SBBG
Source: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
The Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has once again achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition afforded the nation’s museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. The Garden was initially accredited in 1996. All museums must undergo a reaccreditation review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status.
During Go Public Gardens week, an American Public Gardens Association initiative to encourage the public to visit, value, and volunteer at public gardens, the Garden is proud to be one of only 3% of botanic gardens in the entire nation accredited as a living museum.
Alliance Accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards, and continued institutional improvement.
“This reaccreditation certifies the Garden as a leader within our field, maintaining the highest standards of collections management, research, and educational programs,” said Dr. Steve Windhager, the Garden’s Executive Director. “Our reaccreditation is a reflection of the hard work and dedication of our staff and board.”
The Garden’s horticultural staff has been working to advance new techniques for propagating and caring for California native plants such as taking meticulous notes which are later used to measure the Garden’s success and share that knowledge with colleagues, nurseries, and home gardeners.
Additionally, sanitation protocols and good cultural controls to prevent harmful pests and diseases are being implemented, such as the Integrative Pest Management (IPM) approach to prevent unacceptable levels of pest damage. These practices include cleaning shears between prunings, keeping dry surfaces to prevent fungal spores from germinating, sanitizing all tools, and monitoring crops by maintaining a thorough record of observations. The horticultural team has been training staff and volunteers to be able to observe and identify pests and diseases as well as making habit of preventive practices.
Accreditation is a very rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.
“Accredited museums are a community of institutions that have chosen to hold themselves publicly accountable to excellence,” said Laura L. Lott, Alliance president and CEO. “Accreditation is clearly a significant achievement, of which both the institutions and the communities they serve can be extremely proud.”
The Garden serves the public as more than just a pretty place, but as a model of sustainability and an engine for native habitat conservation in the region. Our mission has become increasingly urgent as more native plant species face extinction, threatening the foundation of all life on the planet. Founded in 1926, the Garden is the first botanic garden focused exclusively on California native plants and currently spans 78 acres with five miles of walking trails, an herbarium, seed bank, research labs, library, and Nursery. The Garden welcomes the public every day from 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. and offers a members-only hour from 9 a.m. – 10 a.m. For more information about the Garden, please visit sbbg.org.
Sounds wonderful. Congrats! What is the cost of admission these days? It’s time to come visit again.