daily californian logo

BERKELEY'S NEWS • JUNE 02, 2023

Apply to The Daily Californian!

'Things are blooming': UC Botanical Garden slated to reopen

article image

DEBORAH CHEN | FILE

After more than three months of closure, the UC Botanical Garden is reopening, allowing visitors to see more than 10,000 types of plants.

SUPPORT OUR NONPROFIT NEWSROOM

We're an independent student-run newspaper, and need your support to maintain our coverage.

JULY 10, 2020

Next week, the UC Botanical Garden will start reopening to visitors after being closed for more than three months — first to members Tuesday, and then to the general public July 22.

The 34-acre garden boasts more than 10,000 types of plants, including a large collection of California native plants as well as species whose origins range from Italy to South America, according to its website. The garden also serves as a site for plant research and conservation projects.

According to a press release from the garden, it has developed and enacted new procedures to ensure the safety of guests and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. These measures include implementing reserved ticketed entry, limiting the number of visitors at each time and to less than 200 each day and requiring face masks for visitors older than the age of 5.

“We couldn’t do anything until the governor issued guidelines for outdoor gardens and for outdoor museums,” said Lewis Feldman, executive director of the garden and a UC Berkeley plant biology professor.

Instead, Feldman said the garden found ways to connect with its members and the public through online programs, including an ethnobotany symposium that drew more than 100 attendees.

“Because we have a living collection, it’s not like a museum and we can’t just stop caring for the plants,” Feldman said, explaining that staff members continued to work in the garden throughout its closure. “The only downside is that during the best time for the garden, which is spring, when everything was flowering, nobody was able to see it except for the staff.”

Feldman added that as a result of the garden’s closure to visitors, he has seen many more birds and lizards, and staff members have occasionally spotted turkeys and other small animals.

About 85% of the garden’s budget is generated on its own, with only a small percent coming from UC Berkeley, according to Feldman. However, the garden was able to avoid staff layoffs despite its reduced revenues during the closure.

“We want to encourage students to come up and take what’s called a contemplative tour, which suggests places in the garden for people to just chill out and relax,” Feldman said, adding that a shuttle brings students directly to the garden, which he called a good place to “think about nature a little bit and think about the wild environment.”

Feldman added that the opening of the Botanical Garden is one of the first steps in the general campus reopening, and a successful reopening will help convince parents that it is safe to send their kids to campus.

Contact Jessica Li at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at @JessicaLi57.
LAST UPDATED

JULY 10, 2020


Related Articles

featured article
The Lawrence Hall of Science will remain closed to the public until June 2021 to ensure a safe reopening with hands-on, engaging visitor experiences.
The Lawrence Hall of Science will remain closed to the public until June 2021 to ensure a safe reopening with hands-on, engaging visitor experiences.
featured article
featured article
Here's what we know about the city of Berkeley and UC Berkeley's campus response to COVID-19, more colloquially known as coronavirus.
Here's what we know about the city of Berkeley and UC Berkeley's campus response to COVID-19, more colloquially known as coronavirus.
featured article
featured article
UC Berkeley was awarded a five-year, $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a Center for Genetically Encoded Materials.
UC Berkeley was awarded a five-year, $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish a Center for Genetically Encoded Materials.
featured article