Heading the the American Public Gardens Association 2019 Conference? Rebecca Lemos-Otero will be representing City Blossoms and presenting alongside L. Coykendall, United States Botanic Garden, Washington, District of Columbia; M. Edwards, Live It Learn It, Washington, District of Columbia; J. Walida-Simon, Bronfenbrenner Center for Translational Research, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Ithaca, New York.

Learn more about their session here.

Session: Want Diversity? Collaborate. Want a Successful Collaboration? Listen.

Location: Congressional B

Pre-Registration Required: No

Botanic Gardens are incredibly rich resources with much expertise but we often lack diversity—in audience, in leadership and in staff. As more and more people are turning to gardens to understand our larger environmental issues such as food security, conservation, and climate change, it is essential that botanic gardens stay relevant and the way to do this is to engage with and reflect wider audiences. Diversifying audiences requires a deliberate and intentional engagement to build trust and shared values. Presenters will share strategies, pitfalls, and successes. Participants will identify audiences missing from their organization and develop an action plan.