From the Executive Director

Giving Thanks for Time and Talent

Dear Friends,

Curator Don Mahoney and Kerry Barrs. Photo by Viking Photo.

Adult Education Coordinator Kitty Fisher and Interim Volunteer Manager Bette McDonnell present Michele Bateman with a certificate at the Annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. Photo by Viking Photo.

Volunteers recognized for five years of service at the Annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. Photo by Viking Photo.

Last month the Botanical Garden Society hosted its Annual Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. Although we have held the event for 36 years, this was the first year I attended. Before the luncheon, I reviewed a list of our more than 500 volunteers, organized by the year they began, and realized that while I had been at the Garden for 28 weeks, there were a number of volunteers who had been giving their time and energy for more than 28 years!

Each year, the Botanical Garden Society honors two individuals with awards for their outstanding contributions. This year, Kerry Barrs and John Ellis were honored for their service to the Garden. Kerry has volunteered for over 20 years teaching classes, working in the Nursery and has performed "Plant Doctor" duty at all of our Summer Gardening Fairs. John has volunteered since 2002, assisting in leading Garden tours and field trips, and has devoted many hours to events and the Education Department. We are fortunate to count these two as dedicated friends of the Botanical Garden Society.

In my seven months at the Garden, I have tried to learn as much as I can as fast as I can. One of the most important things I have learned is the enormous contribution our volunteers make to everything we do here. By everything, I mean everything – welcoming visitors and teaching them about the Garden, inspiring children to explore the natural world, propagating plants in the Nursery, helping out at our plant sales and in our new Arbor, pitching in at the Garden Bookstore, supporting our exceptional Library, using GPS technology to map our plant collection, pulling weeds and otherwise helping our City gardeners, recruiting members, fundraising on our behalf, staffing events and bringing to all of these efforts an extraordinary combination of talent, warmth, enthusiasm and generosity.

In just my first seven months, our volunteers have been quite busy and productive, helping us to:

• Welcome more than 130,000 visitors.
• Offer 400 docent-led tours.
• Support 200 school visits.
• Sell more than 6,000 items in our Bookstore.
• Propagate more than 15,000 plants in the Nursery.
• Provide 13,000 plants for the Garden and sales to the public, including more than 2,000 plants for sale in the Arbor.
• Map more than 3,000 plants as part of our Geographic Information System (GIS) program.
• Operate the Library, providing 2,000 volunteer hours.
• Make our events, whether big or small, successful and welcoming – including the Annual Plant Sale, Summer Gardening Fair and Garden Feast.
• Pull countless thousands of weeds.

This is the giving of time and talent that makes our Garden grow. At this time of year, when we think about giving, I want to give my deepest thanks to our volunteers, who give so much of themselves to the Garden.

Wishing you and yours a joyous holiday season and a happy and healthy New Year,

Sue Ann Schiff
Executive Director
San Francisco Botanical Garden Society

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