Public Gardens, Public Engagement:from Research to Action

2016 Education Symposium February 22-24, 2016Hosted by Bellevue Botanical Garden, Bloedel Reserve andUniversity of Washington Botanic Gardens

Bloedel Reserve

Every two years, the American Public Garden Association Education Symposium offers a unique opportunity

to learn from and interact with fellow educators from gardens across the country. Hear inspiring speakers, see

beautiful gardens, network with peers, learn about timely research, and gain practical skills to improve your education

programs. All of this will be staged within three prominent Seattle, Washington area public gardens.

Join us on a three-day exploration of the motivations, behaviors and cultural contexts that create meaningful visitor

engagement and learning in public gardens. Attendees will discover new approaches to audience research, program design

and planning that support visitor interaction with gardens, collections, the environment and with one another.

11:30 am - 12:30 pmLUNCH ON YOUR OWNFood can be purchased beforehand at the hotel or attendees may visit the many restaurants in University Village near the University of Washington Botanic Gardens Center for Urban Horticulture.

12:45 - 1:00 pm

SYMPOSIUM WELCOME

Location: University of Washington Botanic Gardens Center for Urban Horticulture, Northwest Horticultural Society Hall

1:00 - 2:15 pmSESSION 1: AUDIENCE RESEARCH & PROGRAM EVALUATION 101

Location: Northwest Horticultural Society HallAudience and program evaluation are essential but many do not know how to approach them without the help of a consultant. Dr. Jessica Luke will share a variety of approaches about when, why, and how to deploy various types of audience research and program evaluation to improve educational programming in our public gardens.Presenter: J. Luke Ph.D., Senior Lecturer, Museology Graduate Program, University of Washington

2:30 - 4:45 pmTOUR: WASHINGTON PARK ARBORETUM WINTER GARDEN

Location: University of Washington Botanic Gardens Washington Park Arboretum Two guided tour options will start at the Graham Visitors Center: the Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden or the Fiddleheads Forest School. The Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden features a central lawn encircled by tall cedars and firs and a large assortment of smaller trees, shrubs, and perennials. This garden is a real treat from late November through the end of March, when much of the rest of the park is quiet and subdued. Fiddleheads Forest School is an entirely outdoor, nature-based preschool where the premise for day-to-day activities is play and exploration. As children engage with the world around them and inquire about it, Fiddleheads instructors supplement that explo-ration with curriculum to further inspire their curiosity.

5:00 - 7:00 pmOPENING RECEPTION: UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON BOTANIC GARDENS

Location: Northwest Horticultural Society HallThe University of Washington Botanic Gardens in Seattle, Washington, encompasses two sites: the Washington Park Arboretum on the south side of Union Bay and the Center for Urban Horticulture on the north side. The 230-acre Arboretum includes a vibrant collection of more than 20,000 living plants from around the world and also offers opportunities to explore woods, wetlands, and take in exceptional views. The Center for Urban Horticulture includes demonstration gardens and natural areas, and also houses the Elisabeth C. Miller Horticultural Library, Otis Doug-las Hyde Herbarium, and the Washington Rare Plant Care and Conservation Program. Both sites offer excellent opportunities for exercise, exploration, and wildlife viewing.

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7:00 - 8:15 am

BREAKFASTLocation: Silver Cloud Inn, Downtown BellevueComplementary full breakfast

8:45 - 10:00 am

EVENT: KEYNOTE ADDRESS WITH JOHN H. FALK, PH.D.

UNDERSTANDING WHY PEOPLE VISIT GARDENS

(WHY THIS SHOULD MATTER TO EDUCATORS)Location: Bellevue Botanical Garden, Aaron Education CenterTypically, understanding why the public might be motivated to visit a public garden, or not, has been something the marketing department worried about. After all, the garden educator’s job is to make sure that those who do visit have a great experience, one that is educational and enjoyable and results in longterm meaning making. In this presentation Dr. John H. Falk will explore why it is essential for educators to know why people are visiting their institution. Using the lens of self-related visit motivations, Falk will offer a “visitor’s eye view” of the public garden experience; one that suggests that what actually happens in the garden (and afterwards as well), is strongly influenced by events that precede the visit. John H. Falk, Ph.D. is a leading figure in free-choice learning, museum research, and science education in the United States. He is Sea Grant Professor of Free-Choice Learning at Oregon State University and Director of the Institute of Learning In-novation, and was the founding Director of the Oregon State University Center for Research on Lifelong STEM Learning. With a joint doctorate in Biology and Education from the University of California, Berkeley, his years of experience in the museum world include 14 years at the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Falk’s extensive writings range from scholarly journals to professional books, from the classic Learning from Museums: Visitor Experiences and the Making of Meaning with Lynn Dier-king to the recent Identity and the Museum Visitor Experience.

10:15 - 11:45 am

SESSION 2: HOW DO I LEARN IN THE

GARDEN?Location: Bellevue Botanical Garden, Aaron Education CenterGrow your teaching skills with neuroscience-based strategies! We will cultivate your memory of biology with hands-on ac-tivities about neurons and the brain. We will uproot some com-mon beliefs or “neuromyths” - such as multiple intelligences - that have been shown to have no scientific basis, and expose a variety of teaching strategies, “Proven Winners,” grounded in research and shown to be effective at improving learning and memory. We will reveal lifestyle choices that can affect the har-diness of learning. Examining real human brains will be a real thriller! You will leave with a harvest of references and readings to keep your teaching fruitful and extend your learning in all four seasons.Presenters: S.Cunningham, Ph.D., Professor Emerita, University of Washington; J. Williamson, M.A. , University of Washington

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12:00 - 1:15 pm

LUNCH & NATURE CONNECTIONS IDEA ROUNDTABLE Location: Bellevue Botanical Garden, Aaron Education CenterConnect with your peers and guests Lynne C. Manzo and Kathleen Wolf over a boxed lunch. Each table will include discussion prompts related to the post-lunch session.

1:30 - 3:00 pm

SESSION 3: RESEARCH ABOUT NATURE

CONNECTIONS: BUILDING LASTING

VISITOR RELATIONSHIPSLocation: Bellevue Botanical Garden, Aaron Education CenterAssociate professor Lynne C. Manzo, Ph.D., and research scientist Kathleen Wolf, Ph.D., will share insights from the field of environmental psychology—the study of people and their physical surroundings. Their combined 40 years of research can deepen our understanding of our visitors, help inform how to enhance their experiences in public gardens, and offer ideas for encouraging new visitors. Dr. Wolf will discuss her work concerning the health benefits of nature and how these apply to the public garden setting. Dr. Manzo will share her work on place attachment—the emotional attach-ment people have to places—and how this can foster visitorship and stewardship. The speakers’ exploration of visitor motivations can help in setting and managing expectations for all users’ mutual enjoyment and learning. Presenters: L. C. Manzo Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Landscape Architecture, University of Washington; K.Wolf Ph.D., Research Social Scientist, School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington

3:15 - 4:30 pm

EXPLORE BELLEVUE BOTANICAL GARDENLocation: Bellevue Botanical GardenOpened in 1992, the Bellevue Botanical Garden showcases plants that thrive in the Pacific Northwest. The dem-onstration of good garden design and horticulture techniques inspires visitors to create their own beautiful, healthy gardens. The 53-acre Garden provides a place of beauty, serenity and learning for 300,000 visitors each year. The City of Bellevue, the Bellevue Botanical Garden Society, and eight other horticultural organizations work together to keep the Garden beautifully maintained, share horticultural expertise, offer educational programs and promote the Garden to the community. Educational programs at the Bellevue Botanical Garden include informal learning opportuni-ties through docent-guided tours; traditional interpretive signage; and web-based information on demand through interactive signs and plant bed markers. Formal learning opportunities include the Living Lab program for youth, workshops and classes for adults, and internships for college students of horticulture and botany.

4:30 - 6:00 pm

WINE & CHEESE RECEPTION

Location: Bellevue Botanical Garden, Aaron Education CenterThe Bellevue Botanical Garden Society welcomes you with a wine and cheese reception in Aaron Education Center. Our hosts are also symposium sponsors, and we thank them for their support.Reception sponsored by the Bellevue Botanical Garden Board of Directors. Free & open daily from dawn to dusk, Bellevue Botanical Garden is owned by the City of Bellevue and managed through the Bellevue Parks & Community Services Department.

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- 6:30 - 7:30 am

BREAKFASTLocation: Silver Cloud Inn, Downtown BellevueComplementary full breakfast (to-go containers will be provided.)

10:00 - 10:15 am

EVENT: WELCOME TO BLOEDEL RESERVELocation: Bloedel ReserveBloedel Reserve is a public garden and forest reserve situated on Puget Sound in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Founded by conservation pioneer Prentice Bloedel and his wife Virginia, the Reserve opened to the public in 1988. Bloe-del is one of the Northwest’s botanical, cultural and environmental treasures. It is a place to enjoy and learn the values of eclectic design, aesthetics, and ecology as catalysts for the harmonious interaction of people and nature. Bloedel’s 150 acres feature an extraordinary series of gardens, landscapes, trails through second growth native forest, meadows, wa-terfalls and ponds – all of which sustain abundant wildlife and provide nearly 50,000 annual guests with an inspiring experience of nature. Presenter: E. Moydell, Executive Director, Bloedel Reserve

10:15 - 11:30 am, 1:15 - 2:30 pm, 2:45 - 4:00 pm

ROTATING SESSIONS 4, 5 & 6

Location: Bloedel ReserveAttendees will be assigned to a rotation group for the following sessions:

SESSION 4: AGE-BLIND MARKETING: A FOCUS ON INTEREST RATHER THAN AGEPublic gardens have amazing opportunities for public engagement and marketing these opportunities is crucial for inform-ing existing audiences and attracting new visitors. With the rise of social media, we all know traditional marketing is out of fashion. And so is the research behind it. Thinking of audiences by age, income and education is old, outdated and expensive. In today’s multi-screen and short-attention-span world, museums, gardens and universities must think about their audiences as a set of interests rather than by age or by generation alone. Erika Ferrin of the Smith-sonian Institution will shed new light about why targeting millennials and other audiences by age is not worth your time and how interest-based demographics and storytelling are the future that can be tapped into now. Presenter: G. Kosowitz Brand Marketing Specialist, Smithsonian Institution

Session 5: MAKING A STINK: SUCCESSFUL, INTEGRATED MARKETING FOR AUTHENTIC PROGRAMSActive marketing teams are most successful when they integrate their efforts with all programs, from events to education and from science to art. Tiffany Coleman examines the four Ps of marketing (Product, Placement, Price and Promotion) and how marketing expertise should be integrated long before you begin promotion of educational programs. Presenter: T. Coleman, Brand Manager, Denver Botanic Garden

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SESSION 6: TOUR OF BLOEDEL RESERVEThe Bloedel Reserve’s 150 acres are a unique blend of natural woodlands and beautifully landscaped gardens, including a Japanese Garden, a Moss Garden, and Reflection Pool, and the Bloedel’s former estate home. The Reserve’s primary interest is in the relationship between plants and people. There is a generally acknowledged but little understood ability of plants and landscape to evoke a wide variety of deeply felt emotions, ranging from tranquility to exhilaration.

11:45 am - 1:00 pm

LUNCH

Location: Bloedel ReserveBoxed lunch will be offered.

Thursday, February 25, 2016, 8:00 am - 12:30 pm

OPTIONAL TOUR: A LIVING PLANT MUSEUM & LANDSCAPE FOR LIFE GARDENLocation: Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden and PowellsWood GardenFederal Way, Washington has two beautiful gardens that are members of the Garden Conservancy Northwest Net-work, The Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden (RSBG), and PowellsWood Garden. RBSG refers to itself as “a living plant museum and effectively designed garden for the display and cultivation of Rhododendron species.” It has one of the finest Rhododendron collections in existence and offers many plants for sale! PowellsWood is a beautifully designed home garden created for public enjoyment, which is comprised of interconnected outdoor rooms. In much of their garden plantings and practices, they advocate a home-gardening Landscape for Life approach in keeping with the Sustainable Sites Initiative.

SCHEDULE AT A GLANCE Monday, February 22, 2016 9:30 – 11:15 am Event registration at the Silver Cloud Inn Bellevue-Downtown11:00 am Bus departs from Silver Cloud Inn to University of Washington Botanic Gardens11:30 – 12:30 pm Lunch on your own (University Village has many good offerings) 12:45 – 1:00 pm Welcome to University of Washington Botanic Gardens1:00 – 2:15 pm Session 1: Audience Research & Evaluation 1012:30 – 4:45 pm Tour of University of Washington Botanic Gardens5:00 – 7:00 pm Opening Reception at University of Washington Botanic Gardens7:15 pm Bus departs from University of Washington Botanic Gardens to Silver Cloud Inn Dinner on your own Tuesday, February 23, 20167:00 – 8:00 am Event registration at the Silver Cloud Inn Bellevue-Downtown7:00 – 8:15 am Full breakfast at the Silver Cloud Inn Bellevue-Downtown8:15 am Bus departs from Silver Cloud Inn Bellevue-Downtown to Bellevue Botanical Garden8:45 – 10:00 am Keynote address by John H. Falk Ph.D.: Understanding Why People Visit Gardens 10:15 am – 11:45 am Session 2: How Do I Learn in the Garden?12:00 – 1:15 pm Lunch & Nature Connections Idea Roundtable1:30 – 3:00 pm Session 3: Research about Nature Connections: Building Lasting Visitor Relationships3:15 – 4:30 pm Explore Bellevue Botanical Garden4:30 – 6:00 pm Reception at Bellevue Botanical Garden6:15 pm Bus departs from Bellevue Botanical Garden to the Silver Cloud Inn Dinner on your own Wednesday, February 24, 2016 6:30 – 7:30 am Breakfast to go from the Silver Cloud Inn (to-go containers will be provided)7:45am Bus departs from Silver Cloud hotel to Bloedel Reserve10:00– 10:15 am Welcome to Bloedel Reserve10:15 – 11:30 am 4, 5, & 6 Rotating Sessions 11:45 am – 1:00 pm Lunch1:15 – 2:30 pm 4, 5, & 6 Rotating Sessions2:45 – 4:00 pm 4, 5, & 6 Rotating Sessions4:15 pm Bus departs from Bloedel Reserve for Silver Cloud Inn Bellevue-Downtown Dinner on your own Thursday, February 25, 2016 8:30 am – 12:30 pm Optional Garden Tour: Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden & PowellsWood Garden

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Fee Schedule

APGA Member $299 Student Member $199 Non-member $399 Optional Thursday Tour $25

Native Plants, 2015Registration

Please register online at: www.publicgardens.org There will be a $25 processing fee for paper registration. Registration fee includes breakfasts, lunches, and receptions.

Cancellation PolicyAll requests for cancellation refunds will be subject to a cancellation fee of $95 and must be received by February 12, 2016. No refunds will be given after that date for cancellations or no-shows.

Questions?Contact 610.708.3008 or jkeith@publicgardens.org

LodgingSilver Cloud Bellevue-Downtown10621 NE 12th StBellevue, WA 98004

Tally Your Registration Registration Fee: $ Processing Fee: $Number of Registrants: #Monday Reception Guest ($25/pp) $Tuesday Reception Guest ($25/pp) $Thursday Tour: $Total Amount Due: $

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American Public Gardens Association 351 Longwood Road, Kennett Square, PA 19348 Tel 610.708.3010 Fax 610.444.3594

Guests may call 1-800-205-6937 OR go to the Silver Cloud Inn Bellevue-Downtown website, www.silvercloud.com/bellevuedowntown/. Rooms must be reserved by January 21, 2016 in order to receive the discounted room rate.