You may have heard by now about exciting changes happening with Rare Care and UW Botanic Gardens. UW Botanic Gardens and the Arboretum Foundation have joined together under a 501(c)3 organization called Seattle Botanic Gardens. Seattle Botanic Gardens will remain closely affiliated with the University of Washington and continue UW Botanic Gardens’ role of managing the Center for Urban Horticulture and Washington Park Arboretum plant collections, facilities, and programs.

What does that mean for Rare Care? In the near term, Rare Care will be a partnership between the Seattle Botanic Gardens and the University of Washington, allowing us to continue our plant conservation activities to their fullest potential uninterrupted. Seattle Botanic Gardens will provide operational and development support, while our staff and federal grants will continue to be at the University. Over the next several years, we will transition our operations to Seattle Botanic Gardens, but we will remain closely affiliated with the University and continue our collaborations with faculty and students.

In the meantime, communications from us will come from emails of both organizations, rarecare@uw.edu or rarecare@seattlebotanicgardens.org, and you can reach us at either email or by phone at (206) 616-0780. We are asking donors to the Rare Care Plant Conservation Program, to now give through Seattle Botanic Gardens, which you can do so online here (select the Rare Plant Conversation Fund from the menu). As always, you can find us in person at the Center for Urban Horticulture in Seattle.