Dr. Brent Hughes Speaks on the Conservation Value of Sea Otters at GCA in the City Inaugural Event in San Francisco.
A Second Event at The Marine Mammal Center is Scheduled for October 26.

The September 18 debut of GCA in San Francisco drew a full house of sixty young professionals for Dr. Brent Hughes' presentation, "Unlikely Heroes: Sea Otters in Monterey Bay". Why “unlikely heroes”? Dr Hughes, whose study initially focused on eelgrass, discovered eelgrass was recovering in spite of a destructive algal bloom. He said that the loss of the top--or apex--predator can imbalance the environment and precipitate a natural disaster. The sea otter, Dr. Hughes explained, was the apex predator. Once the sea otter was introduced to Monterey Bay, balance was restored. Dr. Hughes warned this is a cautionary tale as we are losing many of our apex predators.

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GCA Scholar Creates Curriculum to Bring Equity in Science Education to Chicago Public Schools
Linking Chicago Public School Students to the Chicago Botanic Garden
Sid Hancock

Samantha Turner-Rosa, 2024 Douglas Dockery Thomas Fellow in Garden History and Design, seeks to harness “the power of botanic gardens, educators, scientists, and garden practitioners” in a community-driven project that will connect K-8th grade students to the Chicago Botanic Garden’s natural areas. Turner-Rosa says that her GCA Scholarship allowed her to explore new pathways linking students to plant biology research, restoration, and conservation. “Funding allowed me to kick off this project’s collaborative curriculum development process where I was able to gather in-person with a seed bank researcher, managing ecologist, seed biologist, seed bank manager, and plant propagator from the Chicago Botanic Garden.”

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GCA Grant Helps Restore Bayou Bend in Houston
River Oaks GC Obtained GCA Funds to Restore Storm-damaged Gardens
Jenne Williams

When Houston’s Bayou Bend Gardens was devastated by extreme weather, the River Oaks Garden Club (ROGC) applied for a Garden Club of America (GCA) Restoration Initiative grant. The GCA’s Restoration Initiative, which funds landscape restoration and conservation projects in communities devastated by natural disasters, provided $10,000 to aid in restoring the grounds after devastating winds and rains of a derecho storm. But “lightning struck twice” and the garden faced further destruction from massive flooding due to Hurricane Beryl. The GCA grant and ROGC’s commitment to preserve this cultural treasure ensures that future generations can enjoy the beauty and history of Bayou Bend.

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The GCA Announces the Montine McDaniel Freeman Medal
Quercus montana Named 2025 Plant of the Year

The Montine McDaniel Freeman Medal is awarded annually to acknowledge the cultivation and use of native plants, trees, shrubs, ground covers, vines, and perennials that are little known but are deemed worthy to be preserved, propagated, promoted, and planted. This year, the Quercus montana, common name “chestnut oak”, has been named the 2025 Plant of the Year: Freeman Medal winner by The Garden Club of America.

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Carothers Environmental Scholar on the Benefits of GCA-Funded Field Research
Garden Club of America Funds Wetlands Biodiversity Research
Sid Hancock

Zoë Riggs, 2024 Mary T. Carothers Summer Environmental Studies Scholar, credits GCA-supported research in Loreto, Peru, for helping build “a more rounded, empathetic, and critically thinking young professional.” Riggs, an undergraduate in Environmental Sciences at Montreat College, conducted field research this summer that included surveys of wetland plant communities and herpetofaunal - reptiles and amphibians of a particular region or habitat - communities. “Exposure to a variety of ecosystems and kinds of organisms,” explains Riggs, “allows an ecologist to expand their frame of reference when asking questions about the natural world.”

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Indianapolis GC’s Garden Walk Supports Community Projects
Proceeds from Garden Tours Give back to Community

The Indianapolis Garden Club’s (IGC) Garden Walk has returned more than $825,000 in grants to public spaces in the Indianapolis community. The walk, conceived 28 years ago, sells tickets and sponsorships for visits to five or six private gardens on the first Wednesday in June—rain or shine. The Garden Walk is a June tradition and a beloved community event. Patrons leisurely stroll through the properties that range from owner planted and lovingly tended to architect planned, manicured estates. Grants, funded by the Garden Walk, reflect the mission of the IGC and the GCA, to restore, improve, and protect the quality of the environment.

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Garden Club of America Medalist Awarded the Elizabeth Medal of Honour by the Royal Horticultural Society
Charles R. “Chipper” Wichman, president emeritus of the National Tropical Botanical Garden, honored for horticultural contributions

On March 26, the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), the United Kingdom’s leading gardening charity, awarded the Elizabeth Medal of Honour to the Garden Club of America’s 2018 Medal of Honor recipient and president emeritus of the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), Charles R. “Chipper” Wichman, for his outstanding contributions to horticulture, gardening, and plant conservation. NTBG is a network of botanic gardens, preserves, and research centers in Hawaii and Florida.

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