Climate Leadership in Print from Phipps Conservatory, Missouri Botanical Garden, and Naples Botanical Garden

The Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens (JZBG) – an international, peer-reviewed, open access journal focused on the intersection of fauna and flora conservation – recently published three articles featuring innovative climate leadership from institutions including Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, Missouri Botanical Garden and Naples Botanical Garden.

Sustainable Energy Use in Buildings: A Leadership Opportunity for Gardens and Zoos

Cultural institutions hold unique positions of influence in society, serving as hubs of education and knowledge dissemination for their surrounding communities. By embracing sustainable energy use in buildings and operations, cultural institutions can lead by example, reinforcing themselves as community leaders on climate change solutions while inspiring visitors to adopt eco-friendly practices in their own lives. In this article, Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens President and CEO Richard Piacentini makes a case for strong climate leadership coming out of botanic gardens, zoos, and other types of museum institutions – leadership guided by clean renewable energy, green building, and regenerative thinking.

BiodiverseCity St. Louis – An Initiative of the Missouri Botanical Garden

Launched in 2012 at the Missouri Botanical Garden, BiodiverseCity St. louis is a community initiative meant to promote, protect, and prioritize biodiversity throughout the greater St. Louis region. Spearheaded by Missouri Botanical Garden’s sustainability division, the BiodiverseCity initiative brings together broad community engagement to support this mission, including public and professional education, citizen science, ecological landscaping and green infrastructure demonstration. The initiative highlights the importance of bringing together a wide range of multi–stakeholders – including local businesses, K-12 students, municipal governments, universities and community groups – to create truly impactful collaborations, leverage diverse institutional strengths, and address local biodiversity needs.

Conservation of Water Resources in a Botanic Garden

This article explores the innovative stormwater-management system implemented at Naples Botanical Garden as a model for addressing water-resource challenges, especially for coastland ecosystems facing climate change, rising sea levels, and rapid urbanization. The water management system at Naples Botanical Garden treats stormwater as a valuable resource, implementing dry and wet retention areas, created lakes and natural ecosystems to mitigate flooding, remove pollutants, recharge the aquifer, and provide habitat for diverse wildlife. The article highlights the vital role that botanical gardens, zoos, and other museum institutions can take in promoting nature-based solutions, public education, and implementing water resource management systems worldwide.

Further Resources:

Green Innovation – Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens

BiodiverseCity St. Louis – Missouri Botanical Garden

Stormwater Treatment System – Naples Botanical Garden