2025 Plant Conservation Leadership Summit
In August, Rare Care Program Manager Wendy Gibble attended the Plant Conservation Leadership Summit at the Atlanta Botanic Gardens. Over 100 leaders from 64 botanic gardens and affiliated organizations across the US convened to strategize how to advance plant conservation objectives in this new environment of severely reduced federal funding. Nearly all organizations have been impacted by the termination of federal grants and/or the lack of new funding opportunities. This, combined with increased competition for private philanthropy funds, will severely impact plant conservation work nationwide in the foreseeable future.
Over the 2-day summit, key themes emerged from working sessions. There was broad consensus that a national strategy is needed to articulate short-term and long-term goals, identify actions to mitigate risks to plants over the coming decades, and integrate ecosystem restoration more explicitly into rare plant species conservation. Organizations will need to cultivate new partners, for instance, collaborating with industry and for-profit corporations to achieve conservation actions that align with shared objectives. Participants agreed that the botanic garden community needs to shift its mindset about how it approaches plant conservation.
Another theme that arose is a need to shift public views about plant conservation outcomes. Participants highlighted the need to share stories of successful recovery and delisting of species on the Endangered Species Act and illustrate how species conservation can be achieved alongside economic development. These stories should be shared regionally and nationally to build awareness of how plant conservation intersects with disaster mitigation and resiliency, better health outcomes, and improved economic and recreational opportunities.
Participants developed some recommendations for next steps. There was broad interest in developing a coalition of organizations to increase coordination and resources to advance key strategies. This coalition will support engagement with policymakers and key allies, look for opportunities to coordinate messaging campaigns, and develop non-federal funding for regional or national conservation projects.
Rare Care and UW Botanic Gardens are excited to collaborate with botanic gardens across the country in this important work.