Save Plants

In recent years, ZNE has placed strategic focus on honing their expertise in plant conservation to equally emphasize both plant and wildlife conservation in their work and onsite experiences. They have led small-scale reintroductions of a rare plant species in the Metro Boston area, the state-listed species, New England blazing star (Liatris novae-angliae), and they have worked with regulatory agencies to monitor populations of threatened Britton’s violet (Viola brittoniana) and the related Viola pectinata. ZNE’s robust plant collection – a highlight of their onsite visitor experience – includes pollinator plants in their butterfly exhibit, an organic garden, and a rain garden. To strategically expand existing plant collections, ZNE recruited horticulturists who collaborate with conservation staff in developing curated plant collections that reflect the geographic regions their animal collections are endemic to and also educate visitors about the role of plants in an animal’s ecosystem. Additionally, their team is developing new collections of native plants, succulents, carnivorous plants, and more.

On an broad scale, ZNE has partnered with Dr. Bryan Connolly of Eastern Connecticut State University to conserve several species of rare Solanum native to the Caribbean. Utilizing ZNE greenhouses, the team has established captive populations of Solanum conocarpum from the U.S. Virgin Islands and Solanum ensifolium from Puerto Rico. Both species are critically endangered, with Solanum ensifolium believed to be nearly extinct in the wild. ZNE staff members have traveled to St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, to assist with local reintroduction projects for Solanum conocarpum. ZNE hopes to eventually assist with reintroduction projects of two additional critically endangered Virgin Islands species, Erythrina eggersii and Eugenia earhardtii.

As they continue in this crucial work, Zoo New England is eager to connect and collaborate with other Participating Institutions and to contribute to our collective efforts to Save Plants. Their team’s dedication to plant conservation and educating the public on the critical importance of biodiversity for all life on Earth makes them an exciting addition to the CPC network.

Within the 100 acres of The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park, Newfields manages both landscaped and natural lands, supporting a beautiful, functioning ecosystem that hosts spring wildflowers, feeds birds, and inspires guests. Throughout Fairbanks Park, permanent and temporary works of art – many site-responsive, inspired by the grounds themselves – invite people to think about their connection to nature and respond to the art and its surroundings.

“Chop Stick” is a visitor favorite. Designed by the architecture duo Visiondivision, the outdoor pavilion was crafted almost entirely from a single tulip tree, the state tree of Indiana. Incorporation of the tree’s form in the supports for swings, and its rough bark in the siding and shingles of a refreshment shack, retains the beautiful shapes and textures of the original tulip tree while enabling a clear view of all of the pavilion’s features. Yet this beautiful piece is not meant to last forever. To reflect the real world, it changes with the passage of time, with pieces deteriorating and being removed as they become unsafe. Some pieces are more ephemeral, while others are relatively permanent – a spectrum shared by features in nature.

In other spaces, the role of plants in the art is less obvious. For example, “Park of Laments,” by Alfredo Jaar, has thousands of individual plants – all native to Indiana – which play an integral role in providing a particular setting for the piece. Visitors walk down a ramp and through a dark tunnel to emerge in a small, isolated park. Here nature serves as an insulator to create a safe place for contemplation. Throughout the park, visitors are encouraged to slow down, exhale, and take in the visuals and the total experience of each setting.

Plants have also helped guests to slow down inside the galleries of the Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields. During the inaugural Art in Bloom event, colorful floral creations by local artists are displayed alongside the permanent art collection pieces that inspired them. Staff see visitors slow down as they move through the galleries, considering the florists’ intentions – looking at both flower arrangements and art with different eyes. Upcoming Art in Bloom event managers will seek to evaluate this behavioral change, to better understand the synergy of how people interact with the beauty and power of plants and art.

Beyond inviting visitors to expand their enjoyment of Newfields’ assets, many of the experiences are designed for other behavioral changes and learning outcomes. These range from interpretation and stories to providing resources, such as information about the Indiana Native Plant Society. Education programs start young, with annual summer camp programs focused on bridging art and nature. Lectures and symposiums connect adults to broader subjects, including how climate change will impact the plants they see.

The upcoming installation of a native flora pollinator garden in Fairbanks Park will provide further opportunities for Newfields to share climate change stories, drawing on the aesthetic appeal of wildflowers. The project will transform an area that was heavily impacted by previous land uses and covered in invasive plants, including a view-blocking tree of heaven. By replacing these invasives, beautiful native blooms will add resiliency to the floodplain habitat. The visually appealing natives will be in sight of the historical Lilly House, inviting people drawn to Newfields’ art and historical assets to experience the Park. During blooming season, attention garnered by the garden planting will provide opportunities for team members to share stories of the benefits of these native plants and lessons learned from becoming ecologically-minded land managers at Newfields.

The aesthetic appeal of plants is undeniable in all of its manifestations: blending into a landscape; bringing pops of color to a field, painting, or garden; or in creative floral art. As with art, experiences with plants and nature can be varied, inviting people to engage in spaces like museums, gardens, and parks. By drawing art-goers out into their beautiful grounds, Newfields has intertwined plants and art and made both more approachable.

Medicinal plants are used by a variety of people and in a variety of forms. Many rely on plants because they lack access to pharmaceutical medicines, due to unavailability or expense. Others find it easier to work with the plants in their own backyard or region. Still others actively turn from western medicines, seeking gentler and time-tested plant-based remedies and holistic medical approaches. Options include growing or foraging for plants, buying from a local purveyor, or buying over-the-counter products in a local market. In the U.S., herbal medicine has waxed and waned through the centuries. A recent resurgence is credited to reduced regulation by the Food and Drug Administration following the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994.

Despite ups and downs over time throughout the U.S., Native American and Appalachian communities of the Southeast maintain strong herbal medicine traditions. American ginseng, goldenseal, black cohosh, saw palmetto, yellowroot, and mayapple are examples of species valued by local populations. Recognition of the medicinal value of these plants can lead to a more general appreciation of plants and access to forests. On the downside, foraging and commercial collecting place additional pressures on wild populations of these plants.

Domestication and commercial production of plants for medicinal use may seem like a good solution, yet it can present complications. For some species, horticultural practice has not been developed. In these cases, production on an economical scale requires research, and even then may not be feasible. One example is bloodroot (Sanguinaria canadensis), a lovely herbaceous spring ephemeral found in rich deciduous woods. Its rhizomes are rich in a bright red alkaloid known as sanguinarine, which has antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-tumor properties. Harvested on a small-scale, the plant is used for a variety of medical purposes by locals. Some years ago, livestock producers were also interested in using sanguinarine as a feed additive, which threatened to skyrocket demand and threaten populations. Dr. Affolter initiated a research project in which two graduate students examined the growth of bloodroot and factors influencing concentrations of sanguinarine. The plant didn’t prove to be very economical to grow at a commercial level. In the end, a related species, plume poppy (Macleaya cordata), that produces lower concentrations of sanguinarine, but is coarser and more aggressive – and thus easier to cultivate, was selected to supply the feed industry.

Even when commercial operations are viable options, they aren’t always welcome. Dr. Affolter described a recent rise in ‘outsiders’ from the Northeast working to turn former tobacco farms and other mountain properties in western North Carolina towards production of locally harvested medicinal plants. The local community, who considers the wild harvest and use of these plants as part of their local economy and cultural identity, saw these operations as threats. Despite such setbacks, progress is being made on the ‘conservation through cultivation’ front. Dr. Jeanine Davis, in the Department of Horticultural Science at North Carolina State University, and her co-author, W. Scott Persons, present a wealth of knowledge and guidance for local growers in their book, Growing and Marketing Ginseng, Goldenseal, and Other Woodland Medicinals.

Meanwhile, strategies for ethical foraging of some of the southeast’s medicinal plants are in development by the State Botanical Garden of Georgia and partners on the University of Georgia campus. This includes defining what ethical foraging looks like for these species, and bridging the gap between foragers and regulators – agency and public land managers who permit, monitor, and enforce forest product harvest. Data collected through surveys and workshops will help to clarify agency and foraging community concerns and suspicions, guiding the project as it develops. A key goal is to avoid a ‘tragedy of the commons’ scenario in which lack of private ownership and responsibility leads to overharvest, while still allowing economic and cultural practices in public spaces.

Although harvesting pressures may threaten local populations, most native species of medicinal plants are not endangered on a global level and therefore not the direct focus of conservation projects at the State Botanical Garden. Yet sharing information about medicinal plants often provides a hook that allows the Garden to educate the public about plants. Their Native Plant Certificate Program offers electives focused on medicinal plants and local species. Dr. Affolter teaches a popular undergraduate class titled Herbs, Spices and Medicinal Plants. He observes that many of his students, interested in the uses of local plants or disillusioned with modern health care, find their eyes “opened to a whole new world of health care and the healing power of plants.” Sparking an interest in medicinal plants invites exploration – often in a hands-on way – of the wonders of plants, leading to an increased appreciation of and interest in conservation.

When did you first fall in love with nature?

Carolyn: My first home in rural Missouri was a treasure trove of animal and plant life. There were wild roses and stinky fungi. Crawdads and rabbits. Thorny trees and mossy springs. Flowering glens and murky ponds. When I was seven, my family moved to Arizona, where a new world of botanical and geological wonders swept me away. I will never forget when I first saw saguaros, in 1953 on our drive from Prescott to Phoenix. At that time, Black Canyon Highway was a dirt road, dropping down from the mesa into the desert, and there were the giant cacti, somehow anchored upright on the steep slopes! The biggest bonus is that I never fell OUT of love with nature. All children should be so lucky! Imagine how much safer this earth would be in our hands if this were so!

Tony: Until I was twelve, our family lived in the country on 35 wooded acres south of Kansas City, Missouri. I spent many hours playing around a nearby pond or along a creek that wound through the red oak and birch trees. A chorus of cicadas was the sound of my summer. There was a stand of black walnut trees that shaded my mother’s garden of tomatoes, cucumbers, and rhubarb. When the black walnuts fell, the snow would not be far behind. Those sights and smells, and how all of nature responded to the changing of the seasons, left their indelible imprint.

What do you feel is the power of art to inspire people and connect them to nature?

Carolyn: Because I am an artist, it is obvious to me that people desperately need art.  There is so much in nature to lift our spirits and heal our souls. We live in the Garden of Eden! I can only assume that what inspires me, also inspires and renews others.  Art is one way to bring nature to people.

Tony: One of my earliest projects working for Public Television as a filmmaker was a series on contemporary Native American artists. I spent many weeks among the Navajo and Pueblo Peoples in Arizona and New Mexico. They were painters, potters, and jewelry makers. Their modern art carried the influence of an ancient tradition of art, whose purpose was to interpret the world and connect people to the land that sustained them. Through them, I learned the power of art to connect people to nature. Art bypasses the mind to touch the heart.

What was your inspiration for the new animated “Save Plants” video?

Carolyn: Growing up in the early ’50’s, when TV first settled into our homes, I was of course a child of Disney, feasting on animated cartoons and films. I saw that animal characters could convey messages to reach all kinds of people. Using the animals familiar to me, I chose two Gila monsters for the Save Plants video because of their striking appearance, humor, and vulnerability. Other small desert creatures either whispered or shouted, depending on their personality traits. An owl seemed ideal to express gravity and urgency. Even the darkling beetle, an equally beloved member of our forest community, was given a role.

Tony: When doing background reading in preparation for the project, I found fascinating science about the role of plants in transforming a molten rock into a habitable planet (“Making Eden,” by David Beerling). Carolyn’s animal characters seemed like the perfect intermediaries to carry the message about the importance of plants. Animals are our ambassadors from the natural world. They teach us through their ingenious ways of interacting with the plant world.

What was the creative process like as you brought the “Save Plants” video to life?

Carolyn: Tony and I both worked on creating the story. We hashed out about a half dozen versions. Because I had never done an animated film, there was an enormous learning curve! Whenever I felt stuck, I tapped into my emotions and transferred them to the animals. For example, [there were] times I felt like screaming to get the message about the danger to plants to penetrate deaf ears, so I chose a ground squirrel using a trumpet-like Datura flower to amplify his tiny voice.

Tony: Once we had settled on the storyboard, Carolyn began creating the paintings for each scene. She sent me her two-dimensional art and I transformed it into three-dimensional action. Using Photoshop and Adobe After Effects, I separated the paintings into layers and created movements for each of the layers independently. I sent a first draft of the movements to Carolyn, and she often modified the painting, knowing what was possible. There was a lot of back-and-forth collaboration before settling on the final version of a scene.

Why does CPC’s mission to safeguard rare and endangered plants resonate with you?

Carolyn: Living in the same spot for over 65 years makes it easy to see the rapid changes in our environment–how vulnerable plants are not only to changes in temperature, weather patterns, and moisture, but also to the brute force of humans and machines. Decades ago, towering stands of grape ivy climbed to the tops of the ponderosas. Now they can barely get off the ground. Dense colonies of wild roses once crowded the rocky stream beds. Now we can hardly find any of them. The willows, walnuts, and cottonwoods that were like family are gone. During my years as a freelance illustrator, I worked for landscape architects who pioneered the use of indigenous plants and established nurseries to propagate them. Thankfully, they and organizations like the CPC are coming to the rescue.

Tony: I look at plants differently now. Though I’ve long been aware of human impact on our planet’s biome, the message and work of CPC resonated even more deeply. The fact that some plants will never more be seen on earth, not because of natural causes but because we made it happen, is so symbolic of the danger in which we have put ourselves.

What message(s) do you hope viewers will take away from viewing the “Save Plants” video?

Carolyn: I want viewers to appreciate the rarity and preciousness of this entire planet.  To understand what can happen when the needs of one species throws all the others into peril. What people value, they protect. If we are as smart as we think we are, we will find ways to keep people and plants in balance.

Tony: I hope people take the coyote seriously – no plants, no animals, no people!

Today, we invite you to experience the homeland of Hippocrates and Aristotle by joining the Center for Plant Conservation on a journey to Greece – one of the world’s most botanically and historically rich regions! The 12-day trip, from April 19-30, 2022, includes a cruise to the fabled Greek Islands and Epheseus aboard the elegant Elysium, a vessel akin to a private yacht.

This springtime visit is a perfect time to see carpets of wildflowers, migratory birds, ancient monuments, and art. The Mediterranean basin is a biodiversity hotspot – Greece and the Aegean Sea Islands are home to more than 5,800 species of vascular plants, including nearly 200 orchid species.

Throughout the journey, Dr. Joyce Maschinski, President and CEO of the Center for Plant Conservation, will share tales about the Greek gods’ connections to the plants, discuss names and medicinal values of key local plants, and highlight some of the current conservation efforts to assess and protect the wonderful diversity of this beautiful region. Dr. Nigella Hillgarth, former President and CEO of the New England Aquarium, will discuss the natural world, with special emphasis on the birds of the region. Local experts in archaeology, history, and botany will guide us daily at each of the 14 locations visited on the trip.

Join us next spring to experience natural beauty and marvels both ancient and modern in the gardens of the gods. For more information and to reserve your spot, please contact:

Colin Church

Manager, Guest Sales and Services | Thalassa Journeys

Colin@ThalassaJourneys.com