on topicssuch as sustainability, bridging otherfields in sciences, arts, and socialsciences. Plus they can reach manydifferent audiences, from school childrento politicians. So botanic gardeneducators need a very diverse range ofskills at their disposal. In recognition ofthis, in 1995 the Royal Botanic Gardens,Kew and Botanic Gardens ConservationInternational (BGCI) set up the firstcourse specifically designed to provideprofessional development for botanicgarden educators: the InternationalDiploma Course in Botanic GardenEducation. To our knowledge, it remainsthe only course specifically designed forbotanic garden educators being runtoday.

Since 1995, the course has run sixtimes, attracting 65 students from 43countries, representing local, regionaland national botanic gardens andconservation organisations. The diversebackgrounds of the participants ensurethat discussions are wide-ranging, whilsthighlighting the fact that botanic gardeneducators everywhere face similarproblems. Sharing their ideas for dealingwith them gives rise to creative solutionsadaptable for different sets ofcircumstances.

The International Diploma a benchmark for botanic garden education

Le Diplôme International - une référence pour l’éducation dans les jardins botaniques El Diploma internacional - un punto de referencia para la educación del jardín botánico

In 1995 BGCI and RBG Kew organised their first international

diploma course in botanic garden education. Ever since, the

IDBGE has offered garden educators a unique opportunity to

develop the core skills and strategies that will enable them to

engage with their audiences more effectively. As Kew’s

Pat Griggs reports, students from 43 countries have taken

the diploma, potentially impacting on the learning

experiences of millions of garden visitors.

The diploma course employs a wide range of teaching methods. Here students are involved in anobservational activity. (Kew)

Theory and practice

The course consists of two elements;first, five weeks of workshops,presentations and field trips, then aperiod of project development oncestudents have returned home. Whilebased at Kew, the students cover topicsrelating specifically to educationalmessages, including schools activities,visitor programmes, communityengagement and interpretation, as wellas areas more generally involved inproject management such as fund-raising, audience development andinternational conservation legislation.Field trips include visits to the EdenProject, Oxford and Cambridge BotanicGardens and Wakehurst Place, Kew’ssister garden in Sussex.

At Kew, students begin to develop theirideas for a project covering issues oractivities relevant to their homeorganisation. They discuss their chosentopic with the course managers fromKew and BGCI and contact otherbotanic garden educators for advice.Projects range from the development ofan educational strategy to teachertraining programmes and schoolsactivities.

Measuring outcomes

If we use the visitor numbers at all thebotanic gardens, represented bystudents on the International Diplomacourse, to measure impact one can seethat there is potential to influence severalmillion people across the world.

To provide a feel for how students fromcourses across the past 18 years thavebenefitted from studying the diplomacourse we asked them to share theirpersonal experiences:

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 11

Learning how to use story telling as a method for interpretation. (Kew)

Project developmentSusan Morgan, Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden, BGE 2008

In 2008, as horticulture manager at the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden inTexas, USA, I began thinking of a vocational training programme for resettledrefugees, who at the time comprised several members of the arboretum’shorticulture staff. This sparked my pursuance of the Botanic Garden Educationcourse with RBG Kew and BGCI, where I hoped to hone my idea into somethingmore feasible and engage in open dialogue with an international group of educatorsto broaden my world perspective for working with this culturally diverse audience.

On the course, I had the opportunity to work alongside other botanic gardenprofessionals from five continents, hear guest speakers from a variety ofdisciplines including horticultural therapy, and visit top notch public gardensaround England. Through various interactions and class assignments, I was ableto better organize my thoughts and put them on paper. These writings were thefoundation for a certificate programme in landscaping materials and techniquesthat this year sees its second class of students graduate – individuals originallyfrom Afghanistan, Congo, Ethiopia, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, and the United States. This vocational training is part of a broader Therapeutic Horticulture program I launched at the arboretum in April 2012, in which over 1,000 attendees havesince taken part, including young people and adults with developmental andphysical disabilities and older adults with dementia. My experiences on thediploma course certainly enabled a seed idea to come to fruition, resulting in thedevelopment of the arboretum’s Therapeutic Horticulture Program.

Veronica Franco, Regional BotanicGarden Xíitbal neek’ at the Centrode Investigación Científica deYucatán (CICY), Mérida, Mexico,BGE 1995

I am a biologist but my passion isteaching, which became clear when Ifirst started my environmentaleducation (EE) activities in 1992,consisting mainly of guided tours andchildren’s workshops. I may say thatthen I had no experience in teachingor dealing with school groups.Fortunately, in 1995 I was able toattend the first International Diplomain Botanic Gardens Education. Thediploma motivated me to continue inthe EE field. The course programme,its lectures, instructors and hands-onactivities; meeting people from elevendifferent countries around the worldwho, like me, were starting educationactivities at their own organisations,all with different contexts, realities,possibilities, cultures – a rich diversitythat contributed to a course full oftechniques, knowledge andmemorable moments that werecrucial for my development as aneducator.

I’m proud to say that the courseengaged me firmly in EE. Eighteenyears later, my work as an educatorhas continued to broaden and hasattracted lots of commitment, notonly in the education programme atour garden, but from the othereducators in Mexican botanicgardens. As a result, the MexicanAssociation of BG (AMJB) organisedfour workshops from 2009 to 2011(Martinez, L. et al., Compromisoscompartidos: hacia un plan deacción de educación ambiental enlos Jardines Botánicos Mexicanos.Roots, 2010, Vol 7(2) 5–8), andfollowing this critical and reflectiveprocess we have issued the BotanicGarden Education 1995 StrategicAction plan for EE for MexicanBotanic Gardens (2012).

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 12

Back home - Orlk Garcia putting into practice an educational activity learnt during the diploma course.(Clavijero Botanic Garden)

Suma Tagadur Sureshchandra,Foundation for Revitalisation ofLocal Health Traditions, Bangalore,India, BGE 2006

The course was very useful to me indeveloping needs-based educationprogrammes for schools andhouseholds. For example: our‘neighbourhood medicinal plants ofBangalore city’ programme forschools was carefully crafted tomotivate people to appreciate theirplant world and make them aware ofits inseparable link to our medicalheritage. This was part of the schoolextra-curricular activities. We linkedup with the Kendriya VidyalayaSanghtans network schools to reachout to thousands of students acrossBangalore city.

The International Diploma course wascomprehensive, well-structured andbased on experiential-learning. Werepresented 10 countries and had lotsto share. We visited severalorganisations, liaised with experts,there were case studies provided, andactivities to do. It was easy to graspand to replicate. My project work wasall the more enjoyable andmemorable, because I tried to designmy own activities and tested them inmy own garden with colleagues andstudents.

This course has enhanced myunderstanding of the concepts ofenvironment education. Now, Iperceive it as a process which aims atsensitisation and providingappropriate information that is bothrevealing and engages people to takeaction. Every time I design a sessionor an event, I make a conscious effortto do a needs-assessment, to focuson learning objectives and delivera’palatable’ capsule programme.Since our garden contains thetreasure of more than 1,200 medicinalplant species representing differentvegetation, different medicinetraditions, together with a huge varietyof visitors, it is essential for me as aneducator to be innovative and todeliver outreach programmes withlittle external input, using availableresources within the organisation.

Orlik Gomez Garcia, Clavijero Botanic Garden, Xalapa, Mexico, BGE 2008

The diploma course was a lifetime experience for me; having opportunities toshare educational and practical experiences from eight different botanic gardens(from Venezuela to South Africa, from Kenya to Dallas), under the guidance ofexpert colleagues from RBG Kew and BGCI, was the most valuable aspect. Othergains included personal and professional networking, of course. The programmeand activities were superb! The first-hand experiences and exercises are clearlydesigned to foster creativity. I liked all the course days because I could find newideas in each one.

When I returned to Mexico, I put into practice many of those ideas, especially theinterpretative system and at least two new exhibitions. Then in 2010 I moved frombeing botanic garden manager to being technical secretary of my institution, thenext level up. The botanic garden was doing well and my colleagues took myideas and built on them. Now we are busy renewing and updating the botanicgarden master plan!

Felicity Gaffney, National Botanic Garden, Glasnevin, Ireland, BGE 1998

I found the course very stimulating. It was fabulous to be spending a month at Kew,seeing how it operates and getting the inside track on their approaches to education.As with all international groupings, it was very interesting to meet other peopleworking in the field of botanic garden education as I did not have many contacts inthe field at that time. I enjoyed many of the workshops and guest speakers. Lookingback on it, if there was to be any criticism, it would be that I and the other attendeeswere hoping for rather more practical hands-on activities and examples of bestpractice. However, I am sure the course has changed a lot since 1998!

What I did find incredibly useful was developing an education strategy for thegardens. As this was completed in the workplace on return to Ireland, itencouraged me to reflect on the learning process and provided me with a usefuldocument that could be shared and produced at meetings with highermanagement. I am actually writing an updated education strategy document forthe National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin and Kilmacurragh at the moment andfind myself referring to the original for format and inspiration.

During BGCI’s 8th International Congresson Education in Botanic Gardens inMexico City in November 2012, manyalumni from past International DiplomaCourses also demonstrated their creativeand effective approach to developingenvironmental education activities. Such activities play a crucial role inensuring that ‘the importance of plantdiversity and the need for itsconservation is incorporated intocommunication, education and publicawareness programmes’, indicating thatthe holders of the International Diplomain Botanic Garden Education are activelyworking towards Target 14 of the GlobalStrategy on Plant Conservation.

The next International Diploma Course inBotanic Garden Education will be heldbetween 12 May and 13 June 2014.Kew and BGCI look forward towelcoming a new cohort of students.

RÉSUMÉ

Les animateurs des jardins botaniquesont une mission énorme, à la fois entermes de variété des publics aveclesquels ils communiquent qu’en termesde diversité des sujets qu’ils ont àcouvrir. Afin de reconnaître leurs besoinsen matière de compétences et destratégies spécifiques pour remplir cettemission, les Jardins botaniques royauxde Kew et le Botanic GardensConservation International ont mis en

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)

place la première formation destinée auxanimateurs des jardins botaniques,conçue pour leur fournir une évolutionprofessionnelle : le diplôme internationalen éducation dans les jardinsbotaniques. Pour la première fois depuisle lancement de cette formation en 1995,65 étudiants (représentant 43 paysdifférents) y ont participé, en prenantpart aux ateliers qui traitaient de thèmesaussi divers que la pédagogie, larecherche de financements etl’évaluation des publics. L’impact de laformation, en termes du nombre depersonnes qui visitent les jardins oùtravaillent les participants à cetteformation, représente plusieurs millionsde personnes et démontre ainsi quecette formation contribue activement àatteindre l’objectif 14 de la Stratégiemondiale pour la conservation desplantes, en garantissant quel’importance de la diversité végétale et lanécessité de sa conservation soientintégrées aux programmes decommunication, d'éducation et desensibilisation du public.

RESUMEN

Los educadores en jardines botánicostienen una enorme consigna, tanto conlas audiencias con quienes secomunican como en las áreas y temasque ellos cubren. En reconocimiento a lanecesidad de las habilidades deespecialistas y las estrategias a llevar a

cabo, la BGCI y Jardines BotánicosReales de Kew diseñaron un curso parael desarrollo profesional de loseducadores de Jardines Botánicos:Diploma Internacional de educación enJardines Botánicos. En 1995 fue primeravez que se impartió, a la fecha 65estudiantes de 43 países diferentes hanparticipado en el diplomado; ésteconsiste en talleres que cubren temascomo: pedagogía, obtención de fondoseconómicos y evaluación de audiencia,entre otros. El impacto de estediplomado en términos de números llegaa varios millones de que gente visitandolos jardines caseros de los participantes,indicando que el curso contribuyeactivamente a la meta 14 de laEstrategia Global para la conservaciónVegetal, asegurar la importancia de ladiversidad vegetal y la necesidad parasu conservación, incorporando así losprogramas de comunicación, educacióny conciencia publica.

With contributions from: VeronicaFranco, Felicity Gaffney, Orlik GomezGarcia, Susan Morgan and SumaTagadur Sureshchandra

Pat GriggsSpecialist Training Co-ordinatorRoyal Botanic Gardens, KewKew Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 3AB UKEmail: p.griggs@kew.orgWebsite: www.kew.org

13

2012 cohort of students. Back row from left: Richard Adspen (Australia), Corey Barnes (USA), Satu Jovero (Finland). Front row from left: Irina Popova (Krygystan) Sema Cevik (Turkey), Ukobong Ekaette(Nigeria), Gesche Hohlstein (Germany), Clare Cockwell (Falkland Islands), Liz Hood (Canada) and Hitendra Ram (India). (Kew)

Students participate in an art session and discusshow they can bring creativity into their educationprogramme and link it with science. (Kew)

MINNESOTA’S STORY

Nearly 20 years ago the PublicGarden Management class receiveda great message from then Director

of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, DrGhillean Prance. It was that we, the wellestablished gardens of the world, need towork with the underfunded (mostly small)gardens if we are ever going to make adent in worldwide acceptance of the needfor plant conservation, especially at thelocal level.

With this in mind we at the MinnesotaLandscape Arboretum (MLA) firstdeveloped a relationship with the TallinnBotanical Garden in Estonia. Theyneeded a research greenhouse to work on plant propagation of local and othercold-tolerant plants. A greenhouse –what would that cost, $500,000 US?Couldn’t do it! However, the thenDirector, Dr Heiki Tamm said he could get a greenhouse package (kit) fromFinland for $5,000 US, use student labour and get the concrete blocksdonated (or scrounged) for the footingsand he wouldn’t heat it in the winter. So we gave him money for the packageand a heater and the structure was built.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) • 14-19

Above: Peter Olin (left) and Yuri Naumtsev (right) shake hands on a partnership that has endured for over 12 years. Above right: Peter Olin planting a tree at Tver Botanic Garden (Minnesota Landscape Arboretum)

14

Crossing borders sharing knowledge

Traverser les frontières, le partage des connaissances Cruzando fronteras, intercambio de conocimientos

Gardens without Borders is a professional development

collaboration involving the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

and partners in Russia and Estonia. Peter Olin from

Minnesota and Tver Botanic Garden’s Yuri Naumtsev

explain how this synergy between very differently resourced

botanic gardens advances the global plant conservation

agenda by raising professional standards, especially among

educators from smaller, less developed gardens.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)

That was in 2000 and it is still there today.Since that time MLA has gone on to workwith gardens in Russia, including Tver.

Find a partner

If one garden wishes to help anotherwith fewer resources, how do you find asuitable partner? Since the University ofMinnesota faculty in Horticulture wasbreeding for cold hardiness, we beganlooking for compatible partners whowere collecting germplasm or workingwith scientists. If you are not part of aresearch institution one easy way is tocontact BGCI for names and contactdetails of gardens meeting yourparticular specifications for acollaborator. Things to consider:

1. Is the garden already working to saveendangered species and promotingthe use of native flora, or wishing todo such work? This can probably bedetermined by BGCI or fromconversations with garden personnel,web sites, etc. It is critical that thegarden you work with has thecommitment to species conservationand the interest to educatecommunities within its reach.

2. Visiting the garden. You can tell a lotjust by looking around. Resources ornot, does it look well maintained?Are the lawns mowed, the bedsweeded, the trees protected frommachinery gouging? Are there peoplevisiting the garden, and does anyonecare?! It’s really not hard to tell whenyou are on-site, even if the spoken orwritten information says something

different. Meet the main contactperson and perhaps some of the staffto see how they work together.

3. What sort of climate is it? You have tounderstand climatic conditions, whichusually means sticking to gardens thathave similar ones to your own. If youdon’t understand winter or desert, forinstance, you may underestimate thepotential struggles a garden will havejust to maintain plant life, let alone keepit healthy over time. How then couldyou help the garden to educate itspublic about saving endemic plants?

4. Who runs the garden? It must besomeone you can work with on anintellectual as well as a personal leveland someone you can trust. If agarden leader says they willcollaborate for plant conservation, willthey continue to do so once you handover resources? Some discussionsare necessary, either during the visitor at national or internationalmeetings. It may also be worthwhileinviting the individual to your garden.A written agreement could be best.

5. How will funding work? You will needa continuing source of funds for thepartner garden, so it would be wise toset up a special account . At MLAthis comes from donations by peoplegoing on Arboretum tours and it'sringfenced, so it cannot be used tobalance the Arboretum's budget!There are many ways to build up afund, including the popular ‘bakesale’ or ‘plant sale’ approach. Youmay need to check how you can

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum supported Tver Botanic Garden in 2012 to purchase furniture for its newbuilding, providing students with better facilities for education. (Minnesota Landscape Arboretum)

Children plant a tree in the community as part of theAdopt-A-Tree project. (Tver Botanic Garden)

actually get the funds to the garden!Political red tape may make it difficultand in places there is the possibilityof theft along the way. Direct banktransfers have worked well for us.

6. Be a believer! If a garden canmaintain its facilities and employadequate staff, it can then work onconserving local flora. You mustbelieve this and that your help, be itfinancial or intellectual, in givinginspiration or just being supportive,will result in a positive outcome.

What is collaboration?

There are many ways gardens cancollaborate to foster ideas of plantconservation in garden staff and toimprove a garden’s outreach. The MLAhas used joint conferences, staffexchanges, joint projects, and just plainold discussions over food and drink. Thisis fun, and allows one to gain friends andideas from around the world. Some of ourbest practices and most creative ideashave come from such collaborations.

We first met the directors of the BotanicGardens of the State University ofPetrozavodsk and the State University ofTver (TBG), Russia, at a conference ofthe American Public GardensAssociation (APGA). Since then we havehelped support those directors andothers from their garden to attendconferences in Tartu, Estonia, Tver,Washington D.C./Minneapolis, andDublin (BGCI). What a great way for thestaff of small, underfunded gardens tolearn about best practices, the latestwork in plant conservation, excitingresearch projects and the experiences oflarger well-funded gardens.

15

In September 2013 the MLA and TBGwill co-sponsor a conference in Tver,entitled Living in Harmony: BotanicalGardens and Society – Dialogue withoutBorders. It will cover the Global Strategyfor Plant Conservation, the role ofbotanic gardens in society, innovation ineducational programmes, marketingyour garden to the public, and theinternet as a tool to interpret one'sgarden.

We invited the director of the TverBotanical Garden to spend a month inMinnesota. He saw what the staff weredoing in the garden, how the fundraisersand marketing staff worked and howmembership kept people involved. Whenwe visited Tver we were taken aback bythe great reception set up, with TV andnewspaper interviews, and even areporter from the public radio station.This director had things to teach usabout developing personal relationshipswith media folk and letting them knowwhen you had something that wouldlook/sound good.

We were interested but somewhatsceptical when Dr Naumtsev proposed ajoint children’s project, a competitoncalled Adopt-A-Tree. A child or children,and their parents, were invited to selecta tree in their neighbourhood, identify it,

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)16

Tver Botanic Garden has set up a calendar of eventsthat includes family celebrations. (Tver Botanic Garden)

Participants at a conference in Tver in 2004 where best practices and creative ideas were shared. (MinnesotaLandscape Arboretum)

study it and learn all about its conditions.Each then submitted a written report on‘their’ tree to the Arboretum for judgingand awards. That was Phase I and weare in now in Phase II, where the student(and parents) must find a public spot inthe community that needs trees,research the space (including utilities,topography, etc), create a planting planwith trees most likely to survive, presentthe plan to municipal officials forapproval and then plant the trees. They must also convince the municipalityto look after the trees in future years. Do you think these students will grow up thinking about plant conservation? I don’t see how they couldn’t.

Ongoing support

Once the commitment to another gardenis made you must keep it up – perhaps 5to 10 years, so the garden can begin todevelop its own support system. Itshould be the supporting garden’s roleto counsel and help guide the supportedgarden to self-sufficiency. If yourcollaborators are fast learners they willpick up your ideas readily and give youback good ideas as well.

Of course, ideas must be tailored tocircumstances. During a visit to the MLAsome years ago, by some Russiangarden directors, a volunteerdemonstrated how to make flowerarrangements out of plants picked fromour garden and dried. We count on suchloyal volunteers who sell their beautifularrangements to raise funds for us.

In Russia, however, there was littlevolunteerism – everyone needed two ormore jobs just to keep going. So wesuggested finding individuals – perhapsretired women – who might be willing tocollect and make dried flowerarrangements to be sold by the botanicgarden, and they could split theproceeds. Everybody wins! This seemedto go down pretty well.

Benefits and progress

Supporting a garden that needs help isnot a tit-for-tat situation and should notbe thought of as such, though there areconsiderable mutual benefits.

Exchanging research information andplant material helps both gardens,binding them together in plantconservation efforts, both in regard tomoving plants from region to region andalso in highlighting the ex situpreservation of endangered plants.

Producing successful programmes – if we don’t get our children on theconservation bandwagon we have lost thegame. The MLA has adopted ideas abouteducational programmes from Russianand Estonian gardens, and from others inThailand, Poland, and South Africa.

Maintenance and conservation:It’s important to consider whether thegarden has improved over time. Is itkeeping endangered plants ex situ andhas it developed a means to propagatethem?

Marketing ideas: Special events are agreat way to bring your garden to thepublic. Pictures and descriptions of howyour collaborator has brought locals intotheir garden convey success.

Small stuff: Small yet effective ideascan be swapped – macro-photographyof insects, flower interiors, etc. asdesktop wallpaper for young people(must be wild, humorous or gross!) thatthey can have for free; making birdstands behind and higher than gardensigns so the birds sit on the stand ratherthan on the sign, etc.

International goodwill: Perhaps mostimportant of all – we try always to beambassadors of goodwill, and help towork at worldwide collaboration.Measuring this may not be scientific butit is recognisable, and visits to yourpartner garden can show you just howwell the collaboration is working.

Costs

In the two decades that the MLA hasbeen involved with the gardens in Russiaand Estonia, it has spent about $80,000US or about $4,000 US per year. If youtake out the cost of bringing 35 Russiangarden directors to the MLA fromWashington, D.C. (about $20,000 US)the average annual sum is only around$3,000 US. We can make more thanthat on one good Arboretum gardentour!

Summing up

It is important that gardens in thewealthy nations of the world set upcooperative arrangements withunderfunded gardens elsewhere. How will we accomplish real plantconservation without everyone playing apart? Education is the key and workingwith gardens to educate their populaceis essential. It may not always be easy,and there is a cost, but you will gainexponentially and, as discussed, fundingis only part of the way you can help. The garden you partner with will gainconfidence, understanding andcredibility and will therefore generatecreativity. Eventually that garden willbegin to help other gardens and thegood effects will be propagatedalongside the plants.

TVER’S STORY

The Botanical Garden of Tver StateUniversity is one of the smallest botanicgardens in the world, with an area ofjust 2 hectares. But it has a long history.The garden lies in one of the oldest citiesin Russia, in the historic centre of thecity of Tver, and the unique landscapearound it has not changed for more than700 years. Despite the small size of thecollection, the garden contains morethan 3,500 species of plants. So, wehave a unique garden. And what hashappened in recent years has been

hugely important – friendship,cooperation and support at theinternational level has made it possiblefor the garden not only to survive, butalso to flourish anew.

In 1997, the Botanical Garden of TverState University joined BGCI. Thosewere hard times, when the Soviet Unionhad ceased to exist and the new state ofRussia emerged. The country wasundergoing a deep economic and socialcrisis. Of course, academic institutionswere hugely vulnerable, especiallybotanic gardens. They offered notechnology or competitive products, theywere not schools or colleges, and didnot directly train professionals andstudents. So, many large collectionsdied or were diminished.

Our little garden had been reorganised in1989, by the Tver State University, on anancient site without buildings orcommunications facilities. Weconcentrated on restoring the collectionand actively organising expeditions, withlittle or no funding. Plants were obtainedfrom other botanic gardens for free andexpedition members used their ownmeagre resources. But after 10 years thecoffers were empty. Our budget was just$2,300 a year to pay the salary of allemployees and all expenses. We hadreached crisis point.

Then fate took a hand in the form of ameeting between the garden directorYury Naumtsev and Peter WyseJackson, then Secretary General ofBGCI, in Moscow. In 1999, BGCIproposed a unique project, ‘Support forbiodiversity conservation in the botanicgardens of the former Soviet Union’.Luckily, although the garden in Tver wasthe smallest, and probably the mostinsignificant of the gardens of Russia atthe time, we were given the chance totake part in this project. One of the mainaims was not only to introduce gardensin Russia to the work of our foreigncolleagues, but also to find, for everyRussian garden, a sister garden abroad.

A key meeting

In 2001, on a visit to Denver, USA, for anAPGA (American Public GardensAssociation) conference, the heads ofRussian gardens gave presentationsabout their work, and the problems offunding. After my talk the director of

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 17

As part of the Adopt-A-Tree project, parents and children select a tree in their neighbourhood to identify and study. (Tver Botanic Garden)

Minnesota Landscape Arboretum (MLA),Professor Peter Olin told me our reportand our limited budget had made a deepimpression on him – $ 2300 a year wasless than his salary per month! Hewanted to help us, and to visit ourgarden in person. This meeting didsomething very important – it gave ushope! We began to believe that thecommunity of botanic gardens in theworld could give mutual support andthat we were not alone.

Peter Olin came twice to Tver and Ivisited Minnesota twice. In addition, theMLA supported the participation of ouremployees in various internationalconferences and congresses, whichallowed us to communicate withcolleagues around the world, to learnand share experiences. And to talk aboutour achievements – because our gardenreally has accomplished so much. It'sironic, but the lack of funding has forcedus to devise interesting and uniquesolutions to problems which would neverhave been thought of by gardens inEurope and the US, who are not short ofmoney. In these gardens, the basis forthe implementation of projects in the firstplace is the availability of the budget. Inours, the basis for such projects is theenthusiasm of employees, even iffunding is nil. As a result we fare noworse than the US and maybe evenbetter, because we start from scratch,attracting visitors, donors, grants, andmedia. Of course, from time to timethere is financial support from kindlyfriends. But those funds are always for aparticular purpose, such as purchasing acar for expeditions, equipment forgardens, and so on.

What have our friends inMinnesota taught us?

• The concept of a public garden. Veryoften in Russia, people think a publicgarden is just like an ordinary parkwhere people come simply to relaxand enjoy their leisure time. That’simportant of course, but Russiangardens need to remember that theyare also research institutions and needto get the results of their researchacross to the public. So the publicgarden is also an educationalenvironment and we have had somegreat help from MLA on how todevelop this side of things.

• How marketing, public relations andinformation events for the media canraise the garden’s profile. Attractingvisitors and donors is impossiblewithout mastering this area and raisingadditional funds for the garden hasbecome an important part of our dailywork. Once again we learned muchabout this in Minnesota.

• The importance of landscapegardening and displays. The externalpositioning of collections in thegarden, creating a system of thematicgardens – these were valuable learningexperiences.

• The need for interpreting the results ofscientific research. Data fromscientists, botanists and ecologists areoften accessible only to specialists.We have learned from Minnesota toapply different methods to present theinsights gained from research to ourvisitors in the garden, in programmesand publications.

• How the Internet can be used fordevelopment and shared experiences.This was unusual for a Russian garden,but now for Tver the Internet hasbecome not just an additional mediumof communication but a powerful toolto inform visitors, friends and partners.

• The importance of familiarisingourselves with the best gardens in theworld – our friends from MLA providedus with opportunities to join their toursand help finance our widerparticipation in their garden.

• Environmental education needs to beintegrated into garden activities and aprogramme developed for all ages. InTver the whole system ofenvironmental education has beenrevised thanks to the experience wegained in garden art therapy as ameans of rehabilitation and educationof residents of urban areas. We haveset up a Calendar of Events, whichcomprises family celebrations,exhibitions, seminars, workshops andsummer camps.

• Ultimately of course, the benefit ofjoint projects. It is very important todevelop and implement these as theyare always a mutually beneficialexperience.

Many other elements have come out ofour cooperation with the MinnesotaLandscape Arboretum. For example, weoften prepare and present a joint reportat conferences and seminars. This helpsus to harmonise approaches, gives ideasto other gardens and demonstrates the

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)18

Engaging children in educational programmes is vital for the future of conservation. (Tver Botanic Garden)

opportunities that can arise throughcooperation. In the garden displays atTver, too, we have made use of objectsand ideas supplied by MLA, whiledisplays at Minnesota have been carriedout under the direction of an expert fromTver. We also enjoyed devising a jointcompetition called Adopt-a-Tree(described by Peter Olin above). This is agreat example of how even a smallgarden like Tver can make a real impact– nine different regions of Russia fromKamchatka to St Petersburg are involvedin the contest, and Tver is coordinatingit. Some projects in Tver and Minnesotalook similar at first glance, but each havea different slant. So in Minnesota theyhave ‘memorial trees’ planted in thearboretum by means of donorcontributions in memory of relatives orfriends, while at Tver, trees are plantedby couples on their wedding day – asymbol of family love and unity for thefuture, which seems to us moreoptimistic!

A shared future

In 1999, only 300 people came to ourgarden in Tver. Five years later, as webegan to develop the public gardenprogrammes, this grew to 15,000visitors, and now it is more than 25,000.It is a great victory!

And it is surely no accident that thissuccess coincides with the decade ofcooperation with the MinnesotaLandscape Arboretum. We sincerelybelieve that not only our small garden,but our friends in the US benefit from thelearning experience of our jointprogrammes and partnerships.

But even that is not the most importantthing. This partnership in education andscience not only brings continuedprogress in the development ofprogrammes and technologies – it is alsotrue international friendship. Along withour gardens we count the people whowork in them and the people who comeas visitors. Such links give our activitiesa personal value – and a botanicalgarden that evokes no feelings is a deadmedium. The emotions are not justaesthetic, they involve a conscious loveand understanding of the need topreserve the fragile peace of plants forall of us – we speak different languagesand live in different countries andcontinents, but we live in the same

world. Only together, with sharedknowledge and friendship, can we hopeto save it’s biodiversity.

Now, Tver has become one of ourcountry’s foremost centres of botanicalresearch and one of its most strikinggardens. It is still small, but specialistsfrom large gardens of the Academy ofSciences of Russia, and even largeRussian Biosphere Reserves have begunto come here for education and training.Thus, international cooperation hasbrought us knowledge, and new friendsand passions, and must be the means tounite countries around the world in acommon cause.

RÉSUMÉ

La coopération entre les jardins bienétablis et les jardins en manque defonds, qui œuvrent cependant pour créerun lien avec leurs communautés et pourl’éducation de celles-ci sur l’importancede la conservation des plantes, doit fairepartie des missions de tous les grandsjardins. L’Arboretum paysager duMinnesota (Etats-Unis), le Jardinbotanique de l’Université d’État de Tver(Russie), le Jardin botanique del’Université d’État de Moscou (Russie) etle Jardin botanique de l’Université deTartu (Estonie), ainsi que d’autres,collaborent depuis plus de 10 ans pourmettre en œuvre des initiativespédagogiques mutuellement bénéfiques.Il est important de permettre aux petitsjardins sous-financés de rejoindre lasphère pédagogique internationale envue de communiquer sur la conservationdes plantes au niveau mondial. Desconférences communes, des échangesde personnel, des projets communs etcertains financements extérieurs fontpartie du dispositif de développementprofessionnel, dans le cadre de nosefforts communs pour sensibiliser noscommunautés par des messages sur laconservation des plantes.

RESUMEN

Jardines muy bien establecidos, que apesar de sus escasos recursos trabajanarduamente en conectar la educación delas comunidades con la importancia dela conservación vegetal, se unen paratomar parte en la misma misión quejardines botánicos de talla mayor.

El Arboreto del Paisaje en Minnesota(EE.UU.), Jardín Botánico de laUniversidad Estatal de Tver (Rusia),Jardín Botánico de la Universidad estatalde Moscú (Rusia), Jardín Botánico de laUniversidad de Tartu (Estonia), entreotros, han colaborado en conjunto pormás de 10 años en la implementación deiniciativas de la educación. En estecontexto los jardines pequeños puedentambién formar parte de la educacióninternacional y sus tareas para laconservación vegetal a nivel mundial. El esfuerzo mutuo se proyecta enconferencias en conjunto, intercambiode personal, proyectos en colaboracióny la búsqueda de fondos externos queson parte del desarrollo profesional paraalcanzar a las comunicadas con unmensaje para conservación vegetal.

Peter OlinDirector and Professor EmeritusUniversity of Minnesota LandscapeArboretum3675 Arboretum DriveChaska MN 5318USAEmail: olinx002@umn.eduWebsite: www.arboretum.umn.edu

Iurii Naumtcev Director Botanic Garden of Tver StateUniversityZhelyabova Street 33Tver, 170000 RussiaEmail: naumtsev@mail.ruWebsite: www.garden.tversu.ru

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 19

In 1999 only 300 people visited Tver BotanicGarden, now 13 years later this number has grownto more than 25,000. (Tver Botanic Garden)

El Congreso Internacional de Educación de BGCI es un faro de inspiración en la educación del

jardín botánico. Cada tres años en las últimas dos décadas, educadores de todos parte del

mundo se han reunido para intercambiar las últimas ideas y aprendizajes. En 2012 este foro

único se realizó, por primera vez en América Latina, en la ciudad de México. En este artículo,

Linda Balcázar y sus colegas del Jardín Botánico del Instituto de Biología la UNAM, explican

cómo los congresos de BGCI han ejercido una influencia que se ha extendido más

allá de los límites de la UNAM

creando un gran impacto

tanto a nivel nacional como

en América Latina.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) • 20-2420

Introducción

La Educación Ambiental es uno de losobjetivos de los jardines botánicosen todo el mundo y desarrollar

programas efectivos dirigidos a laconservación de la diversidad vegetal esuna de las tareas más difíciles queenfrentan los educadores. La AgendaInternacional para la Conservación Vegetalen Jardines Botánicos, sugiere que estosespacios deben ser: centros de educaciónambiental y sustentabilidad, con personalcapacitado, cuyos programas deeducación ambiental deben estar bienplaneados, enmarcados en estrategias de educación con objetivos específicos,medibles, alcanzables, realistas ydefinidos en el tiempo. Sin embargo sonescasas las Instituciones que desarrollanprogramas específicos para lacapacitación o formación de educadoresambientales en jardines botánicos y pocos

los espacios de oportunidad para elintercambio de experiencias. Es aquídonde los Congresos Internacionales de Educación en Jardines Botánicosorganizados por BGCI, adquieren granimportancia para todos los que hacemoseducación. A partir de 1991, con la

celebración del Primer Congreso se abrióun aula natural para el aprendizaje y elintercambio de prácticas educativas, demanera que se transforma en un granbanco de semillas, donde los educadorestoman experiencias de otros, perotambién contribuyen con las propias.

Ideas sin fronteras la influencia duradera de

Congreso de Educación de BGCI

Ideas without frontiers: the enduring influence of BGCI’s Education Congress Idées sans frontières: l'influence durable du congrès Education du BGCI

Una exposición que se realizó en 2010 que demostró la importancia de biodiversidad que existe en la milpa.(Jardín Botánico IB-UNAM)

Estas reuniones son a la fecha losespacios por excelencia donde elconocimiento, la creatividad, elcompromiso, y el corazón de loseducadores se enriquece. En el siguienteartículo describimos algunas de estasexperiencias que tuvieron su inspiraciónen estos congresos pero tambiéncomentamos algunas que nacieron en elJardín Botánico del Instituto de Biologíade la UNAM (JB-IBUNAM) y se tomaroncomo modelo para otros jardines.

El Área de Difusión y Educación del JB-IBUNAM se creó en 1983 y desdeentonces ha enfocado sus esfuerzos paradesarrollar actividades educativasdirigidas a diversos grupos meta con elpropósito de formar una concienciapública sobre la importancia de la floramexicana, su conservación y usosostenible. Aquí se presentan 3 ejemplosde actividades educativas exitosas, queson de impacto local, nacional ointernacional y cuya simiente nació o sepresentó en alguno de los congresos deeducación.

1) Los Estuches Educativos del JB-IBUNAM

2) La Milpa3) El Plan de Acción de Educación

Ambiental en los Jardines BotánicosMexicanos

El Jardín viaja a las escuelas

Los Estuches Educativos del JardínBotánico del IB-UNAM, son verdaderascajas de sorpresas con materiales

educativos con temas de plantasmexicanas dirigidos a alumnos de nivelbásico. Estos estuches viajan a lasescuelas para ser utilizados por losprofesores y así facilitar el conocimientocuando los alumnos no pueden visitar eljardín botánico. Esta idea nace en 1986 ydurante el 1er. Congreso Internacional deEducación en 1991 presentamos estaexperiencia; el gran interés que sedespertó entre los asistentes nos animó arealizar durante el 2do. Congreso en 1993en las Islas Canarias el taller “Cómo hacerun estuche educativo de flores”, y en1995, en el II Taller Latinoamericano y del Caribe de Educación para JardinesBotánicos, “El estuche educativo deplantas útiles”, en ambos eventos losasistentes desarrollaron y aprendieroncomo hacer un estuche y así adaptarlo asus condiciones geográficas, biológicas y

culturales (Hernández, et al; 1993).En el año de 1994, tanto BGCI, como laAsociación Mexicana de JardinesBotánicos (AMJB) publicaron el ejemplode los estuches educativos, la primera, en“Educación Ambiental en JardinesBotánicos, lineamientos para el desarrollode estrategias individuales” (Linares, et al;1994) y la AMJB, en “La Educación en losJardines Botánicos: un Mundo de Ideas”(Hernández, et al; 1994). Así mismo BGCIha incluido a los estuches educativos enel programa de su Diplomado deEducación, como un modelo exitoso parala enseñanza.

Actualmente el Jardín Botánico hadesarrollado varios estuches con temascomo: las semillas, las flores, los frutos,las plantas medicinales y los agaves,entre otros. (Ver las photos de arriba)

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 21

Estuche de los agaves. (Jardín Botánico IB-UNAM) Estuche de los agaves. (Jardín Botánico IB-UNAM)

1986 Estuches Educativos (EE) del JardínBotánico del IBUNAM

Utrech 1991 Primer CongresoSe dan a conocer los EstuchesEducativos

Publicación de BGCI, 1994“Portable Botanical Educational Cases in Mexico”Estudio de caso de los estucheseducativos.

Islas Canarias 1993Segundo CongresoTaller: Cómo hacer un estucheeducativo de flores

II Taller Latinoamericano y del Caribede Educación para JardinesBotánicos, 1995 Estuche Educativo de Plantas Útiles

Elaboración de EE en JardinesBotánicos de México y de otrosjardines botánicos de América yEuropa

Figure 1

Publicación de la AMJB, 1994“Los Estuches Educativos: Uncomplemento a los programasEducativos de México”

Los Estuches Educativos seincorporan en el programa delDiplomado de BGCI a partir 1992

Una de las cosas más gratificantes paraun educador es saber que su trabajotiene eco, al presente varios jardinesbotánicos en el mundo han desarrolladosus propios estuches para facilitar laenseñanza más allá de los límites deljardín botánico. (Fig. 1)

Las exposiciones: campos decultivo de conocimiento

La Exposición “La milpa, baluarte denuestra diversidad biológica y cultural”fue el evento que inauguró el AñoInternacional de la Biodiversidad en laUniversidad Nacional Autónoma deMéxico en 2010. Esta exposiciónmontada en un principio en pleno corazónde la UNAM tuvo la gran misión demostrar las bondades, la importancia y lagran biodiversidad que existe en la milpa.

La “milpa” (vocablo náhuatl que significami campo de cultivo) es considerada unagroecosistema y se refieretradicionalmente al campo cultivadoprincipalmente con maíz, en México estasiembra se acompaña con otras plantascomo calabazas, frijoles, chiles yverduras autóctonas (“quelites”), algunasplantas medicinales y una ampliadiversidad de fauna (insectos, reptiles ymamíferos, entre otros), lo increíble de lamilpa es que todo lo que nace y habitaen ella es utilizado en la vida cotidianade los campesinos y muchos de estosrecursos, se consumen en las ciudades.

Aún observando la importancia de lamilpa poco se conoce de ella en laszonas urbanas y semiurbanas de laciudad de México. Esta exposición dio a conocer a través de diversos

especialistas, de conferencias, textos,talleres, actividades lúdicas, recorridosguiados, canciones y narracionespopulares, el porqué la conservación dela milpa contribuye al rescate biológico y cultural de la biodiversidad. (Foto 4)

El éxito de esta exposición la hallevado a viajar por distintos lugares a través de nuestro país y presentada a distintos públicos, ha tenido comosedes Instituciones académicas,Instancias de Gobierno, SistemasColectivos de Transporte, ÁreasNaturales Protegidas, así como ferias yfestivales populares del centro deMéxico. Por su relevancia lacompartimos en el 8° CongresoInternacional de Educación (2012), comoun ejemplo del potencial educativo quepuede involucrar e interesar a variossectores de la población. (Fig. 2)

Los congresos de Educacióncomo un espacio para lareflexión

Los congresos de educación ofrecen unaamplia gama de oportunidades, debido ala gran diversidad de actividades y entrelas charlas con los amigos, se abrenespacios para el análisis y la reflexión,esto último fue lo que nos sucediódurante el 6º. Congreso Internacional deEducación en Jardines Botánicosrealizado en Oxford en el 2006. A estecongreso asistieron varios educadoresmexicanos, y ante la diversidad detrabajos presentados no solamente deotros jardines botánicos del mundo sinotambién de nuestros compatriotas, surgela inquietud de conocer más aprofundidad nuestra labor en educación.Es así como el Jardín Botánico de laFundación Xochitla, A. C., el JardínBotánico del Instituto de Biología de laUNAM, y el Jardín Botánico del Centrode Investigaciones Científicas deYucatán, miembros de la AsociaciónMexicana de Jardines Botánicos (AMJB)se unen para hacer una propuesta detrabajo colectivo en el ámbito de laeducación. Estos jardines integraron elComité de Educación de la Asociación y coordinaron a lo largo de 5 años eltrabajo de los jardines botánicosmexicanos, con la participación de másde 25 educadores que asistieron a 4talleres de análisis. Desde el primer tallerse comprendió la necesidad de tener unaestrategia que direccionara la prácticaeducativa de acuerdo a los diversoscontextos biológicos y culturales deMéxico, además del reconocimiento

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)22

Una visita guiada a la exposición ‘La Milpa’. (Jardín Botánico IB-UNAM)

Miembros del Comité de Educación. De izquierda a derecha: Veronica Franco (JB del CICY), TeodolindaBalcázar (JB del IBUNAM), Edelmira Linares (JB del IBUNAM) y Lorena Martinez (JB de la FundaciónXochitla). (Jardín Botánico IB-UNAM)

institucional que en muchos casos eramínimo. Como resultado después de unlargo proceso de trabajo colectivo en el8vo. Congreso Internacional deEducación (2012), realizado en la ciudadde México, se presentó el “Plan deAcción en Educación Ambiental para losJardines Botánicos Mexicanos”. Seisaños después la semilla dio frutos, elplan de acción es un documento quesustenta que la actividad educativa enlos jardines es un proceso permanentede enseñanza y aprendizaje quecontribuye a elevar el conocimiento, lafuerza, responsabilidad y el compromisosocial hacia el ambiente en general y lasplantas vivas en lo específico (Martínez,et al 2012). Este plan se entregó a los

asistentes al congreso, por lo queesperamos sirva la experienciamexicana para otros jardines botánicosdel mundo. (Fig. 3)

Conclusiones

Más de 20 años han pasado y 8 han sidolos Congresos realizados, sin duda a lolargo de todo este tiempo, los jardinesbotánicos que hemos tenido oportunidadde asistir a algunos de estos congresos,hemos aportado y tomado de ese granbanco de semillas educativas, aquellasideas, que basadas en nuestroconocimiento y compromiso han servidopara generar programas ad hoc paranuestros jardines.

A través de las experiencias vertidas enel presente artículo, se observa comolos congresos se ven enriquecidos porun sinnúmero de actividades educativaslas cuales son comunicadas,intercambiadas o adaptadas. En el casode nuestro jardín ha presentado materialdidáctico innovador, talleres con temasdiversos, así como experienciaseducativas como las exposiciones quehan sido bien recibidas entre losjardines. Finalmente agradecemos a BGCI abrir estos espacios para loseducadores de los jardines botánicos y deseamos que a futuro las muchassemillas que en los congresos se handispersado germinen en cualquier partedel mundo con ideas que contribuyan al conocimiento y conservación de ladiversidad vegetal y por ende a lageneración de una conciencia pública de respeto a la Naturaleza.

Bibliografía

,Hernández C.C., Linares, E. yBalcázar, T., 1993. Cómo Elaborar unEstuche Educativo Flores. In: RodrigoPérez J.D., González Henríquez Ma. N.(edits) 1993. Cultivating greenawareness. Proceedings of theSecond International Congress onEducation in Botanic Gardens LasPalmas de Gran Canaria, JardínBotánico ‘Viera y Clavijo, Spain. pp.99-105

,Hernández, C.C., Linares, E., Balcázar,T., Jiménez, C., Herrera, E., y Rangel,L. M., 1994. Los Estuches Educativos:Un complemento a los programaseducativos en México. En: Linares, E.,C.C. Hernández y E. Herrera (edits). LaEducación en Jardines Botánicos, UnMundo de Ideas. Asociación Mexicanade Jardines Botánicos A.C.Publicación Especial No. 3, MéxicoD.F. pp. 62 - 65

, Linares, E., Hernández, C. C., yBalcázar, T., 1994 ‘Portable BotanicalEducational Cases in Mexico’ En:Environmental Education in BotanicGardens. Education Guidelines.Botanical Garden ConservationInternational. United Kingdom. 25 p.

,Martínez, L., Franco, V., Balcázar, T.,2012. Plan de Acción en EducaciónAmbiental para los Jardines Botánicosde México. Asociación Mexicana deJardines Botánicos, A. C., México.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 23

Los educadores ambientales que asistieron a los talleres de análisis para realisar la estrategia. (Jardín Botánico IB-UNAM)

8° Congreso deEducación BGCI, 2012

Organismos SocialesInstituciones

Académicas, 2010-1013

FestivalesAcademia de Ciencias

Ferias Universidades

OrganismosGubernamentales 2010-

Comisión Nacional deÁreas Protegidas

Parques Nacionales

Comisión deRecursos

Naturales del D.F.

La MilpaBaluarte de nuestra diversidad biológica y cultural

JB-IBUNAM, 2010

Figure 2

,Martínez L., Franco, V., Balcázar, T.,2010. Compromisos compartidos:Hacia un Plan de Acción de EducaciónAmbiental en los Jardines BotánicosMexicanos. Roots vol. 7 no. 2. Pp. 5 – 8

SUMMARY

Creating a social conscience about natureconservation is a necessary and urgenttask, work that requires analysis of severalfactors including knowledge, creativity,reflection and the experience ofspecialists in different areas.

The international botanic gardeneducation congresses organised by BGCIhave created spaces to share and learneducational experiences. Here wepresent a portrait of how thesecongresses have influenced thedevelopment and stengthening of theeducation programmes at IB-UNAMBotanic Garden, within its collections, in urban and rural areas (educational kits,teacher training courses, culture in thegarden and workshops in rural zones), at a national level in collaboration with theMexican Association of Botanic Gardens(the Environmental Education Action Planand the creation of national collections)and at a Latin American level (LatinAmerican education workshops). Someof these experiences have been widelypublicised in publications but here webring them together.

RÉSUMÉ

La création d’une conscience sociale ausujet de la conservation de la nature estune tâche nécessaire et urgente. Cetravail requiert l’analyse de plusieursfacteurs, notamment les connaissances,la créativité, la réflexion et l'expériencede spécialistes dans différentsdomaines.

Les congrès internationaux surl’éducation dans les jardins botaniques,organisés par le BGCI, ont permis decréer des espaces de partage etd'apprentissage d’expériencespédagogiques. Nous vous présentonsune esquisse de la façon dont cescongrès ont influencé le développementet le renforcement des programmesd’éducation au Jardin botanique IB-UNAM, au sein de ses collections, dansles zones rurales et urbaines (valisespédagogiques, formations deformateurs, culture dans le jardin etateliers en zones rurales), au niveaunational en collaboration avecl’Association mexicaine des jardinsbotaniques (le Plan d’action pourl’éducation à l’environnement et lacréation de collections nationales), et auniveau de l’Amérique latine (ateliersd’éducation latino-américains).Quelques-unes de ces expériences ontété largement diffusées dans despublications, mais nous les rassemblonsdans cet article.

Teodolinda Balcázar, Carmen CeciliaHernández, Elia Herrera y Edelmira LinaresJardín Botánico del Instituto deBiología de la UNAMCircuito Exterior s/n, Ciudad UniversitariaCopilco, A.P. 70-614Mexico City, CoyoacanDistrito Federal 04510 MexicoEmail:bsol@ibunam2.ibiologia.unam.mx Website: www.ibiologia.unam.mx/jardin

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)24

Plan de Acción en Educación Ambiental para losJardines Botánicos Mexicanos. (Jardín Botánico IB-UNAM)

Oxford , 2006Sexto CongresoNace inquietud durante el congreso

2007XX Reunión Nacional AMJBSe presenta un primer análisis delquehacer educativo en los jardines

2008XXI Reunión Nacional AMJBSe hace la propuesta oficial para eldesarrollo del Plan de Acción y seforma el Comité de Educación

2009-2010Talleres con los educadores de losjardines botánicos mexicanos

Publicación en BGCI, 2010Publicación “Compromisoscompartidos: Hacia un Plan de Acciónde Educación Ambiental de losJardines Botánicos Mexicanos”

México, 20128avo. Congreso Presentación del Plan de AcciónPublicación versión final

2013Implementación en los jardinesbotánicos

Figure 3

Introduction

With nearly one hundred membergardens and similarorganisations, that between

them cultivate over 50,000 plant species– around 20% of the world’s floweringplants, the Association of BotanicGardens (ABG) connects individual andinstitutional members across German-speaking Europe. While the bulk ofmembers are drawn from Germany itself,there is also widespread representationfrom Switzerland, Austria, Italy, theNetherlands and Poland.

Over the last three decades botanicgarden education has grown inimportance, not only for schools but alsofor the general public. Most gardensnow accept that education is a core partof their mission, playing a vital role inraising awareness about the importanceof plants and supporting people to livemore sustainable lifestyles. Andinevitably the pressure on specialisteducators to deliver their gardens’education agendas has also increased. It has been the role of the ABG to offersupport and professional guidance andtraining to its German-speakingcommunity of educators.

From small beginnings...

Even before German reunification in1990, the green shoots of botanicgarden education began to emerge onboth sides of the Iron Curtain. In theformer German Democratic Republic

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) • 25-30 25

Driving educational changethrough association

Conduire le changement éducatif par l'associationConduciendo el cambio educativo a través de asociación

The educational work of German language botanic gardens comes under the umbrella of

the German speaking Association of Botanic Gardens. Jörg Ledderbogen, from

Schulbiologisches Zentrum Hannover, describes how the association’s education working

group promotes research, educational improvement and networking opportunities for

garden educators.

Preparing cosmetics with essential oils during the educators’ meeting in 2008 at Hamburg Klein-FlottbeckBotanic Garden (Barbara Engelschall)

a ‘botanic school interest group’ held itsfirst meeting in 1981, while across theborder in the same year representativesfrom all over the Federal Republicconvened in Hannover for the inaugural‘Education at Botanic Gardens,Museums of Natural Science and Zoos’

meeting. From 1987 onwards in the Westthese meetings became annual and themomentum continued after reunification.Post-reunification, the meetingsprovided valuable opportunities forparties from both sides of the formerideological and educational divide tolook for common ground, with someAustrian-Swiss-South Tyroleaninfluences thrown into the mix!

In 1993 educators formed a workinggroup within the newly foundedAssociation of Botanic Gardens tosupport its educational task. Initially,unlike gardeners, directors, curators andtechnical managers, who were seen asdiscrete groups, educators were notpermitted their own representative onthe corporate management board.However as gardens becameincreasingly aware of the importance ofpublic engagement and support, as wellas school-related activities, the ruleswere amended. Following the ABG’s1996 meeting in Würzburg BotanicGarden, Renate Grothe ofSchulbiologiezentrum Hannover becamethe first educator to join the board. Withthe accession of a second educator in2006, educators now have equalrepresentation on the ABG board.

The ABG’s educators’ working groupnow consists of about 15 educators,teachers, freelancers and garden staffdrawn from across the German-speakingcommunity. The group coordinates anddelivers training sessions and supportsthe exchange of information. It alsopublishes the proceedings of trainingsessions as booklets and offers links toother information sources. Meetingsenable face-to-face encounters and theexchange of new ideas and experiences.

The educators’ working group is theinstitution for networking and the centralpoint of contact for all botanic gardenstaff who are planning to create greenschools. Meetings of all kinds, includingtraining and education sessions, are heldat member gardens, with the purpose ofoffering conceptual and best practiceexamples across a range of subjectswithin a framework of education forsustainable development.

By the mid 1990s it became evident thatthere was a need for pedagogicaltraining in botanic gardens. In autumn1994 the educators’ working groupconducted its first assessment of thestatus of educational work at botanicgardens and similar institutions.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)26

How many bottles of water does it take to rain on one square meter? Workshop during the educators meeting in2007 Botanic gardens in a Globalised World at the Tropcial Greenhouses Witzenhausen. (Barbara Engelschall)

Activites of the educators’working group

Educational work• Creation of class lessons,interdisciplinary or specialised

• Development of educationalmaterials

• Researching new topics,discussing and testing theireducational feasibility

• Developing education forsustainable developmentmaterials for different targetgroups

• Supporting schools to designschool grounds

Training • Training teachers to use botanicgardens (indoors and outdoors)and in pedagogical methods

• Training botanic garden staff andfreelancers in botanic gardeneducation

• Training participants duringannual ABG meetings and regulareducators’ meetings

• Documentation of materials andresults as booklets

Public relations• Developing publications• Co-organisation of events,exhibitions and publications

• Supporting contacts to media andmarketing

• Consulting and guest speaking • Accompanying scientificpedagogical investigations

• Presentations at national andinternational conferences andmeetings

Networking• Building and maintaining nationaland international contacts witheducators

• Connecting and collaborating withmembers of other professions atbotanic gardens and NGOs

• Exchanging concepts, teachingmaterials and addresses

• Cooperation with other out-of-school institutions (museums,zoos, associations)

Another important development hasbeen the cooperation with teachertraining institutes - biology studentsdevelop teaching units as part of theircurricula, which are then examined.

Changes in education

The most accurate assessment of thestatus of education in German speakingbotanic gardens was carried out in 2007by Marina Hethke (‘Investigationsconcerning educational work in botanicgardens with particular attention toGlobal Learning’ – University of Rostock,Umwelt & Bildung). The followinggraphs provide an overview of the tasksof 64 gardens and the methods theyused to communicate to the public:

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 27

The study revealed that 94% of the 63gardens who responded offered publicguided tours, while 76% made somekind of educational provision for schools.However, only 21% of gardens employeda professional educator. Guided toursand educational offers were, for the mostpart, provided by gardeners or curators.

In 1998 the working group translatedBGCI’s publication ‘EnvironmentalEducation in Botanic Gardens –Guidelines for developing individualstrategies’ into German and its publicationand co-financing by the ABG underlinedthe importance of the group’s work.

During the annual ABG meeting in Kiel(1999) Marina Hethke presented akeynote lecture entitled ‘Evaluation – an opportunity and instrument foreducational work at botanic gardens?’Developing educational work in botanicgardens based on sound evaluationbecame a key theme for subsequentwork by the education working group.

Guidelines for planning and designingguided tours in botanic gardens wereproduced and published in 2002. In thesame year the first booklets werepublished with the proceedings of theeducational meetings. The first in theseries examined flower ecology inbotanic gardens –‘Foxglove calls forBumble Bee’ – while later titles included‘Gardens in Autumn’ (2004), ‘Paragraphmeets Public – Biodiversity and Botanic

Gardens’ (2007) and ‘Flower Power –Energy Plants in Botanic Gardens’(2012). The series has proved to behelpful in sharing experiences betweeneducators and botanic gardens.

The working group has also developedworksheets on understanding insectsand plants in greenhouses and trainingmethods on producing eye-catching andeffective information panels. Forexample ‘Female quotas for Ginkos!’was intended to raise awareness aboutthe planting of male only gingko trees instreets. The group has also tried, so farunsuccessfully, to create a central poolof printed educational materials. Perhapsin this digital age, an on-line resourcebank might be the answer. The touring exhibition ‘Devils Claw Goes Public’ was

produced as a collaboration between the botanicalassociation of Hamburg and the educators workinggroup, financed by the Federal Office for NatureProtection. (Barbara Engelschall)

acad

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academic gardens

non academic gardens

Main tasks of botanic gardens(multiple answering possible)

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Methods used for groups(answers: “very often” and “often”)

Methods for connecting people withgreen ambassadors (plants) from all overthe world were developed and tested insix gardens, evaluated, published anddisseminated throughout Germany(www.globaleslernenimbotanischengarten.de/).

The UN Decade of Education forSustainable Development (ESD) hasfurther underlined the imperative forbotanic gardens to move from moretraditional environmental education toESD. The challenge is that while onethird of gardens do offer teachingmodules on sustainability, they are notthe ones most selected by schools. The ABG working group is constantlysearching for relevant topics to include intraining and public education provision,such as water conservation, renewableenergy and evolution.

In 2000, the federal state-wide schoolsystem introduced A-level certificates,requiring gardens to re-orientate theireducational provision towards this newcurriculum. Green schools have beenprovided with laboratory equipment tofacilitate experiments aboutphotosynthesis, plant poisons or geneticsand in 2010, Marburg Botanic Gardenopened the first comprehensive schoollaboratory created in a botanic garden.

Education in German speaking gardenshas come a long way since its origins inthe 1980s and today the gardens workthrough three major themes: ESD andGlobal Learning, inquiry-based scienceeducation and educational research (in

How much is one cubic meter of wood? Puzzleposed during the Meeting of the Association ofBotanical Gardens in 2011 at the Tharandt ForestBotanical Garden, WaldErlebnisWerkstattSylvaticon. (Beate Senska)

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100

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Agenda 21

CBD/Cites

breeding/geneticengineering

fair trade

renewable resources

agriculture and food security

ethnobotany

plants and climatic change

invasive species

plant evolution

plant conservation

biodiversity

rainforest

ecology

other

botany/plant knowledge

responding gardens (%)

Communication methods(multiple answering possible)

Special themes offered(answers: “very often” and “often”)

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)28

The stage has now been reached wheregardens appreciate that it is no longersufficient for someone to merely guidegroups through gardens and just talk atthem. Rooms are needed - as arematerials, artefacts and knowledgeabout working with different groups. In recent years the educational situationin several gardens has improved, withsome setting up ‘green schools’ withnewly built classrooms, laboratories andpermanent staff. Even universitygardens now regard non-universityeducation as part of their remit.

Since 1992, the implementation of theConvention on Biological Diversitythrough the German NationalBiodiversity Strategy has beenparamount for botanic gardens. The project ‘Global learning at local sites in botanical gardens’, funded bythe German Federal EnvironmentalFoundation, was a collaborationbetween two biology teaching institutes (Kassel and Osnabrück) and three botanic gardens (Osnabrück,Tharandt/Dresden andWitzenhausen/Kassel).

collaboration with university educationdepartments). Several gardens have setup green schools (eg. Mainz, Oldenburgand Potsdam), with Mainz UniversityBotanic Garden being the first toestablish a permanent scientific positionto manage its Green School.

However, the question of ‘who pays?’still provokes strong debate. Publicmoney has helped enormously in raisingthe status of education in Germanbotanic gardens, but there are alsoexamples of external funding. Theseinclude the research/developmentproject of BfN in 1999 and the EUfunded project ‘INQUIRE’ (2010-2013) aswell as the touring exhibition ‘Devils clawgoes public’ funded by the FederalOffice for Nature Protection and theAuthority for Urban and EnvironmentalAffairs (BMU) (2008). This exhibition,which includes a toolkit of learningmaterials developed in the green schoolof Hamburg Botanic Gardens, is nowpermanently located in Swakopmund.

Consolidating

There still much work to be done and thepurpose of the ‘educators’ working group’has to be continually re-examined and, ifnecessary, redefined. There is aconsiderable disparity in work experience,circumstances and levels of involvementwithin the group. Generally, members canbe divided into three categories. The firstof these include people who have beenactive in botanic garden education formany years. Indeed several go backfurther than the association itself. Theseare the principal collaborators on the sortof projects mentioned above. The secondgroup regularly turns up at trainingmeetings and the third group only attendsif meetings are close to their hometown.Many students and freelancers belong tothis latter group. Consequently trainingrequirements differ widely, with someeducators looking for new methods, somelooking for basic information and the moreexperienced looking for in-depthevaluation. The discussions however,always appear to be valuable for everyoneas illustrated by the following experiencesof two educators at different stages oftheir career:

Sabine Kapaun, an experienced specialneeds teacher, began working in KölnBotanic Garden “Flora” in 2012 andjoined the core education working group

at the same time. She quicklyfamiliarised herself with working in agreen school and already, throughexchanging materials and experienceswith colleagues at training meetings andduring the meetings of the core group,has a good overview of possibleeducational offers.

Marina Hethke, who has a degree inagriculture, has said that herparticipation in the group since 1993 hasinfluenced ‘everything and the whole ofher life’. Marina works in the Greenhousefor Tropical Crops Witzenhausen at theUniversity of Kassel and was involved atan early stage in the development ofeducational policy. Following theproduction with working groupcolleagues of a first paper evaluating theeducational work at botanic gardens(1994), she went on to publish onbotanic garden education in scientificjournals. In 2007 she completed her MA in ‘Environment and Education’. Her thesis was Investigation of theeducational work in Botanical Gardenswith particular attention to GlobalLearning. Today Marina focuses onGlobal Learning and its evaluation,collaborating in projects with severalpartners of the educators working groupand others of the ABG.

As this article has illustrated, theeducators’ working group hasestablished a significant role insupporting the professional developmentof German speaking botanic gardeneducators. Meeting two or three times a

year, the group is open to anyoneinterested in collaborating. Don’t hesitateto contact us if you want to be informedregularly about the activities of theworking groups or if you are thinkingabout establishing your own nationalworking group or network and needsome ideas.

It is also important to mention that thedevelopment of education in botanicgardens is the result of hard work,commitment and nurturing by theworking group. People keep networkstogether, they respond, invite, inform.The human factor cannot beunderestimated. The education workinggroup is extremely grateful to everyone,past and present, who has kept thenetwork alive and is continuing to do soin the present.

References

,Grothe, R., Hein, A., Hethke, M. undNellen, U., 1996, Stand derpädagogischen Arbeit an BotanischenGärten und ähnlichen Einrichtungen.In: Gärtnerisch-Botanischer Briefnr.123, 1996, S.11-13

,Hethke, M., 1999, Evaluation – Chanceund Instrument für pädagogischeArbeit an Botanischen Gärten? Vortragim Botanischen Garten Kiel,Jahrestagung AG Pädagogik imVerband Botanischer Gärten,Universität Kassel, Gewächshaus fürtropische Nutzpflanzen, Steinstraße19, 37213 Witzenhausen

Exploring materials in the forest ecosystem at the Meeting of the Association of Botanical Gardens in 2011 at the Tharandt Forest Botanical Garden, WaldErlebnisWerkstatt Sylvaticon. (Beate Senska)

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 29

,Hethke, M., 2007, Untersuchungen zurBildungsarbeit in Botanischen Gärtenunter besonderer Berücksichtigungdes Globalen Lernens. Rostock(Universität Rostock, Umwelt &Bildung), 70 S. + Anhang.

,Höfer, N., 2003, Untersuchung zurKryokonservierung von Samengefährdeter Pflanzenarten,Wissenschaftliche Hausarbeit,Humboldt-Universität zu BerlinMathematisch-NaturwissenschaftlicheFakultät I, Institut für Botanik, 93Seiten, 70 Abbildungen, 1 Tabelle

,Klingenstein, F., 2002, Umsetzung desÜbereinkommens über die biologischeVielfalt durch Botanische Gärten imBereich Zugang zu genetischenRessourcen und gerechterVorteilsausgleich. pp. 41-46 in KORN,H. & FEIT, U. (Hrsg.): TreffpunktBiologische Vielfalt II. Bundesamt fürNaturschutz, Bonn.

,Kneebone, S., 2007, A globalsnapshot of Botanic Garden EducationProvision- 2006, Botanic GardensConservation international,www.bgci.org/education/global_snapshot_edu_provis

RÉSUMÉ

Un des groupes de travail, au sein del’Association des jardins botaniques delangue allemande, concerne l’éducation.Le groupe de travail est très actif etfonctionne depuis plus de 20 ans. Ilsoutient la mission éducative (qui est enpleine expansion) des jardins botaniquesde langue allemande et offre une plate-forme pour mettre en réseau lesanimateurs des jardins. En particulier, legroupe partage les bonnes pratiques etles bonnes idées, coordonne desformations supérieures pour lesanimateurs et soutient le développementde nouvelles écoles vertes et la rechercheen pédagogie. Les membres du groupecomprend des enseignants, desbiologistes ou des jardiniers, destravailleurs indépendants ainsi que desemployés et tous ceux qui sont impliquésdans l’éducation et les relations avec lepublic dans les jardins botaniques.

Il y a deux rencontres par an pour lepersonnel éducatif : l’une lors desrencontres annuelles de l'association,

et l’autre lors des deux jours derencontres des animateurs organisés parle groupe de travail. Ces rencontresoffrent des formations pour tous ceuxdans l’association qui sont intéresséspar un thème particulier. Il fournit unevue approfondie de ce thème, met enlumière les théories pertinentes et lesidées nouvelles concernant lesméthodes pédagogiques. Les résultatsde ces rencontres sont retranscrits dansdes articles qui sont mis à la dispositionde tous les membres de l’association.

RESUMEN

Uno de los grupos de trabajo de laasociación de Jardines Botánicos dehabla alemana es la educación. Esteproporciona una plataforma y red detrabajo entre los educadores de hablaalemana para apoyar y hacer crecer lastareas educacionales. En particular, elgrupo intercambia las mejores practicase ideas, coordina entrenamientoavanzado para educadores y eldesarrollo de nuevas Escuelas Verdes e investigación educacional. Losmiembros que integran este grupo sonprofesores, biólogos, jardineros,personal empleado de tiempo completoo por contrato además de cualquier otroprofesional interesado en la educación yrelaciones publicas dentro de losjardines botánicos.

Se efectúan dos reuniones por año parael personal educativo – una, durante lareunión anual de la asociación y lasegunda durante dos días de la reuniónde Educadores en Jardines, organizadapor el grupo de trabajo. En esta reunionse ofrece entrenamiento para cualquierpersona de la asociación interesada enalgún tema en particular. Se proporcionauna vista más profunda de los temas,realzando teorías y nuevas ideasenfocadas a la metodología educativa.Los resultados de estas dos reuniones sedocumentan en artículos que soneventualmente disponibles para todos losmiembros de la asociación.

On behalf of the Educators’WorkingGroup of the Association of BotanicalGardens:Dipl. Biol. Jörg Ledderbogen Schulbiologiezentrum HannoverVinnhorster Weg 2D 30419 Hannoverjoerg.ledderbogen@hannover-stadt.de

Speakers of the Educators WorkingGroup and members of theAssociation of Botanical Gardensmanagement board:Dipl. Biol. Felicitas Wöhrmann:lizi.woehrmann@t-online.deDr. Ute Becker: beckeru@uni-mainz.deWebsite: www.verband-botanischer-gaerten.de/pages/arbeitsgruppen/paedagogik.html

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)30

Renewable resources – Opportunity or risk? Activity run at the educators’ meeting in 2011 at Mainz Botanic Garden (Marina Hethke)

Like many in our field, my path topublic horticulture was a windingone. I was trained as a classicist.

I spent my undergraduate years at theColorado College studying Latin andancient Greek, then taught high schoolLatin for four years. While taking a breakfrom teaching to earn an MA in Latin atthe University of Washington I picked upa part-time gardening job simply as an

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) • 31-34 31

Postgraduate perspectives on training

Perspectives de troisième cycle sur la formationPerspectivas de postgrado en formación

Becoming a senior manager in a botanic garden often requires people to break through

‘glass ceilings’. University of Delaware’s Longwood Graduate Program (LGP) in Public

Horticulture is an established American postgraduate course supporting students to

take on this challenge. Sarah Levin Stevenson provides a student’s perspective in

learning how to connect public gardens with their communities.

excuse to get outside – I had no idea thismove would change the course of mycareer. The company was a small,organic landscaping operation run entirelyby women and my supervisor took meunder her wing and patiently taught mehow to care for plants. I experienced theinstant gratification of installing a gardenand making a space beautiful. I learnedthe long-term process of watching plants

grow through the seasons. We workedwith clients to turn lawns into gardensand educated them aboutenvironmentally friendly garden design.

Then I began to miss teaching, so Ivolunteered for an environmentaleducation programme working withyoung students. It was inspiring to showyoung minds how to connect with the

The Longwood Graduate Program class of 2013 visiting the Rainforest Trail at the Singapore Botanic Garden in January 2012. (Abby Johnson)

environment in fun and creative ways.For example, before showing thestudents how to plant seeds, we wouldget them to mimic seed germination withtheir bodies, crouching down small andthen slowly growing and stretching uptowards the sun to feel more of aconnection with the seed they wereabout to plant.

Next came a period as the EducationIntern at the Morris Arboretum of theUniversity of Pennsylvania. It was acrash course in the field of education at

a public garden, with experience ofworking with volunteers and developingclasses. I realised this was the right pathfor me. What I wanted next was the besttraining possible to help me achieve asenior position in public programmes.

When I heard about the LongwoodGraduate Program (LGP) it was clearthat in so many ways it meshed with myinterests and the training I was seeking –the Program would propel me into thefield and expose me to all aspects ofrunning a public garden. I applied andwas accepted.

The Program

Longwood Gardens set up its inauguralLongwood Graduate Program (LGP)class in 1967, really as a reaction to ananticipated lack of professionalleadership training in the field, in theshort- and longer-term future. The LGPaimed to deliver a training programmethat built capacity. It would encouragefuture leaders to be classmates, to worktogether, and to create a strong alumninetwork.

The LGP has been under the guidance of three directors since its inception.Today’s head, Dr Robert Lyons, hasincorporated requirements to ensure

leadership skills development in anumber of areas: project management,teamwork, fundraising, environmentalimpact, event planning, travel, andpersonal development through thesisresearch and selected coursework.

These various aspects of the Programhave been incredibly valuable to me,both personally and professionally. I have been able to travel to fascinatinggardens and meet top-level staff to learnhow gardens all over the world are runand how they approach education. I nowhave experience with marketing toattract a larger audience to our events,as well as fundraising, budgeting, anddesign. I have learned both how to leada group and to be a strong member ofthe team. All of our projects are plannedand executed by the Fellows, under theguidance of our director.

Some Program aspects

Group Projects:We plan, organise, andrun an annual symposium to covercurrent issues and bring experts in thefield to the Philadelphia area. This year’ssymposium topic is ‘ShiftingLandscapes: Cultivating Connectionswith a Broader Community’ and we arefortunate to have an amazing line-up of speakers, including BGCI’s own

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)32

The famous blue poppies (Meconopsis) in bloom, inside the Conservatory at Longwood Gardens. (Wonsoon Park)

Dr. Robert Lyons, Director of the Longwood GraduateProgram and Professor of Landscape Horticulture atthe University of Delaware. (Robert Lyons)

Asimina Vergou who will talk aboutBGCI’s Communities in Nature project. During our Professional Outreach Project(POP) each summer, we become pro-bono consultants. We work with anactual regional public garden to identifya significant issue or challenge anddevelop solutions for it. This projecttakes place far from the classroom buthas probably taught me the most aboutwhat it really takes to work in a publicgarden.

Travel: One of the highlights of theProgram is an international trip. Myclass visited Singapore and Indonesia,and the experience really demonstratedhow global the public garden communityis. I was able to speak the samebotanical language with colleaguesabroad and it was especially valuable tomeet other educators who shared asimilar desire to reach out to the publicand create transformative experiences. Closer to home, we get to know ourlocal public horticulture community verywell and travel to public gardensthroughout North America to makefurther connections and comparisons.These trips help demonstrate the varietyof shapes, sizes and management stylesthat exist at public gardens around theworld. As an educator, it has beeninvaluable to see how different educationand public programmes are executed,and to build a broad network ofcolleagues.

Professional development: The LGPFellows are encouraged to work on avariety of projects at Longwood. Myinvolvement with the Longwood Gardenseducation department has given meexperience in creating coursework forContinuing Education. I focused ondesigning classes to attract the often-elusive ‘millennial generation’, hoping toexpand the demographic with temptingcourse offerings.

Coursework and thesis research:We take courses at the University ofDelaware and develop our thesis work tofocus on our personal career interests.My thesis, Rooted in the Community:Tools for Engagement at Public Gardens,involves research to help identifystrategies for community engagementand social inclusion. I have interviewed

dozens of people and learned a greatdeal about creating effective publicengagement, an area I plan to pursue inmy career.

My time in the Program has beeninvaluable – I know I have developed myskill set and my path in public horticulturehas become concrete. Graduation will bein May 2013 and I am hoping to gain aposition in the field where I can continuemy work in connecting public gardenswith their communities.

Application Process

LGP accepts ambitious students, mostoften already working in publichorticulture or related fields, and helpsthem to acquire the skills necessary tobreak through any ‘glass ceiling’ and findleadership positions after graduation.This is a thesis-driven Master of Sciencedegree, delivered in a partnershipbetween the University of Delaware inNewark and Longwood Gardens inKennett Square, PA. It is a fellowshipprogramme, so students receive astipend and funding to cover tuition,thesis research, and general professionaldevelopment. Applications are due inmid-November and the LGP generallyaccepts five students a year, comingfrom anywhere in the world.

Please see our websitehttp://ag.udel.edu/longwoodgrad/ formore information.

References

, Thompson, David. 2005, On theCover… Longwood Chimes, Issue252, 2-15.http://ag.udel.edu/longwoodgrad/pdf/ProgramHistory.pdf

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 33

Longwood Graduate Fellows enjoying the orchid house at the Cibodas Botanical Garden in West Java,Indonesia. (Abby Johnson)

Longwood Graduate Fellows pose in front of a mock up the signs created and installed during theProfessional Outreach Project. (The Longwood Graduate Program)

RÉSUMÉ

Le programme d’études supérieuresLongwood en horticulture publique (LGP)est un diplôme en deux ans de Master descience, basé sur une thèse, proposé encommun par les Jardins de Longwood àKennett Square en Pennsylvanie etl’Université de Delaware. Officiellementfondée en 1966, LGP a une longuehistoire de formation de dirigeants enhorticulture publique. Le programmenécessite plusieurs projets d’équipe, ainsique la recherche de thèse individuelle etdes cours d’études supérieures, pourassurer l’équilibre et un apprentissage parl’expérience. Parmi d’autres projets, letravail d’équipe comprend : laplanification et l’exécution d’un colloqueannuel, la consultation sur un projet àcourt terme avec une institution publiquerégionale d’horticulture et l’évaluation etla réduction de l’impact environnementalde la LGP.

Mon programme de rechercheindividuelle se concentre surl’engagement local dans les jardinspublics. J’ai travaillé dans le monde entier

pour rencontrer et établir des liens avecdes responsables de divers jardins. En tant qu’animateur, j’ai consolidé mescompétences en pédagogie et en gestionau travers du LGP, me préparant pour uneposition de direction après le diplôme. Le LGP accueille les étudiants américainsainsi que les étudiants internationaux.Consultez www.udel.edu/longwoodgradpour plus d’information.

RESUMEN

El programa Longwood en HorticulturaPublica (LGP) tiene un nivel de maestríauniversitaria y consiste en dos años, seimparte en asociación con el JardínBotánico de Longwood en KennettSquare, Pensilvania y la Universidad deDelaware. Fue oficialmente establecido en1966 y desde su inicio LGP ha entrenadoa líderes en horticultura publica.

El currículo del programa incluye tantoproyectos en equipo como tesisindividuales, además de cursos de trabajoque aseguran un balance de aprendizajeexperimental. En el trabajo en equipo se

incluye el planear y llevar a cabo unsimposio anual, un proyecto a corto plazode asesoría en una institución regional dehorticultura publica, y estimación ymitigación del impacto ambiental de LGP,entre otros proyectos más.

Mi programa de investigación individualse enfoco a compromisos de lascomunidades con jardines botánicospúblicos. He viajado globalmenteconociendo y estableciendo colaboracióncon líderes de diversos jardines. A travésdel LGP he consolidado habilidadescomo educador, profesor y administrador,que después de mi graduación meprepararon como líder. LGP recibeestudiantes de los EE.UU. einternacionales. Para informaciónadicional consultar el sitowww.udel.edu/longwoodgrad

Sara Levin StevensonLongwood Graduate FellowThe Longwood Graduate Program126 Townsend HallThe University of DelawareNewark, DE 19716 USAEmail: saralevinstevenson@gmail.com

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)34

Spring blooms at Longwood Gardens. (Wonsoon Park)

Educators working at conservationsites tend to have a backgroundeither in formal school teaching or in

environmental science – neither of whichfully equips them for the challenge ofworking with such a wide range of people,from the general public to youth groupsand school parties, in informal settings.There has been a clear lack ofprofessional training routes for educatorsto develop insights into such topics asunderstanding audiences, developingconservation messages, deciding onlearning activities and theories, planningeducational activities, selecting effectiveinterpretation media and working throughethical dilemmas. The need for a coursethat addressed these topics was identifiedby organisations that subsequentlypartnered the University in itsdevelopment: Botanic GardensConservation International, Field StudiesCouncil, Royal Society for Protection ofBirds, Wetland Link International andWildfowl and Wetlands Trust.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) • 35-37 35

Students participate in an ice-breaking activity during the evaluation of the pilot course. (LSBU)

L'apprentissageen ligne réduit les distances en matière d'éducation pour le développement durable Aprendizaje a través de internet acorta la distancia de educación para la sostenibilidad

Learning on-line cuts the distance for Education for Sustainability

BGCI and a consortium of international organisations, including London South Bank

University (LSBU), are launching the first ever international site-based distance-learning

course on Education for Sustainability. Students with good on-line access will be able to

study from anywhere in the world at times best suited to them. Accredited and

administered by LSBU, the course is conducted in English and delivered entirely on-line

by tutors who are also experienced site-based educators.

Working with these partners, LSBU hasdeveloped a tailor-made course which isdelivered entirely on-line by experiencedtutors who are also themselves practisingsite-based educators. In addition, experttutors from the partner organisationsmoderate the discussions and offerappropriate support.

Network benefits

The job of a site-based educator canoften be rather lonely, with one personresponsible for overseeing the entireeducation programme of the organisation.This solo role means there are no felloweducators to bounce ideas off.

This course creates an opportunity for acreative, dynamic and safe space on-linewhere participants can share ideas andbuild a learning community of goodpractice in site-based education. The excellent potential for long-termcontinuation of relationships initiated inthis way offers a strong support networkafter graduation.

The learning process is facilitated througha series of structured and purposefulactivities in which participants exploredifferent aspects of their role as aneducator. In line with current thinking andtheory, the activities are practical andmade relevant to their working context.On the one hand, students come to gripswith the latest methods of developingsustainable sites that are accessible to awide variety of visitors. On the other, thecourse helps them to develop skills inplanning, delivering and evaluatingsessions. Participants, supported by bothtutors and fellow students, can explore avariety of topics which (unpacking boththeories and practice) help to develop anindividual’s awareness of being an agentof change – in themselves, their site andits stakeholders, and their audiences. The work carried out during theseactivities, which includes several pieces ofwriting reflecting on personaldevelopment and the progress of theirstudies, is collated in a personal portfolio;this is also the means for students to beassessed.

Ways to study

This course is accredited by LSBU as astand-alone certificated module but,alternatively, it can be studied as anoptional 20 credit module on the MSc

Education for Sustainability which is alsodelivered by distance learning. Studentselecting the first route may later chooseto use the credits gained towards theMSc degree. It is an international coursewhich can be studied from anywhere inthe world – this allows students toparticipate at times which suit them,providing they have good on-lineprovision.

The success of the pilot course run in2010 illustrates that this approach ishighly beneficial for site-basededucators. Participants agreed that theyhad grappled with many issues of whichthey had not previously been aware, andthat understanding these had changedthe way they approached both their

teaching and the day-to-day work attheir sites. Sharing ideas with otherstudents had enriched their ownteaching, and the group agreed that theyhad found solutions to many of theproblematic issues faced in site-basededucation in the on-line conversations.The virtual learning environment (VLE) isdesigned in such a way that participantscan build up their skills and knowledgegradually, to apply them to the realcontext of their work environment. Thisis also an opportunity for managers tosupport professional development: thecourse not only helps students realisethe potential for an effective educationprogramme, but also equips them tocontribute to the development of adynamic organisational strategy.

If you want to increase your knowledgeand skills in site-based education andare keen to orientate your programmestowards sustainability, this is the coursefor you. While the partner organisationsare all conservation-oriented, this is alsoan ideal opportunity for educators inother fields, such as museums, librariesand national heritage sites, to engagewith a broad spectrum of approaches tosite-based education. Whether you workat an outdoor site - such as a fieldstudies centre, wetland area or naturereserve - or indoors, the Site-BasedEducation for Sustainability module willhelp you deliver education moreeffectively.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)36

The course helps develop skills in planning, delivering and evaluating sessions (BGCI)

Barrie Cooper, International Education Manager for the RSPB and one of the distance-learning tutors on thecourse shares his views with students about an educational resource. (LSBU)

Interested in applying?

The next cohort starts in September 2013and you will need to commit 200 hours ofstudy over the period from September2013 to May 2014. To apply you will needto be employed as an educator deliveringenvironmental education and personalengagement activities, or working ineducation in a voluntary capacity at a siteor on a project. For successfulapplication, you will need an honoursdegree (minimum of 2:2 honours) from aUK, EU or International University, orequivalent qualification or professionalexperience. We welcome equivalentqualifications from around the world. IfEnglish is not your first language, you willneed to pass an approved Englishlanguage test. For further information,contact the course director (see below fordetails).

RÉSUMÉ

Quand il s’agit de développer et de fournirdes programmes d'éducation, la plupartdes sites extérieurs partagent des défiscommuns. Par exemple : connaître lespublics, développer des messages sur laconservation, décider des activitésd'apprentissage et des théories, choisirdes supports d'interprétation efficaces et travailler sur des dilemmes éthiques.Pour aborder ces défis, un consortiumd'organisations internationales et laLondon South Bank University ont jointleurs forces pour mettre en place lepremier cours d’apprentissage à distancesur l’éducation au développementdurable. Le consortium comprend le « Botanic Gardens ConservationInternational », le « Field Studies Council », la « Royal Society for Protectionof Birds », le « Wetland Link International »et le « Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust ».

Cette formation est accréditée etadministrée par la LSBU, et peut êtresuivie de n’importe quelle région dans lemonde. A condition que les élèves aientun bon accès internet, ceux-ci peuventchoisir le moment de participer enfonction de leur disponibilité. Le cours etdonné en anglais et il est entièrementdispensé en ligne par des tuteursexpérimentés, qui sont aussi desanimateurs professionnels expérimentés.Il offre également des points pour leMaster de science « Education audéveloppement durable » du LSBU.

Cet article explique comment, enparticipant aux cours, les étudiantspeuvent accroître leurs connaissances etleur savoir-faire en éducation et orienterleurs programmes vers le développementdurable.

RESUMEN

En lo que refiere a desarrollar y comunicarprogramas de educación, la mayoría deinstituciones tienen retos comunes, porejemplo, entender audiencias, formularmensajes de conservación, decidir en quéactividades y teorías de aprendizaje,planeamiento de actividades educativas,selección efectiva de publicidad einterpretación y trabajar a través dedilemas éticos. En respuesta a estosretos, un consorcio internacional deorganizaciones y la Universidad de SouthBank en Londres (LSBU), se unieron paraestablecer por primera vez un sito de uncurso a distancia en Educación ysustentabilidad. El consorcio estáformado por BGCI, Field Studies Council,Royal Society for Protection of Birds,Wetland Link International y Wildfowl andWetlands Trust.

La administración y créditos del curso sonpor medio de LSBU, se puede llevar acabo a nivel global. De esta forma seproporciona a los estudiantes un buenacceso en línea que les permite consultarflexiblemente de acuerdo a sus horarios.El curso es en ingles y lo apoyan tutoresexpertos, quienes también tienen practicaen educación por medio de sitioselectrónicos. Los créditos del curso son anivel de MSc de la Educación para lasustentabilidad. Este articulo explica a losestudiantes como pueden participar en unsitio electrónico e incrementar elconocimiento y habilidades orientadoshacia la sustentabilidad.

Ros Wade Course DirectorMSc Education for Sustainability Module in International Site-basedEducation for Sustainability London South Bank University103 Borough RoadLondon SE1 0AA UKEmail: wader@lsbu.ac.ukWebsite: www.lsbu.ac.uk/ahs/departments/socialsciences/efs.shtml

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 37

Course activities are practical and relevant to students’ working situations. (BGCI)

RESOURCES

Books

Transforming Museums in theTwenty-first Century

This book argues that museums musttransform themselves if they are toremain relevant to 21st Centuryaudiences - something which isnecessary despite the current economiccrisis. The development of newtechnologies and the way we interactsocially demands a re-assessment ofhow cultural institutions engage withtheir audiences. Through case studiesand practical examples, this bookcreates a new vision for museumscommitted to participation andcollaboration, unrestricted by walls andopening hours. In particular, it features:

• an introduction focusing on thechallenges that face museums in the21st century

• an analysis of population trends andtheir likely impact on museums

• boxes showing ideas, models andplanning suggestions to guidedevelopment

• examples and case studies illustratingpractice in both large and smallmuseums

• an up-to-date bibliography of research,including numerous websites

Museums and botanic gardens share along cultural history and, while they aredifferent types of organisations, theywould do well to heed Black’s words.

Graham Black, 2011, Routledgewww.routledge.comISBN: 978-0-415-61573-0 (Paperback)ISBN: 978-0-415-61572-0 (Hardback)

RESSOURCES

Livres

Transformer les musées du21ème siècle

Ce livre soutient que les musées doiventse transformer s’ils veulent rester enphase avec les publics du 21ème siècle– ce qui est nécessaire malgré l’actuellecrise économique. Le développementdes nouvelles technologies et la façondont nous interagissons socialement,demandent une révision de la façon dontles institutions culturelles en appellent àleurs publics. A travers des études decas et des exemples pratiques, ce livreapporte une nouvelle inspiration pour lesmusées ouverts à la participation et lacollaboration, et qui ne sont pasenfermés dans leurs murs ou dans leurshoraires d’ouverture. En particulier, ilcomprend :

• une introduction centrée sur les défisqui attendent les musées du 21èmesiècle

• une analyse des tendancesdémographiques et leur impact sur lesmusées

• des encadrés avec des idées,modèles et propositions deprogrammes pour orienter ledéveloppement

• des exemples et études de cas quiillustrent la pratique dans des musées,grands et petits

• une bibliographie à jour des recherches,y compris de nombreux sites internet

Les musées et jardins botaniquespartagent une longue histoire culturelleet, bien que ce soit des typesd’organisations différentes, ils feraientbien de suivre les conseils de Black.

RECURSOS

Libros

La transformación de los museosen el siglo XXI

Este libro sostiene que los museos debentransformarse si quieren seguir siendorelevantes para el público del siglo XXI,algo sumamente necesario a pesar de lacrisis económica actual. El desarrollo denuevas tecnologías y de las formas enque interactuamos socialmente, exigenuna reevaluación de la manera en que lasinstituciones culturales se relacionan consus audiencias. A través de estudios decasos y ejemplos prácticos, este librocrea una nueva visión para los museoscomprometidos con la participación y lacolaboración, sin restricciones dadas porparedes u horarios de apertura.

En lo particular, el libro presenta:

• una introducción enfocada sobre losdesafíos que enfrentan los museos enel siglo XXI

• un análisis de las tendenciasdemográficas y su posible impactosobre los museos

• muestras de ideas, modelos ypropuestas de planificación paraorientar el desarrollo

• ejemplos y estudios de casos queilustran las prácticas en museosgrandes y pequeños

• una bibliografía en materia deinvestigación, actualizada, incluyendonumerosos sitios web

Los museos y los jardines botánicoscomparten una larga historia cultural y,aunque son diferentes organizacionesdiferentes, ambos harían bien en tomaren cuenta las palabras de Graham Black.

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) • 38 -4438

Resources

DisponiblesRecursos

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 39

Why Aren't We Saving the Planet?A Psychologist's Perspective

Have you ever asked yourself why arewe not saving the planet? This bookfollows one psychologist’s mission tofind some answers to this question.Challenged by a student to usepsychology to find the root of theproblem, Geoffrey Beattie (a self-confessed environmental non-believer)begins a personal and life-changingjourney of discovery using psychological

methods toexaminepeople’sattitudes toglobal warming.Along the wayBeattie’s ownattitudes arechallenged, aswell as our own.This readablebook highlightsnew andinnovativeresearch carriedout into how we

can change attitudes, encouragingpeople to become more concernedabout the environment and adoptsustainable behaviours.

Geoffrey Beattie, 2010, Routledge www.routledge.comISBN: 978-0-415-56197-6(Paperback)ISBN: 978-0-415-56196-9 (Hardback)

Practitioner Research andProfessional Development inEducation

This practical and accessible bookpromotes action research, helpingpractitioners to develop their skills incritical appraisals and analysis ofpractice. It aims to support practitionersin undertaking small-scale inquiries andresearch investigations to improve theirprofessional capacity andtheir students’ achievement.The authors suggest a rangeof activities for evaluatingteaching includingobservations,autobiographicalapproaches and narrativewriting. They also coverrelated areas such as dataanalysis, write up ofresearch and disseminating

Graham Black, 2011, Routledgewww.routledge.comISBN: 978-0-415-61573-0 (Paperback)ISBN: 978-0-415-61572-0 (Hardback)

Pourquoi ne sauve-t-on pas laplanète? Le point de vue d’un psy

Vous êtes-vous déjà demandé pourquoil’on ne sauve pas la planète ? Ce livresuit le parcours d’un psychologue pourtrouver quelques réponses à cettequestion. Relevant le défi d’un étudiantqui lui demandait d’utiliser lapsychologie pour trouver la source duproblème, Geoffrey Beattie (un « noncroyant » environnemental, tel qu’il sedéfinit lui-même) se lance dans unvoyage initiatique personnel, utilisantdes méthodes psychologiques pourexaminer les attitudes des gens sur leréchauffement climatique. En chemin,les attitudes de Beattie lui-même sontremises en cause, ainsi que les nôtres.Le livre met en valeur des recherchesnouvelles et innovantes sur commentnous pouvons changer nos attitudes etencourager les gens à se sentir plusconcernés par l’environnement etadopter des comportementsresponsables.

Geoffrey Beattie, 2010, Routledge www.routledge.comISBN: 978-0-415-56197-6(Paperback)ISBN: 978-0-415-56196-9 (Hardback)

Recherche et développementprofessionnel dans l’éducation

Cet ouvrage, pratique et accessible, faitla promotion de la recherche-action,aidant les professionnels à développerleurs compétences en évaluation critiqueet en analyse de la pratique. Il vise àencourager les professionnels à mettreen place des enquêtes et des études àpetite échelle pour améliorer leurscompétences professionnelles et lesrésultats de leurs élèves. L’auteur

propose une séried’activités pour évaluerl’enseignement, ycompris desobservations, desapprochesautobiographiques etl’écriture narrative. Dessujets proches commel’analyse des données,la rédaction de travauxde recherche et la

Graham Black, 2011, Routledgewww.routledge.comISBN: 978-0-415-61573-0 (Paperback)ISBN: 978-0-415-61572-0 (Hardback)

¿Por qué no estamos salvando elplaneta? La perspectiva de unpsicólogo

¿Alguna vez te has preguntado por quéno estamos a salvando el planeta? Estelibro sigue la misión de un psicólogo paraencontrar algunas respuestas a estapregunta. Retado por un estudiante autilizar la psicología como vía paraencontrar la raíz del problema, GeoffreyBeattie (un auto-confeso ambientalistaincrédulo), comienza un viaje dedescubrimiento, personal y de cambio devida, utilizando métodos psicológicospara examinar las actitudes de la gentefrente al calentamiento global. En elcamino nuestras actitudes y las del propioBeattie son cuestionadas las actitudes.Este libro de fácil lectura resalta lasnuevas e innovadoras investigaciones quese realizan para conocer cómo podemoslograr un cambio de actitud, alentando ala gente a tener mayor consciencia haciael ambiente, y a adoptar conductassostenibles.

Geoffrey Beattie, 2010, Routledge www.routledge.comISBN: 978-0-415-56197-6(Paperback)ISBN: 978-0-415-56196-9 (Hardback)

Investigación y DesarrolloProfesional en Educación

Este libro práctico y accesible promuevela investigación-en-acción, ayudando alos profesionales a desarrollar sushabilidades para una apreciación críticay para el análisis de la práctica. Suobjetivo es apoyar a los profesionales enla realización de indagaciones enpequeña escala, así comoinvestigaciones para mejorar tanto sucapacidad profesional como los logrosde sus alumnos. Los autores sugierenuna serie de actividades para evaluar laenseñanza, incluyendo observaciones,enfoques autobiográficos y escrituranarrativa. También cubren áreasrelacionadas, tales como el análisis dedatos, la escritura y divulgación de losresultados de la investigación. Esto seríasin duda un recurso muy útil para loseducadores de jardines botánicos,interesados en llevar a caboinvestigación para mejorar su práctica.

results. This would make a very usefulresource for educators in botanicgardens keen to carry out research toimprove their practice.

Anne Campell, Olwen McNamara, PeterGilroy, 2004. SAGE Publicationswww.sagepub.comISBN: 978-0-761-9 7468-0

Creativity Now: GetInspired, CreateIdeas and MakeThem Happen!

This book will instantlyhelp you generate newideas through exercises,tips, tricks, stories andinspirational examples.It is divided into fourparts offering advice on:

1) Dreaming - getting into the state ofmind to invite new ideas.

2) Originating - different ways to comeup with new, exciting and innovativeideas on any topic.

3) Applying - taking action and turningideas into reality.

4) Adapting - how others successfullyrealised their dream.

Each page is creative in content andformat and has been designed to give an instant jolt of inspiration!

Jurgen Wolff, 2012, Pearson EducationLimitedwww.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop/ISBN: 978-0-273-77047-3

Living within a Fair ShareEcological Footprint

Many of us would accept that as aspecies, we humans are consuming theearth’s natural resources faster than theycan be replenished: we are living beyondthe planet’s carrying capacity. This bookis therefore a timely resource, focusingon solutions rather than problems. Itsaim is to demonstrate how we can livewithin a ‘fair earth share ecologicalfootprint’. The authors describenumerical methods used to calculatethis, concentrating on low or no costbehavioural change, rather than onpotentially expensive technologicalinnovation. They show what people needto do now in regions where their currentlifestyle means they are living beyond

dissémination des résultats, sontégalement couverts. C’est une ressourcetrès utile pour les éducateurs de jardinsbotaniques qui souhaitent faire de larecherche pour améliorer leur pratique.

Anne Campell, Olwen McNamara, Peter Gilroy, 2004. SAGE Publicationswww.sagepub.comISBN: 978-0-761-9 7468-0

La créativité tout de suite: soyezinspirés, créez des idées etappliquez-les !

Ce livre vous aidera immédiatement àtrouver de nouvelles idées à travers desexercices, des conseils, des histoires etdes exemples inspirants. Il est divisé enquatre parties qui proposent des conseilssur :

1) Rêver – se mettre dans un état d’espritqui invite les idées nouvelles

2) Donner vie – différentes façons detrouver des idées excitantes etinnovantes sur tout sujet

3) Appliquer – agir et transformer lesidées en réalité

4) Adapter –comment d’autres ont réaliséleurs rêves avec succès

Chaque page est créative, dans le fond etdans la forme, et a été conçue pourstimuler l’inspiration !

Jurgen Wolff, 2012, Pearson EducationLimitedwww.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop/ISBN: 978-0-273-77047-3

Vivre dans une empreinteécologique équitable

En majorité, nous sommes d’accordpour dire que nous, les humains,consommons les ressources naturellesde la Terre plus vite qu’elles ne peuventse régénérer : nous vivons au-delà descapacités de la planète. Ce livre estdonc une ressource qui arrive à point, seconcentrant sur les solutions plutôt queles problèmes. Il vise à démontrer quenous pouvons vivre dans une «empreinte écologique équitable ». Les auteurs décrivent les méthodesnumériques utilisées pour la calculer, se concentrant sur des changements de comportement gratuits ou presque,plutôt que sur des innovationstechniques coûteuses. Ils montrent ceque doivent maintenant faire les gens

Anne Campell, Olwen McNamara, PeterGilroy, 2004. SAGE Publicationswww.sagepub.comISBN: 978-0-761-9 7468-0

¡Creatividad ahora: Inspirarse,crear ideas y hacerlas realidad!

Este libro le ayudará instantáneamente agenerar nuevas ideas a través deejercicios, consejos, trucos, historias yejemplos inspiradores. Se divide encuatro partes que ofrecen consejossobre:

a) Soñar: entrar en el estado mentalóptimo para hacer surgir nuevasideas.

b) Originar: diferentes formas para llegara ideas nuevas, emocionantes einnovadoras sobre prácticamentecualquier tema.

c) Aplicar: actuar y transformar las ideasen realidad.

d) Adaptación: cómo otras personas hanllevado a cabo sus sueñosexitosamente.

Cada página es creativa en su contenidoy formato, y ha sido diseñada para daruna sacudida instantánea a lainspiración.

Jurgen Wolff, 2012, Pearson EducationLimitedwww.pearsoned.co.uk/bookshop/ISBN: 978-0-273-77047-3

Viviendo dentro de una HuellaEcológica Justa

Muchos de nosotros aceptaríamos que,como especie, los seres humanosestamos consumiendo los recursosnaturales de la Tierra más rápido de loque pueden ser reemplazados: estamosviviendo por encima de la capacidad decarga del planeta. Por lo tanto este libroes un recurso oportuno, enfocado en lassoluciones en lugar de en los problemas.Su objetivo es demostrar cómo se puedevivir dentro de una 'huella ecológicajusta'. Los autores describen losmétodos numéricos utilizados paracalcular esto, concentrándose en loscambios de conducta de bajo o conningún costo, en lugar de enfocarsesobre las innovaciones tecnológicaspotencialmente caras. Los autoresmuestran lo que hay que hacer hoy enaquellas regiones cuyos estilos de vidaactual demuestran que están viviendo

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)40

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 41

their ecological means, suchas in Europe, North Americaand Australasia. Thecalculations focus onoutcomes rather than ondetailed discussion of themethods used. The mainobjective is to show that livingwith a reduced ecologicalfootprint is both possible andnot so very different from theway most people currently livein the west.

Robert Vale and Brenda Vale, 2013,Routledge www.routledge.comISBN: 978-0-415-50723-3

Web links/Websites

Learnisthttp://learni.st/category/featured#/category/5-science

Learnist is a useful website for teachersand educators. It allows users to collectweb resources around a topic and addthem to ‘Learnboards’ to educate anaudience about a particular subject. Youcan create multipleboards within youraccount and includeimages, videos, andtext. The sciencearea of Learnistcontains a range offascinating‘Learnboards’relevant to botanicgarden education,for example,permaculture,photosynthesis,biodiversity and nature’s numbers.

Voices from the Museum:Qualitative Research Conductedin Europe’s National Museumswww2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/rcmg/publications

How can national museums best aidEuropean cohesion and confront thesocial issues which test Europeanstability and unity? This researchquestion is being examined by theEuNaMus project funded through theEuropean Union’s Seventh FrameworkProgramme for Research. ThreeUniversity research teams have

vivant dans des régionsoù le mode de viedépasse la capacitéécologique, telles quel’Europe, l’Amérique dunord ou l’Australasie. Lescalculs sont centrés surles résultats plutôt quesur une discussiondétaillée des méthodesutilisées. L’objectifprincipal est de montrer

que vivre avec une empreinte écologiqueréduite, est à la fois possible et prochede la façon dont vivent la plupart degens en Occident aujourd’hui.

Robert Vale and Brenda Vale, 2013,Routledge www.routledge.comISBN: 978-0-415-50723-3

Liens internet/ Sites

Learnisthttp://learni.st/category/featured#/category/5-science

Learnist est un site Internet utile pour lesenseignants et les éducateurs. Il permet

de rassembler desressources internet surun sujet et de les ajouterà des « tableauxéducatifs » pourrenseigner un public surun sujet particulier. Onpeut créer des tableauxmultiples dans soncompte et inclure desimages, des vidéos etdes textes. Le domaineScience de Learnistcontient une série de «

tableaux éducatifs » passionnants etutiles pour les jardins botaniques, parexemple sur la permaculture, laphotosynthèse, la biodiversité et lesnombres dans la nature.

Des voix dans le musée:recherche qualitative dans lesmusées nationauxwww2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/rcmg/publications

Comment les musées nationauxpeuvent-ils contribuer à la cohésioneuropéenne et faire face aux questionssociales qui dérangent la stabilité etl’unité européenne ? Ce sujet de

por encima de sus medios ambientes,como ocurre en Europa, Norteamérica yAustralasia. Los cálculos se centran enlos resultados, en vez de hacer unadiscusión detallada de los métodosutilizados. El objetivo principal es mostrarque la vida dentro de una huellaecológica reducida es posible y no muydiferente a la forma en la que viven lamayoría de las personas en occidente.

Robert Vale and Brenda Vale, 2013,Routledge www.routledge.comISBN: 978-0-415-50723-3

Sitios Web

Learnisthttp://learni.st/category/featured#/category/5-science

Learnist es un sitio web útil paraprofesores y educadores. Permite a losusuarios compilar recursos del interneten torno a un tema y añadirlos a“Pizarras de aprendizaje” para educar alpúblico sobre un tema en particular. Elusuario puede crear varias tarjetas en sucuenta e incluir imágenes, videos ytexto. El área de la ciencia de Learnistcontiene una serie de fascinantes“Pizarras de aprendizaje” relevantespara la educación en los jardinesbotánicos, por ejemplo, sobre temas depermacultura, la fotosíntesis, labiodiversidad y la numeralia de lanaturaleza.

Voces del Museo: Investigacióncualitativa realizada en MuseosNacionales de Europawww2.le.ac.uk/departments/museumstudies/rcmg/publications

¿Cómo pueden los museos nacionalesapoyar la mayor cohesión europea yhacer frente a los problemas socialesque ponen a prueba la unidad yestabilidad de Europa? Esta pregunta deinvestigación está siendo examinada porel proyecto EuNaMus, financiado pordel Séptimo Programa Marco para laInvestigación en la Unión Europea. Tresequipos universitarios de investigaciónhan examinado experiencias de losvisitantes a los nueve museosnacionales de toda Europa, paracomprender el uso de estos museosnacionales por el público, para mapearsu entendimiento de cada nación y de

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)42

examined visitorexperiences at ninenational museumsacross Europe tounderstand the useof nationalmuseums by thepublic, to map theirunderstanding ofthe nation andEurope in thepresent and to explore how visitors usethe past to construct national andEuropean identities. The researchidentifies many of the variables thatinfluence visitor responses aroundidentity and citizenship. The discussionaround the role of national museums isparticularly interesting with the findingsdemonstrating that visitors see nationalmuseums as having cultural andhistorical authority and an importantpolitical role. The research alsohighlighted the fact that museums needto be more inclusive of minority issuesand to provide more opportunities fordialogue around contemporary issuesand identities.

Geocachingwww.geocaching.com

Geocaching is a real-world, outdoortreasure hunting game using GPS-enabled devices. Participants navigateto a specific set of GPS coordinates andthen attempt to find the geocache(normally a waterproof container withsmall items inside) hidden at thatlocation. Participants need a GPS deviceor a GPS-enabled mobile phone tonavigate to the cache, and register for afree Geocaching membership.Geocaches can be found all over theworld including several botanic gardens!

Natural solutions- Nature's role indelivering well-being and keypolicy goals - opportunities forthe third sectorwww.neweconomics.org/publications/natural-solutions

This report by the New EconomicsFoundation provides an overview of themultiple ways in which the naturalenvironment is used to deliver keysociety goals. Interviews wereconducted with representatives of 33different organizations revealing thatthere is a good deal of evidence linkingnature with well-being and pro-

recherche est étudiépar le projet EuNaMus,financé par le 7èmeprogramme-cadre derecherche de l’Unioneuropéenne. Troiséquipes universitairesont examinél’expérience desvisiteurs de neufsmusées nationaux à

travers l’Europe, pour comprendre leurutilisation de ces musées, cartographierleur compréhension présente de la nationet de l’Europe, et explorer comment lesvisiteurs utilisent le passé pour construirel’identité nationale et européenne.L’étude identifie de nombreuses variablesqui influencent les réactions des visiteurssur l’identité et la citoyenneté. Ladiscussion sur le rôle des muséesnationaux est particulièrementintéressante, avec des résultats montrantque les visiteurs considèrent que lesmusées nationaux font autorité sur laculture et l’histoire et qu’ils ont un rôlepolitique important. L’étude souligneégalement le fait que les musées doiventmieux prendre en compte les questionsdes minorités et fournir plus d’occasionsde dialogue sur les questionscontemporaines et sur les identités.

Geocachingwww.geocaching.com

Geocaching est un jeu en extérieur dechasse au trésor utilisant des appareilsGPS. Les participants se rendent sur unsite indiqué par des coordonnées GPSet tentent de trouver le geocache(habituellement une boîte imperméablecontenant des petits éléments) cachésur le site. Les participants doivent avoirun appareil GPS ou un portable équipéd’un GPS pour trouver le cache, ets’inscrire gratuitement pour être membrede Geocaching. Les geocaches setrouvent dans le monde entier, y comprisdans plusieurs jardins botaniques !

toda Europa en el presente, y paraexplorar cómo los visitantes utilizan elpasado para construir las identidadesnacionales y europea. La investigaciónidentifica muchas de las variables queinfluyen en las respuestas de losvisitantes en torno a la identidad y laciudadanía. La discusión en torno alpapel de los museos nacionales esparticularmente interesante con loshallazgos que demuestran que losvisitantes ven a os museos nacionalescomo legítimas autoridades culturales e históricas y con un papel políticoimportante. La investigación tambiénpuso de relieve el hecho de que losmuseos tienen que ser más incluyentesen cuanto a las cuestiones de lasminorías, y que deben ofrecer másoportunidades para el diálogo en torno a temas de actualidad eidentidad.científica y aprender de loserrores.

Geocachingwww.geocaching.com

Geocaching (Geo-escondrijo) es unjuego al aire libre sobre búsqueda detesoros en el mundo real, que utilizadispositivos habilitados con GPS. Losparticipantes se dirigen a un conjunto decoordenadas específicas para el GPS yluego trata de encontrar el escondrijo(normalmente un contenedor a pruebade agua con objetos pequeños dentro)que está escondido en el lugar quemarcan las coordenadas. Losparticipantes necesitan un aparato GPSo un teléfono móvil con GPS para ubicarel escondrijo y registrarse para obteneruna membresía gratuita en Geocaching.Estos Geo-escondrijos se puedeencontrar en todo el mundo ¡incluyendovarios jardines botánicos!

Soluciones naturales: el papel dela Naturaleza en el reparto debienestar y metas políticas clave.Oportunidades para el tercersectorwww.neweconomics.org/publications/natural-solutions/

Este informe de la New EconomicsFoundation brinda una visión general delas múltiples formas en que se utiliza elentorno natural para ofrecer objetivossociales clave. Se realizaron entrevistascon representantes de 33organizaciones diferentes, que revelaron

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1) 43

environmental behaviours. However thefindings also show that this is not beingfully exploited by policy makers and thatthere needs to be a platform fororganisations to share information toencourage synergies and action.

Research into environmentaleducation http://eelinked.naaee.net/n/eeresearch

The research area of the website for theNorth American Association forEnvironmental Education (naaee)provides access to hundreds of researchpapers on environmental education.Two recent papers which will be ofinterest to botanic gardens are:

1 Use behavioral theories to cultivateenvironmental literacy and pro-environmental behavior

Dr. Martha Monroe has used theliterature on behavioral theories,significant life experiences, andenvironment-based education to identify“two broad avenues for activities thatmay nudge individuals and societytoward more responsible environmentalbehaviors”: 1) targeting a specificbehavior change, and 2) cultivatingenvironmental literacy througheducational programmes.

2 Multicultural school gardens facilitatelearning about language, culture andenvironment

Dr. Cutter-Mackenzie explored learningoutcomes of a school gardeningprogramme in Melbourne, Australia. Theresearch programme involved 70students in designing, construction andimplementation of a gardeningprogramme along with teachers, parentsand community volunteers. Theprogramme was connected to theschool curriculum and designedspecifically for underserved, multicultural

Solutions naturelles – le rôle de lanature pour atteindre desobjectifs clés de politique et debien-être - des opportunités pourle secteur tertiairewww.neweconomics.org/publications/natural-solutions

Ce rapport de la Fondation NewEconomics fournit un aperçu desdifférentes façons d’utiliserl’environnement pour atteindre desobjectifs sociétaux clés. Des entretiensont été réalisés avec des représentantsde 33 organisations différentes, révélantqu’il y a de nombreuses preuves liant lanature avec le bien-être et descomportements plus écologiques.Toutefois, ces résultats montrentégalement que ce fait n’est passuffisamment utilisé par les politiques, etqu’une coordination entre lesorganisations est nécessaire pourpartager les informations, encourageantles synergies et l’action.

Recherche en éducation àl’environnementhttp://eelinked.naaee.net/n/eeresearch

Le domaine « Recherche » du siteinternet de l’Association nord-américained’éducation à l’environnement (NAEEE)donne accès à des centaines depublications de recherche surl’éducation à l’environnement. Deuxpublications récentes sont intéressantespour les jardins botaniques :

1. Utilisez les théoriescomportementales pour développer lesconnaissances en environnement et lescomportements écologiques

Dr Martha Monroe a utilisé la littératuresur les théories comportementales, desexpériences vécues significatives etl’éducation basé surl’environnement pouridentifier « deux voiesprincipales d’activitésqui pourraient orienterles individus et lasociété vers descomportements plusécologiques » : 1)Fixer des objectifsprécis de changementde comportement et 2)développer la connaissance del’environnement à travers lesprogrammes éducatifs.

la existencia de una gran cantidad deevidencias que vinculan a la naturalezacon el bienestar y el comportamientopro-ambiental. Sin embargo, losresultados también muestran que estono está siendo aprovechado totalmentepor quienes crean las políticas, y que esnecesario que haya una plataforma paraque las organizaciones compartaninformación para fomentar sinergias yacciones.

La investigación en educaciónambientalhttp://eelinked.naaee.net/n/eeresearch

El área de investigación de la páginaweb de la Asociación Norteamericanapara la Educación Ambiental (NAAEE)proporciona acceso a cientos detrabajos de investigación sobre laeducación ambiental. Dos artículosrecientes que sin duda serán de interéspara los jardines botánicos son:

1. Uso de la teoría para fomentar lacultura y el comportamiento pro-ambiental.

La Dra. Martha Monroe ha utilizado laliteratura sobre las teorías delcomportamiento, las experiencias devida significativas de la vida y laeducación basada en el ambiente, paraidentificar los "dos grandes avenidaspara las actividades que tanto individuoscomo la sociedad pueden tomar parallegar a comportamientos másresponsables hacia el ambiente": 1) Dirigirse hacia un cambio decomportamiento específico, y 2) elfomento de la alfabetización ambiental através de programas educativos.

2. Los jardines escolares multiculturalesfacilitan el aprendizaje sobre ellenguaje, la cultura y el ambiente.

Dr. Cutter-Mackenzie explorólos resultados deun programa dejardines escolaresen Melbourne,Australia. Elprograma deinvestigacióninvolucró a 70estudiantes en el

diseño, construcción e implementaciónde un programa de jardinería junto conlos maestros, los padres y voluntarios de

BGCI • 2013 • Roots • Vol 10 (1)44

children, whose first language is notEnglish. Qualitative data demonstratedthat participation in this programmeincreased students’ sense of belongingto the local community, provided a real-life opportunity to improve English, andcontributed to students’ connection tothe environment and their ‘sense ofagency in protecting the environment’.

Science beyond the classroomwww.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Publications/Reports/Education/WTP040865.htm

The Wellcome Trust is a global charitablefoundation dedicated to achievingimprovements in human and animalhealth. The report ‘Analysing the UKScience Education Community: Thecontribution of informal providers’ makesprovocative reading for botanic gardeneducators. It reveals that while there is asubstantial body of academic literatureaddressing science in informal contexts,it is not read by practitioners. Theresearch found that informalpractitioners are overly reliant on ideasabout learning and ideas about sciencethat are simplistic, pointing to the needfor a better knowledge of literature andsystems of training.

2. Les jardins d’école multiculturelsencouragent l’apprentissage autour deslangues, la culture et l’environnement

Dr Cutter-Mackenzie a exploré lesrésultats d’un projet de jardins d’école àMelbourne, en Australie. Ce programmede recherche impliquait 70 élèves qui ontconçu, construit et mis en place unprogramme de jardinage avec lesenseignants, parents et des bénévoleslocaux. Le programme était lié au projetd’école et conçu spécialement pour desenfants défavorisés d’origines diverses,et dont la première langue n’est pasl’anglais. Les données qualitatives ontdémontré que la participation à ce projeta développé un sentimentd’appartenance à la communauté,fournit une occasion réelle d’améliorerleur anglais, et contribué à créer desliens avec l’environnement pour lesélèves, et développer leur envie deprotéger l’environnement.

Les sciences au delà des classeswww.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Publications/Reports/Education/WTP040865.htm

La fondation Wellcome est une fondationcharitable mondiale qui vise à améliorerla santé humaine et animale. Le rapport« Analyser la communauté d’éducationscientifique au Royaume-Uni : lacontribution des éducateurs informels »est une lecture renversante pour leséducateurs de jardins botaniques. Ilrévèle que, bien qu’il existe quantité depublications académiques sur lessciences dans le contexte informel, ellesne sont pas lues par les professionnels.L’étude a démontré que lesprofessionnels du secteur informels’appuient sur des idées surl’apprentissage et sur les sciences quisont simplistes, soulignant la nécessitéd’améliorer la connaissance despublications et les systèmes deformation.

la comunidad. El programa estaba ligadocon el currículo escolar y diseñadoespecíficamente para niños de bajosrecursos y diferentes culturas, cuyoprimer idioma no es el inglés. Los datoscualitativos demostraron que laparticipación en este programa aumentósu sentido de pertenencia a lacomunidad local, les ofreció unaoportunidad real para mejorar el inglés, yha contribuido a la vinculación de losestudiantes con su ambiente, creandoun "sentido de agencia para laprotección del ambiente”.

La ciencia más allá del aulawww.wellcome.ac.uk/About-us/Publications/Reports/Education/WTP040865.htm

El Wellcome Trust es una fundaciónglobal sin fines de lucro, dedicada alograr mejoras en la salud humana yanimal. El informe "Análisis de laComunidad Educativa del Reino Unido:La contribución de los proveedoresinformales crea lecturas estimulantespara los educadores de jardinesbotánicos. El informe revela que, si bienexiste un importante conjunto deliteratura académica atendiendo lascuestiones de ciencia en los contextosinformales, éste no es leído por losprofesionales. La investigación encontróque los profesionales informalesdependen demasiado de ideas acercadel aprendizaje e ideas acerca de laciencia que son simplistas, señalandoasí la necesidad de un mejorconocimiento de la literatura y de lossistemas de formación.

Are you working in a botanic garden and keen to engage with yourlocal community more effectively?

A Communities in Nature: A Manual for Gardensis a new BGCI publication that provides a step-by-step guide.

It walks you through how to get started, how to negotiate access to your communities and create partnerships and, crucially, how

to embed the social role in your organisation’s culture and practices in order to achieve long-term sustainability.

Visit BGCI’s Communities in Nature portal

www.bgci.org/education/communities_in_nature to download the how-to manual and register your

interest in joining BGCI’s initiative.

For inspiration, take a look at our new animation produced by Cognitive Media or watch the four films showcasing how botanic gardens have engaged with

their local communities.

Communities in Nature: Growing the Social Role of Botanic Gardens

Botanic Gardens Conservation International

Descanso House, 199 Kew Road,Richmond, Surrey, TW9 3BW, U.K.

Tel: +44 (0)20 8332 5953 Internet: www.bgci.orgE-mail: info@bgci.orghttps://twitter.com/bgci

ISSN 0965-2574

Save the date! Join us for the INQUIRE conference

Raising standards through inquiry: Professional development in the Natural Environment

Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew 9-10 July 2013

Registration is now open for the INQUIRE conference, an event which willshowcase the efforts of botanic gardens and natural history museums acrossEurope in working with schools to help reinvigorate Inquiry-Based ScienceEducation (IBSE). The INQUIRE conference, will bring together academics andprofessionals involved in the INQUIRE and other European projects to share theirIBSE experiences under the following themes:

• IBSE outdoors• Reflective Practice• Professional Learning Communities• Evaluation of IBSE• Students perspectives on IBSE• Developing training courses in LOtC sites

Book your place at the conference by registering on-line at:www.bgci.org/education/inquireconference and enjoy an evening conference picnic while listening to the iconic Blondie at Kew the Music concert.

There is also an opportunity for delegates to participate in the post conference tour to Oxford on 11th July visiting the University of Oxford Botanic Garden and other exciting sights of the ‘city of spires’.

The full conference programme and abstracts will be available for download from the conference website in April.

Organised bySupported by