Smart Business Magazine, November 2014

For more information about the Cleveland Botanical Garden www cbgarden org facebook com cbgarden @ cbgarden FEATURE UNIQUELY CLEVELAND Uniquely Cleveland is a monthly feature in Smart Business Cleveland that takes an in depth look at the people places and things that give Cleveland its identity To suggest a unique subject f or us to explore contact Editor in Chief Dennis Seeds at dseeds@ sbnonline com F or more than 80 years The Holden Arboretum and Cleveland Botanical Garden have enhanced the lives of generations of Northeast Ohioans through their numerous education and outreach efforts as well as their dedication to promoting the beauty and importance of trees and other plants This summer these two Cleveland area nature conservancies joined forces to create one of the largest public gardens in the U S with a 10 acre urban campus in University Circle and a 3600 acre site in Kirtland The two organizations have been around for a long time the garden since 1930 and the arboretum since 1931 but most of their histories were rather different says Clement W Hamilton who headed the Arboretum since 2008 and who will serve as CEO and president of the new organization The Holden Arboretum is a traditional arboretum with a large amount of land tree collections and a conservation focus but not really a visitor focus A R BOR E T UM AND BOTANI CA L GA R D EN CULTIVATING THE FUTURE U N I Q U E LY C L E V E L A N D For more information about The Holden Arboretum www holdenarb org http on fb me 1sakx46 @ HoldenArboretum 30 Smart Business Cleveland November 2014 BY MARY BETH ADOMAITIS On the other hand the Botanical Garden was the mirror image of that It wasnt so much about conservation or even the gardens themselves but it was a place for garden clubs and horticulturally interested people to come together During the past two decades however both groups have noticed a gradual shift in their missions as well as a natural evolution toward each other People think of Holden traditionally as a science geeky type of place and think of the Botanical Gardens as an attractive place without much scientific basis Hamilton says That view has disappeared or has been reduced considerably over the last several years So now when we look at our programs everything complements each other in a much better way For instance The Holden Arboretum and Cleveland Botanical Garden both serve about 14000 school children per year The Arboretum offers various on and off site educational programs about plant science exploring habitats and more The Botanical Garden also has on site environmental science geology botany and similar programs for children of all ages The integration of the two organizations is expected to take about a year and a new overall name has not yet been decided Both facilities will remain open yet they will eventually have just one board of directors and administrative team Leaders of The Holden Arboretum and Cleveland Botanical Garden helped raise more than 56 million in less than two months to make this integration a reality Now we will have the scale to do so much more to establish our campuses as world class visitor experiences to become leaders in scientific research and to make a greater positive impact on our communities through urbangreening and community forestry initiatives Hamilton says The opportunities ahead are amazing