Wellesley College Botanic Gardens was established more than a century ago as “a center of interest to all” and it continues today as a place that "inspires generations of changemakers to cultivate reciprocal relationships with plants and land."
Mission
Since its founding, WCBG has been guided by Botany Department Chair Margaret Ferguson’s vision: “It is our purpose that the [gardens] shall stand…for the dignity and educational value of its scientific work. At the same time we shall not fail to emphasize the humanistic aspects of our subject; and we shall endeavor to form "a center that shall be of interest to all."
With the support of the American Public Gardens Association (APGA) IDEA (inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility) Center, WCBG underwent an extensive, community-engaged process for redefining the mission, as part of the 2023-2024 cohort. Guided by the expertise of Mae Lin Plummer and supported by peer gardens, this process included community surveys, focus groups, and gatherings that allowed us to clarify our vision for the century ahead. At the end of a year-long community-engaged process and in the midst of our Centennial celebration, we landed on the following mission: WCBG inspires generations of changemakers to cultivate reciprocal relationships with plants and land.
Core values
At the same time that we were re-evaluating our mission for the century ahead, we were also clarifying the core values that would ground and shape our process. Below is a list of the core values that define WCBG as a learning community:
Education: We pursue our mission through thoughtful horticulture and curation of diverse plants and landscapes, providing exemplary academic resources that uphold multiple ways of knowing, and co-creating experiential learning spaces and programs with our community.
Community: We nurture connection and sense of belonging for our community, prioritizing access for all students. We recognize that each participant brings unique value, and aim to minimize barriers based on physical, sensory, cognitive, economic, social, or cultural differences.
Justice: We approach our work through a justice-oriented lens, addressing systemic issues such as racism and patriarchy through our own botanically-focused efforts and through partnerships on and beyond campus.
Ethical Practices: We engage appreciatively with plants, land and water as we work to improve the health and resilience of the ecosystems in our care. Our work supports abundance and holistic well-being, while minimizing our environmental footprint.
Our team
WCBG is sustained by a robust group of student horticultural interns, supported and guided by the following staff members:
- Director: Kristina Niovi Jones, Ph.D.
- Associate Director: K. Melchor Quick Hall, Ph.D.
- Senior Outdoor Horticulturalist: Anne Beckley
- Senior Greenhouse Horticulturalist: Paul Battafarano
- Collections Horticulturalist: Connor Schmitz
- Academic Administrator: Tania Acevedo
Our History
Wellesley College Botanic Gardens was established in 1925 to be "a center of interest to all", for both scientific and humanistic interest in plants. This founding vision was led by Wellesley College alumna and Botany Chair Margaret C. Ferguson (class of 1891), who is reputed to have trained more women in botanical science than any other scientist of that time. To promote the study of plants native to the local region and across the globe, she advocated for and oversaw the establishment of the 20+ acres of Alexandra Botanic Gardens, H. H. Hunnewell Arboretum, and the Margaret C. Ferguson greenhouses, within the Wellesley College campus, which are now collectively the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.
In 1940, Botany Professor Harriet Creighton (class of 1929) took leadership of the Botanic Gardens, stating "We are students of plants and plants are important to the modern world", and gathered broader support for the gardens' educational mission. In 1983, the Friends of Horticulture, now called Friends of the Botanic Gardens, was founded, and raised funds to build the WCBG Visitor Center in 1992, which houses the multi-purpose Creighton Room. Support through the Friends continues to support the gardens' ability to host public tours and programs, provide hands-on and co-curricular learning opportunities for students, and serve as a beloved educational resource for all visitors.
These botanical roots were present in the founding of Wellesley College. In 1875, the botanically-minded Wellesley College founders Pauline and Henry Durant lent students their own greenhouse collections for the study of plants, and the first Botany course was held one year after the College's founding. The camellia tree (Camellia japonica 山茶 or ツバキ) inside Global Flora is often called the "Durant Camellia". This tree was planted by the Durants on campus, and is the sole living link to the founders, who did not want buildings named after them.
Many people, beings, and forces shaped and continue to shape the land and plants where the Botanic Gardens now resides. The outdoor landscapes include diverse meadows, woodlands, and wetlands, in addition to cultivated specialty gardens. The plant communities, including trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses, are a dynamic composite of locally adapted plants, and designed garden layouts, introduced at different times through the prior decades and millennia. The Global Flora Conservatory contains plants and designed habitats, which are sourced from a network of botanic gardens and vetted plant nurseries (as gifts or purchases) for educational purposes.
Across all of these stories, the unifying thread has been to uplift education and appreciation of plants in our lives, for everyone. We welcome all to join us in this mission, and be a part of this garden's story. That evolving story is one that intends to inspire generations of changemakers to cultivate reciprocal relationships with plants and land. In that way, we are being shaped by the Gardens as much as the Gardens are being shaped by us (humans). The landscapes, plants, and gardens hold stories that go back millennia, and continue to unfold!
More about the gardens
Wellesley College Botanic Gardens is rooted in a legacy of change-makers who recognized the central importance of plants for everyone, and advocated for an educational resource that would span generations.
Wellesley College Botanic Gardens was established in 1925 to be "a center of interest to all", for both scientific and humanistic interest in plants. This founding vision was led by Wellesley College alumna and Botany Chair Margaret C. Ferguson (class of 1891), who is reputed to have trained more women in botanical science than any other scientist of that time. To promote the study of plants native to the local region and across the globe, she advocated for and oversaw the establishment of the 20+ acres of Alexandra Botanic Gardens, H. H. Hunnewell Arboretum, and the Margaret C. Ferguson greenhouses, within the Wellesley College campus, which are now collectively the Wellesley College Botanic Gardens.
In 1940, Botany Professor Harriet Creighton (class of 1929) took leadership of the Botanic Gardens, stating "We are students of plants and plants are important to the modern world", and gathered broader support for the gardens' educational mission. In 1983, the Friends of Horticulture, now called Friends of the Botanic Gardens, was founded, and raised funds to build the WCBG Visitor Center in 1992, which houses the multi-purpose Creighton Room. Support through the Friends continues to support the gardens' ability to host public tours and programs, provide hands-on and co-curricular learning opportunities for students, and serve as a beloved educational resource for all visitors.
These botanical roots were present in the founding of Wellesley College. In 1875, the botanically-minded Wellesley College founders Pauline and Henry Durant lent students their own greenhouse collections for the study of plants, and the first Botany course was held one year after the College's founding. The camellia tree (Camellia japonica 山茶 or ツバキ) inside Global Flora is often called the "Durant Camellia". This tree was planted by the Durants on campus, and is the sole living link to the founders, who did not want buildings named after them.
Many people, beings, and forces shaped and continue to shape the land and plants where the Botanic Gardens now resides. The outdoor landscapes include diverse meadows, woodlands, and wetlands, in addition to cultivated specialty gardens. The plant communities - from trees and shrubs to wildflowers and grasses - are a dynamic composite of locally adapted plants, and designed garden layouts, introduced at different times through the prior decades and millennia. The greenhouses contain plants and designed habitats which are sourced from a network of botanic gardens and vetted plant nurseries (as gifts or purchases), for educational purposes.
Across all of these stories, the unifying thread has been to uplift education and appreciation of plants in our lives, for everyone. We welcome all to join us in this mission, and be a part of this garden's story.
The landscapes, plants, and gardens hold stories that go back millennia, and continue to unfold! Explore some of these stories below, and let us know if you'd like to contribute a story.
- During the last ice age, around 12,000 years ago, the movement of glaciers formed hills and valleys of campus, which now include some of the knolls (eskers) and low wetlands of the botanic gardens
- Humans lived in this area for millennia. Descendants include the Massachusett, Wampanoag, and Nipmuc nations. The understanding of plants and land practices we use today are rooted in Indigenous science, in addition to contributions of many groups whose stories are under-recognized in our existing materials. We are working with local partners to develop resources and exhibits to highlight these contributions.
- In 1875, the Durants found Wellesley College as a liberal arts college for women, and emphasize the importance of botanical education and connection with outdoor landscapes, by maintaining the glaciated landscapes, in contrast to the flattened landscapes of all-male universities of the time
- Margaret C. Ferguson shares a vision of Botany at Wellesley
- Wellesley's Women of Botany carry on a legacy of centering plants at Wellesley
- The Paulson Ecology of Place Initiative launches to enhance sense of belonging in the campus landscape
- The Global Flora conservatory is envisioned, and built in 2019, right before the global Covid-19 pandemic
- The new Science Center includes state of the art teaching and research greenhouses, adjacent to the new Global Flora
- The Chandler Center for the Environment launches, to provide a hub for all to connect with environmental action
- Botany and Empire, an exhibit by ES244 students led by Prof. Ashanti Shih, shares the diverse stories of plants represented in Global Flora.