Desert Botanical Garden

This grant will enable the garden to refine current themes and identify pertinent questions that enhance understanding and appreciation of the Sonoran Desert’s history and ecology by creating a trail that weaves together botany, anthropology, and history. The trail will provide fundamental education on the real but often misunderstood richness of this desert land. Scholars will receive a project overview that explains the project’s scope and overall objectives and provides an introduction to other team members. They will be prepared for the project seminar and asked to make recommendations for additional research and programs that should be reviewed prior to the seminar. Project staff will visit the model ethnobotany program at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History before the seminar. Using a set of guiding questions, scholars will be asked to help identify the critical themes the garden should strive to develop in the new exhibits and formats. They will help the garden connect science and culture, reevaluate its goals, and clarify key messages. They will also help the garden refine exhibit concepts that will support development of programs and materials. Finally, they will help define goals for different audiences. Once this phase is complete, the garden will test the new concepts, themes, and exhibits with visitors and focus groups and then make appropriate adjustments based on their feedback. The end product of this process will be a comprehensive resource narrative and interpretive plan for taking the project to the actual fabrication and implementation phase.