Atlanta Botanical Garden

Infobox Company
company_name = Atlanta Botanical Garden
company_type = Non-profit organization
foundation = 1976
location = Atlanta, Georgia
key_people = Mary Pat Matheson, CEO
Ben Bradley, COO
Diana Champ Davis, CFO
Fontaine Huey, Director of Institutional Advancement
Mildred Pinnell Fockele, Director of Horticulture
Sabina Carr, Director of Marketing
Ronald Determann, Director of Conservatories and Conservation
Dr. Jenny Cruse-Sanders, Director of Conservation & Research

num_employees = 70+-
homepage = [http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org/ www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org]

The Atlanta Botanical Garden is a 30 acre (12 hectare) botanical garden located adjacent to Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Incorporated in 1976, the garden's mission is to "develop and maintain plant collections for the purposes of display, education, conservation, research and enjoyment". [http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org/site/about/mission_history Atlanta Botanical Garden Website, Mission and History page] , Retrieved 2008-08-27]

History

Following a petition by citizens of Atlanta in the year 1973, the garden was incorporated in 1976 as the private, 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation "Atlanta Botanical Garden Inc.". Within a year Bill Warner, previously employed at Holden Arboretum, was assigned office as the first executive director. He was soon followed by Ann L. Crammond in 1979. The following year, 1980, marked a turning point in the history of the garden as a 50-year lease was negotiated with the city, securing the site of the Garden for years to come.

A number of promotional activities started taking place, including social events, major art exhibitions and the annual{fact} Garden of Eden Ball. The Atlanta Botanical Garden welcomed its 50.000th visitor within a mere three years after the lease was arranged - this was even before any permanent structures had been erected. In 1985, the Atlanta Botanical Garden built its first permanent structure, the Gardenhouse. Expansions following this were The Children's Garden (1999), the Fuqua Conservatory in 1989 and the Fuqua Orchid Center which was added in 2002.

Blockbuster summertime exhibitions began in 2003 with TREEmendous TREEhouses. Chihuly in the Garden opened in 2004, while in 2005 Locomotion in the Garden featured G-scale model trains. On April 29, 2006, an exhibition of the sculpture of Niki de Saint Phalle opened to the public. These huge mosaic sculptures came to the Garden from France, Germany, and California. In 2007 the exhibition was David Rogers' Big Bugs and Killer Plants, and 2008 is Sculpture in Motion, Art Choreographed by Nature, a display of moving, kinetic art.

Exhibits

The Botanical Garden is composed of a number of smaller themed gardens. Each contains different landscapes to display a variety of plants. Near the entrance are formal gardens, such as the Japanese garden and the rose garden. Two woodland areas, the convert|5|acre|m2 Upper Woodland and the convert|10|acre|m2 Storza Woods feature large trees and shade-loving flowers and undergrowth. The Children's Garden features whimsical sculptures, fountains, and interpretive exhibits on botany, ecology, and nutrition.

The convert|16000|sqft|m2 Dorothy Chapman Fuqua Conservatory contains indoor exhibits of plants from tropical rainforests and deserts. The rain forest room of the Fuqua Conservatory is also populated by tropical birds, turtles, and several exhibits of poison dart frogs. The collaborative amphibian conservation efforts between the Atlanta Botanical Garden and Zoo Atlanta can be seen at:( [http://www.saveafrog.org/ www.saveafrog.org] ). Adjoining this building, the Fuqua Orchid Center contains separate rooms simulating the tropics and high elevations in order to house rare orchids from around the world.

The Fuqua Orchid Center is home to the largest collection of species orchids on permanent display in the U.S. and hosts a wintertime display known as Orchid Daze. Its unique Tropical High Elevation House provides the correct habitat for montane orchids and companion plants from around the equator at elevations of 6,000 to 10,000 feet. An Air Washer System, technology adapted from the textile industry, was combined with traditional greenhouse heating and cooling to create this environment, and allows rare orchids to thrive. The Tropical Display House is filled with fragrant orchids from around the world.

Chihuly in the Garden Exhibition

In 2004, the Atlanta Botanical Garden hosted an extremely successful exhibition of glass art by Dale Chihuly titled "Chihuly in the Garden". The exhibit ran through the end of October and was extended until December 31, 2004. During the eight-month run, an estimated 425,000 attendees visited the exhibit. The peak per-day rates of 7500 were double the previous single-day attendance record at the Garden.

Green Expansion Plan

The Green Expansion Plan is a large-scale expansion project that is currently being performed to modernize the Gardens. It encompasses the construction of a number of new facilities, the most noticable of which are the new visitor center and attached canopy walk.

The plan has been built around five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. By employing an array of energy-saving strategies with environmental sustainability considered throughout the project and recycling any trees removed as a result of construction, considerable efforts have been made to make this expansion eco-friendly. A 100,000-gallon cistern was installed underground in December 2007 to aid in water conservation (As of mid-June, 2008, filters were installed and the cistern was undergoing testing and use on a limited basis).

One striking feature of the new visitor center will be the innovative green roof, with plants covering nearly 50% of the roof area. It will provide natural cooling, sound insulation and additional garden area for visitors, and even a new wildlife habitat.

The visitor center will be connected to a new Canopy Walk, a convert|600|ft|m|sing=on “skywalk” that allows the visitors to walk throug the treetops of the Storza Woods part of the park. It will be the only canopy-level pathway of its kind in the United States. It has been designed and engineered with respect to its surroundings, and to have minimal impact on the forest floor or on the most significant trees.

See also

* List of botanical gardens in the United States

External links

* [http://www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org/ Atlanta Botanical Garden website]