November 14, 2011

Dear Friends,

One generation plants the tree…another generation gets the shade-Chinese proverb

This proverb was my “tea bag wisdom” yesterday morning. Considering my involvement with KBGF, I think it was a wise tea bag indeed. I can’t think of a better way to describe the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden.

Over fifty years ago, Art and Mareen Kruckeberg began the Garden with a collection of thousands of seeds and cuttings, passion, and a lifetime of dedication and hard work. It’s a remarkable achievement. Today, the Kruckeberg Botanic Garden serves as an oasis in the urban jungle and a source of pride for the community. Thanks to Art and Mareen, all of us can enjoy what they created and draw inspiration from their results.

I value the Garden for many reasons—especially what the Garden offers our family. KBGF’s education program teaches children to care about the environment and engages them in outdoor physical and educational experiences that put them on the path to being healthy, wise stewards of the environment. I want my son to grow up appreciating both the art and science of nature and hope his generation continues to benefit from what the Garden has to offer.

I know you value the Garden too, perhaps for reasons different than my own. That’s why I’m inviting you to join me in making an additional gift, or perhaps your first gift to support KBGF.

Your gift in any amount helps us maintain a world-class collection of plants and provide a variety of programs to the community that inspire and educate.

Some new initiatives for 2012 include:

Expanding KBGF’s school field trip program through the Acorn Fund: This past spring, we introduced a school field trip program for preschool and early elementary-aged children that was a huge success. We launched the Acorn Fund this fall to help support the program. Your donation of $10 per child allows us to offer our programs at affordable rates to keep them accessible to schools and daycares in our community who need them the most. A donation of $150-$200 helps support an entire class.

Pacific Northwest Native Plant Demonstration Garden: In 2012, we will create a designated native plant demonstration garden in the northeast corner of the Garden – an area ideal for revitalization that is currently not frequented by visitors. The demonstration garden will emphasize understory plants compatible with a Puget Sound lowland coniferous forest and will demonstrate the exceptional ornamental value of many PNW native plants. In honor of Mareen’s original vision of creating a "white garden", the plants selected will be primarily white-flowered Northwest natives. The demonstration garden will serve as a lasting (and fitting) tribute to Art and Mareen.

New entrance and parking area at the Garden: During the late winter and early spring, we will be working with the city to create a new entrance and parking area at the Garden. The staff will be hard at work moving the final plants and helping to create a welcoming environment for visitors.

Plus, we will be working with the Shoreline School District on ways the Garden can support the district’s science curriculum as a field trip location and will continue maintaining the plant collection and all of our existing education programs including workshops, tours and the popular Garden Tots program.

To accomplish all of this, we need to raise $10,000 by January 1, 2012. Collectively, that breaks down to 100 people making an average gift of $100 each. We can do this if we join together as a community to support something that benefits the entire community. Every gift helps us reach our goal.

Here’s how your additional gift to KBGF will make a difference:

• A gift of $25 purchases all of the needed supplies for one session of Garden Tots.

• A gift of $50 sponsors 5 preschoolers to visit the Garden.

• A gift of $100 helps us acquire 5 new and interesting plants to add to the Garden's plant collection.

• A gift of $250 buys supplies needed to re-landscape our new Garden entrance

• A gift of $500 helps us cover the cost of all of the plant labels for the PNW Native Plant Demonstration Garden.

• A gift of $1000 supports the staff time and supplies required to run our annual Docent Training program, which trains highly qualified tour leaders and other leadership volunteers.

• A gift of $1,500 helps us maintain the entire Garden for one week. If that’s a level you can do, we will recognize you at the Garden for one week in 2012 of your choosing.

You can break that gift down into monthly installments by joining me in KBGF’s Perennial Club, our ongoing monthly giving program. For as little as $10 per month, you can make a difference each and every month.

Gifts in any amount will make a huge impact on our programming next year. You choose what works best for you. All donations are fully tax-deductible and may be eligible for a corporate match from your company.

I hope that everyone who visits the Garden experiences my son’s sense of wonder and delight in his surroundings and leaves inspired to grow new plants in their own garden.

"In the end we will conserve only what we love. We will love only what we understand. We will understand only what we are taught." - Baba Dioum

With thanks,

Ann Jacobus
President, Kruckeberg Botanic Garden Foundation
(and proud Perennial Club member)