Gardens and Grounds Roadmap 2026–2030

The HBS Living Collections Policy was approved by the Highlands Biological Station and Board of Directors in March 2020. Work is needed to enter plant records in the database. This work will help inform how to increase the collection of rare/endemic plants needed in the gardens. The ultimate goal is to share plant collections with the public without revealing sensitive and rare plants in the gardens. Examples of ways to share the collection include checklists of categories of plants, plants blooming in different seasons, etc.

Several checklists were developed during the 2021–25 Roadmap period, namely “HBS Trees in the Gardens” and an updated “HBS Bartram Walk” (formerly “Bartram Trail,” a self-guided tour).

The Highlands Botanical Gardens includes over 30 rare plants. A conservation mission statement will articulate the desired plant conservation role of the HBS.

Evaluate bridges and handrails and any needs to replace or enhance them. The HBS Strategic Priority Action Plan (May 2020) includes: “Continue to enhance trails and signage in the Botanical Garden.”

The HBS has implemented a number of mitigation steps to redirect storm water that is negatively impacting buildings, walkways, and demonstration gardens. A storm water management plan has been proposed and will be carried out by HBS over time. Preparing for the careful removal, short- or longer-term protection, and replanting of plants will be important as the storm management plans are implemented. This will help prevent the loss of plants and ensure their return to the same garden or to new appropriate locations.

Several HBS Roadmap priority actions require significant funding. The feasibility of achieving these HBS Roadmap priority actions will be enhanced by identifying a broader portfolio of potential fundraisers. This could include the implementation of the HBS Donation Guidelines drafted by the Committee and adopted by the Station in 2023 (e.g., list resource needs and costs on the HBS webpage).

An Invasive Plant Management Plan was developed by a garden intern in the summer of 2019. The current horticulturalist kept a journal to record eradication efforts in the gardens. These could be combined to assist the HBS staff and horticulturalist to know what has been done and what are new problem areas (e.g., bladderworts in the lake) and potential means to address them (e.g., introduction of fish with appropriate controls).

Although efforts to select and establish plant species with few reported problems are a key element of a garden design, HBS can anticipate the need to replace specimens from time to time. Those chosen as replacements must be compatible with the site and will hopefully add to the diversity of the plant species on campus.

Improve the visitor experience when entering the gardens at the Clark Foreman Museum (i.e., Nature Center). Design and install a “Discovery” or “Gateway Garden” in the space adjacent to the west side of the Museum to serve as an entry garden and orientation space that is universally accessible and introduces visitors to the HBS and the gardens. This “Exploratorium” could function as an outdoor extension of the Museum.

This space could be an accessible and multi-sensory garden with a sculptural focal point with a model of the Highlands escarpment and an education focal point with interpretive information regarding regional geology, ecology, and biodiversity. This project could also include reestablishing a primary walkway leading to the Woodland Way garden and core (historical) Botanical Gardens entrance.

Funding is needed for construction documents in anticipation of implementation of the plan. The HBS 2021 Roadmap identified this as a top priority near-term project to “enhance the entry corridor leading to the garden from the Nature Center.”

Enhance the educational value of the gardens for visitors. Develop creative ways to integrate education into the gardens. Develop interpretive content for key points throughout the gardens.

Consider a range of appropriate methods and technologies to reach a diverse audience. The expert panel of botanists who participated in the Highlands Botanical Gardens Forum agreed that “education is the highest and best use for the Highlands Botanical Gardens.”

There is an ongoing, dedicated group of Botanical Garden Volunteers who help the HBS maintain and enhance the gardens. This program needs more volunteers and those who can do various physical tasks in the gardens.

Subcommittees can be among the most important working forces of an organization. They serve as work units of the organization, taking work and breaking it into meaningful and manageable chunks. It will be important to create empowered subcommittees, with specific and clear tasks and goals, moving beyond the Committee to the greater group of Friends of the Station, to realistically assist HBS in carrying out their plans for the 100-year celebration of the Station and the biennial Native Plant Symposiums.

This will include ways to provide enhanced outreach to connect the public with the gardens and further realize their educational value.