FAQs
Why do you need to charge a fee?
Isn't a non-resident fee the first step toward a fee for everyone?
Isn't the fee taking the Botanical Garden a step closer to privatization?
Won't setting up the booths to collect the fee and bringing in new workers just cost more than you'll collect?
Why doesn't the SF Botanical Garden Society just do more?
Won't the money be secretly spent on the new nursery?
What exactly is this new nursery?
Isn't this just part of Golden Gate Park and not that special?
Aren't you are just taking away my open space and putting up a fence?
I'm already a member – does this affect my membership?
Do you do anything else for the community?
Why do you need to charge a fee?
The fees will help offset some of the cuts being proposed by the City and the Recreation and Park Department and continue to allow us to maintain and enhance the Botanical Garden. But the fee isn't the only part of the proposal. The entire revenue package currently includes three components: implementing a non-resident visitor fee of $7, recruiting sponsorship opportunities, and installing a high-end coffee cart at each gate.
Without the new package, the Botanical Garden will have to make severe cuts, endangering the collection of rare plants, some facing extinction, and depriving community residents of a tranquil place to visit.
Most major botanical gardens throughout America charge a fee. The $7 non-resident fee is comparable to what other gardens charge for all attendees across the country.
Most major attractions in Golden Gate Park charge a fee. The $7 non-resident fee joins the Japanese Tea Garden, the Conservatory of Flowers, the de Young, and the Academy of Sciences, which all receive a portion of their funding from entrance fees.
Isn't a non-resident fee the first step toward a fee for everyone?
The proposal before the commission is a clear $7 fee for non-resident visits and a monthly sponsored free admission day. San Francisco residents' admissions will remain free at all times and non-resident seniors and children fees are discounted. Future changes to the resident fees will be determined at a later date by the Recreation and Park General Manager and Commission and the Board of Supervisors.
Isn't the fee taking the Botanical Garden a step closer to privatization?
The SFBGS has enjoyed a 55-year partnership with the City maintaining, promoting, preserving and enhancing the Garden and nothing in the budget package changes that relationship. The Botanical Garden Society has historically contributed financial, programmatic, managerial, staff time, and expertise to the San Francisco Botanical Garden. The public/non-profit partnership has been successful and nothing changes it with this proposal.
Won't setting up the booths to collect the fee and bringing in new workers just cost more than you'll collect? And besides, we don't want new structures in our open space.
Actually, there are very attractive pre-fabricated booths made that are inexpensive and easy to maintain. They are also portable so will not create any new permanent structure.
Why doesn't the SF Botanical Garden Society just do more?
In addition to raising millions of dollars over the years to assist in paying for staff, programs, maintenance and improvements, the SFBGS has taken on the responsibility of raising $13.1 million to rebuild The Nursery: Center for Sustainable Gardening which will replace the Botanical Garden's approximately 45 year-old antiquated and outdated temporary greenhouse building. The SFBGS already provides the curatorial staff, the salary for one union gardener and maintains the most prominent horticultural research library in North America.
The Botanical Garden is a living museum that displays more than 100,000 living plants – over 8,000 different varieties – in nineteen gardens spread over fifty-five acres. It is owned by the City and County of San Francisco, but it operates with the support of the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society, whose mission is to build communities of support for the Garden and cultivate the bond between people and plants. This relationship has successfully existed for 55 years.
Won't the money be secretly spent on the new nursery?
All of the money raised through the non-resident admission fee will go towards ongoing operations. The capital campaign for the The Nursery: Center for Sustainable Gardening is completely separate.
What exactly is this new nursery?
The Nursery: Center for Sustainable Gardening will replace the Botanical Garden's approximately 45 year-old antiquated and outdated temporary greenhouse building. A new sustainable state-of-the-art building will enable both the Botanical Garden and Botanical Garden Society to further expand plant propagation, tissue cultivation and growing activities. Additionally, the Nursery will give San Francisco residents and visitors the chance to learn about plants, horticulture and the importance of preserving the environment by observing and participating in a working propagation center.
This facility will give all San Francisco residents and visitors an opportunity to learn about horticulture, gardening, environmental preservation and sustainability. The project's proposed outdoor learning area and work yard will help provide better educational opportunities for more than 10,000 San Francisco Unified School District children who currently participate in the Garden's educational activities. Currently, San Francisco Unified Schools are on a rotating schedule to participate in educational programs at the Garden, and because of its size, design and location this new nursery will allow for an increase in the number of school children participating.
Isn't this just part of Golden Gate Park and not that special?
The Botanical Garden is a museum that provides public conservation education and gives visitors the unique opportunity to see rare plants that are extinct in the wild. Over 500,000 visitors visit the Botanical Garden every year and enjoy the rare experience of exploring over 100,000 plants of 8,000 varieties in a very special area of Golden Gate Park.
Aren't you are just taking away my open space and putting up a fence?
You are welcome to visit any time and there are 962 additional acres in Golden Gate Park to visit. Additionally, there is already a fence around the Botanical Garden to protect the valuable collection of rare species.
I'm already a member – does this affect my membership?
Members get free admission to the Botanical Garden. And guest passes will be a resource for members who wish to share the Garden with family and friends visiting San Francisco.
Do you do anything else for the community?
Over 10,000 school children (90% from San Francisco) each year get the opportunity to enjoy this firsthand experience and learn about sustainability, conservation, and ecology on the grounds and in the library at the Botanical Garden. The SFBGS's educational activities include botanical, horticultural, and environmental learning opportunities that increase science literacy among children. These activities teach urban sustainability, water conservation, and appreciation for the environment.
The SFBGS is an active participant in both the North American Plant Collections Consortium and Botanical Gardens Conservation International, with 700 member gardens in 118 countries. The Garden's plant collections are a valuable repository for rare and endangered plant species which are endemic to San Francisco and prized throughout the world.
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