Bart O'Brien
Public Gardens Administration
Member since: 2007
Proposed by: Diggers Garden Club, Zone XII
Since December of 2013, Bart has served as Manager of the East Bay Regional Parks Botanic Garden, located in Tilden Regional Park. Prior to this appointment, Bart was the Director of Special Projects and Senior Staff Research Associate for the Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden ( RSABG) in Claremont, CA, where he held a variety of positions, from 1990 on.
An authority on California flora and northern Baja California, Mexico, Bart is an accomplished collector, grower, photographer, lecturer, and author. He has held many leadership roles in the California Native Plant Society ( CNPS). He is a member of the editorial Board of CNPS Journal, Fremontia. He is also co-author of three books: the award winning California Native Plants for the Garden; the bilingual (English/Spanish) Care and Maintenance of Southern California Native Plant Gardens; and Reimagining the California Lawn: Water-conserving Plants, Practices and Designs.
Bart's contributions have been recognized with numerous awards, including the President's Award from CNPS, in 2006 and 2010. He was named Man of the Year by California Garden Clubs, Inc. in 2007. He earned the Horticulturist of the Year Award from the Southern California Horticultural Society in 2005. And then, in August of 2006, was named one of the "100 Most Powerful People in Southern California--as selected by the editorial staff of the Los Angeles Times/West Magazine. Bart holds an undergraduate degree in Environmental Planning and Management from UC Davis and a master's degree in Landscape Architecture from Harvard University. Member since 2007.
