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From the Director
Our Kids. Their Planet. Your Garden.
At the Society, we have a twofold mission – to build communities of support for the Garden and to cultivate the bond between people and plants. When it comes to children, our mission has special urgency. Nature-Deficit Disorder™ is what Richard Louv, award-winning author, journalist and founding chair of the Children & Nature Network, calls our kids' loss of experience with the wonders – and responsibilities – of our natural world. Children living in dense, urban environments do not have to be economically disadvantaged to lack meaningful outdoor experiences, but for those who are and whose families cannot create such experiences for them, the problem is compounded. Every year the Society's Youth Education Program provides more than 10,000 children outdoor, hands-on experiences that introduce them to concepts related to plants, ecology and the natural environment. More than 90 percent of the children are from San Francisco public schools, many from the City's most underserved neighborhoods. All experience the wonders of nature in nature – the safe and quiet beauty of San Francisco Botanical Garden whose insects, birds and other animals as well as plants provide a living laboratory to observe and understand nature in all its complexity. Our Youth Education Program comprises a variety of school-year and summertime programs designed for children from preschool age through middle school. San Francisco's mild, temperate climate makes it possible for the Program to operate year-round. We build the content of our program from the Life Sciences Content Standards for California Public Schools. In collaboration with the California Academy of Sciences and the San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance, we offer a number of workshops for teachers, to help them to become more effective science educators. We offer internships to college and high school students exploring careers in horticulture and environmental education. This year, on September 15, we will celebrate our Youth Education Program and the teachers and volunteers whose exemplary leadership and commitment contribute so much to the Program's success. Garden Feast, our annual fundraising luncheon, is dedicated to them – and most important, to our children to whom we must entrust the future stewardship of the planet. Please join us for Garden Feast on September 15. Your support makes our Youth Education Program possible. Our Kids. Their Planet. Your Garden.
Sue Ann Schiff
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Interim Executive Director Sue Ann Schiff
