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Click here for our last year's data and mission statement (pdf file)
Click here for
information on Staff and Board of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens
"At the Cheyenne Botanic Garden, sustainability
is not just a buzzword but rather is an implemented, working philosophy."
" . . winter
can reach down to -30 degrees Fahrenheit . . "
"Cheyenne has
the nation's highest incidence of hailstorms averaging 11
hailstorms per
year"
"The Cheyenne Botanic Gardens
began as a
modest anti-poverty vision in 1977"
"The volunteers provide a
whopping 90% of all the physical labor at the Gardens."
"Since the 70's the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens has
pioneered
many techniques in solar greenhouse gardening and the use of integrated
pest management."
Recent youth workshop at Discovery Pond- on water quality and the value of
wetlands sponsored by the Laramie Co. Library.
"The conservatory is
100% solar heated and is one of the region's largest
demonstrations of passive solar energy."
"The advantages of
photovoltaic electricity is that there are basically no moving parts and as a result, the
life of a photovoltaic system is very long."
"Being here refreshes my soul."
"The Cheyenne Botanic Garden is a special piece of the city's
many attractions which bring in both tourists and economic development to our area. It contributes
to our high quality of life."
"Most
all of the capital improvements have been made possible through public
donations and grants as city government funds are always in short supply
(Wyoming does not have an income tax).
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Where
Sustainability is not just a Buzzword
Sus.tain.a.bil.i.ty- . . . . .
the
ability to sustain. The word “sustain,” according to Webster's New
World College Dictionary, has eight definitions. Three of these
definitions correlate well with what happens at the Cheyenne Botanic
Gardens. The ability to: 1. keep in existence; keep up; maintain or
prolong. 2. provide for the support of; provide sustenance
or nourishment for. 3. strengthen spirits or courage of;
comfort, buoy up; encourage. At the Cheyenne Botanic Garden
sustainability is not just a buzzword but rather is an implemented,
working philosophy.
Cheyenne
has a population of approximately 65,000. The existence of botanic gardens
in such a small city is rare. How did this happen? In a word,
sustainability. This sustainability can be found in many facets of the
Cheyenne Botanic Gardens such as solar energy, an incredibly unique
volunteer workforce (composed primarily of seniors, youth and handicapped
individuals) and creative community-based funding.
To
understand the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens you first need to understand Cheyenne
The
City of
Cheyenne sits in the southeast corner of Wyoming flourishing in
a climate that is among the more extreme in the lower 48 states. Winter
temperatures can get as cold as -30 degrees Fahrenheit. The city is
located next to the Rocky Mountains on the High Plains at an elevation of
6,062 feet. The yearly average wind speed is 13 mph (the fourth windiest
in the contiguous U.S.). To reach this average requires that for every
calm day, there must be a full day of 26 mph to make the average hold
true. The city of Cheyenne has never been above 100 degrees and rarely has
night temperatures above 60 degrees even during the summer. The average
growing season is approximately 120 days, but with the cool high altitude
nights, it is difficult to grow tomatoes to a ripe stage.
Cheyenne
has an average yearly precipitation of only 13.3 inches. Winter brings 55
inches of snow but it is very dry and quickly melts away leaving little
winter snow cover on the ground. Cheyenne has the nation's highest
incidence of hailstorms, averaging 11 hailstorms per year! One bright spot
is that it is sunny 66% of the year. Chances are good that you will find a
sunny day in Cheyenne but equally good that a Cheyenne garden will see at
least one hailstorm per year.
Cheyenne
is both the largest city and the capital of Wyoming. Wyoming has the
smallest total population of all fifty states (under 500,000). Cheyenne is
approximately 40 miles away from three University towns (CSU in Fort
Collins, CO, UW in Laramie, WY and UNC in Greeley, CO). Denver is a
90-minute drive 100 miles to the south.
Beginnings
The
Cheyenne Botanic Gardens began as a vision in 1977 to build a non-profit,
solar heated greenhouse that would allow senior, youth and handicapped
volunteers to grow plants and vegetables year-round. This vision became
reality with the Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse, housed in a
structure located east of Cheyenne. It was built through the efforts of
many caring staff and community volunteers. It was funded through
low-income assistance programs under Community Action of Laramie County.
This structure was one of the world’s first 100% large-scale solar
heated greenhouses.
In
1986, the Cheyenne Community Solar Greenhouse underwent a great change as
it secured funding for a new state-of-the-art solar heated structure built
in its current location in Lion's Park. It then became a division of the
 City of Cheyenne government in the Cheyenne Parks and Recreation Department.
The
orientation and operating philosophy of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens
remains the same (see mission statement and data). The Cheyenne Botanic
Garden continues to serve the Cheyenne area with horticultural education
and outreach, community enrichment and beautification. As in the
beginning, the Gardens continue to depend upon a labor force composed
mainly of seniors, handicapped, and youth "at risk." These
volunteers provide a whopping 90 percent of all labor at the Gardens.
Solar Conservatory
The
6,800-square-foot conservatory consists of three greenhouses. The center
greenhouse is filled with sunshine, tropical plants, and special
attractions such as herb and cacti gardens, and a waterfall pond filled
with Koi fish. The west greenhouse is used primarily for growing
vegetables. The beds are full of lettuce, onions, cabbages, broccoli,
carrots and many other vegetables. This food is provided to the
project’s volunteers fulfilling one definition of sustainability: “provide
for the support of; provide sustenance or nourishment.”
The
efforts in the east greenhouse are primarily focused on propagation of
bedding plants and flowers for the botanic garden grounds and all flowers
for the Cheyenne park system. Volunteers spend hundreds of hours
germinating the seeds and transplanting over 50,000 bedding plants for 80
city flowerbeds. Throughout the summer volunteers can be found weeding,
fertilizing and grooming these beds as well as the many flowerbeds and
specialty gardens on the grounds of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.
Since
the 70's the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens has pioneered
many techniques in solar greenhouse gardening and the use of integrated
pest management. Integrated pest management utilizes a number of
beneficial insects and other good critters to control pests. Biologically
safe sprays are used only as a last resort. If you look closely, you will
always see some bugs in the conservatory, both good and bad. A balance
between the two is maintained, keeping pest populations low. Many of these
pest control and gardening techniques are explained in the book, "Greenhouse
Gardener's Companion," authored by the Cheyenne Botanic Garden's
founding Director, Shane Smith.
The Grounds
Outside
spread over eight acres are many gardens featuring perennials, annuals,
wildflowers, roses, herbs, and cacti. Some specialty areas include a
nationally recognized inspirational Peace
Garden, rose garden,
herb garden,
cacti garden, two
community vegetable gardens, lily pond, sensory garden, and
the Discovery Pond and
educational wetland area. Connecting many gardens
is the Western Walkway featuring 170 livestock brands set into the
concrete walk. The walkway connects the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens grounds
to the Old West Museum, where the vitality, drama and romance of life in
the West comes alive.
Along
the Western Walkway is a unique series of three landscaped plazas known as
the Rotary Century Plazas. Each plaza interprets life in southeast
Wyoming over the past three centuries (1700’s,
1800’s and 1900’s).
Each plaza includes sculpted benches, historic plants and other
interpretations explaining life in each century. The Rotary Century Plazas
also include Wyoming’s oldest locomotive that is surrounded by a
historic folk art fence. Adjacent to the 1900’s plaza is a restored 1928 FarmAll tractor and an educational shelterbelt planting.
Most
everyday you’ll see out-of-town visitors and Cheyenne residents
strolling the grounds, having picnics at noon, artists and photographers
capturing the landscape or framing in the perfect photo, as well as
touring school children taking advantage of the many educational
opportunities. In the summer,
the Gardens are a favorite site for weddings.
 Unlike
many botanic gardens the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens grounds are not
fenced-in and are free and open to the public every day of the year.
Solar System
The most
noticeable demonstration of the Botanic Gardens commitment to
sustainability is the use of renewable energy. This fits in well with
another definition of sustainability: “to keep in existence; keep
up; maintain or prolong.”
Solar
energy is used to provide a majority of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens
energy needs. The Gardens uses two types of solar energy:
Passive Solar
Heating-
Heating is one of the more expensive components in any temperate
greenhouse but the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens conservatory is heated for
free. The
conservatory is 100% solar heated and is one of the region's largest
demonstrations of passive solar energy. The word “passive” comes from
the fact that there are no moving parts involved in keeping the greenhouse
warm. However fans are used to keep the greenhouse cool. The passive solar
heat provides 100% of the heat to three separate 28' x 45' greenhouse
sections. The rest of the 6,800 square foot building also receives a
substantial amount of heat generated from the solar greenhouses and
receives back-up heat with a gas forced air system.
Click
here to read about the origins of Solar Heating
Solar
Electricity-
Approximately 40% of the Cheyenne Botanic
Gardens electricity comes from a photovoltaic system which powers
fans, lighting, irrigation controllers, computers and other office
equipment. In addition, the gazebo on the dock
of Discovery Pond is also solar powered providing energy for ornamental
and security lighting. A battery storage system is installed on
both systems to allow for power at night and during cloudy days. The
advantages of photovoltaic electricity are that there are no moving parts
and as a result, the life of a photovoltaic system is very long.
Click
here for more information on the solar heating and electrical system
Volunteer Program- Horticultural Therapy in Action
The
third definition of sustainability: “to strengthen spirits or
courage of; comfort, buoy up; encourage,” is provided for in the project’s volunteer program that
includes participating senior, youth and handicapped individuals. As
volunteer Adele Beedie explained in January on a warm, beautiful day in
the conservatory, "Being here refreshes my soul. You can actually see
the spirits of our volunteers rise once they start working with plants and
enjoying the camaraderie of other volunteers.” Besides taking home
fresh produce and flowers, volunteers also receive
the benefits of horticultural therapy and the self-esteem building
knowledge that they are adding to the quality of life in their community.
Volunteers
are also make friends across generations and differing backgrounds. As CBG
volunteer, Pauline McCabe (97 years young), often said, "The people
are so friendly here." The volunteers create a sense of family among
each other that is inclusive and can be felt in the ambience of the
operation. One of the younger volunteers, 17-year-old Katie Schroeder
comments, "Plants are like music, they just make you feel good."
It is certainly easy to see the spirits strengthening as everyone watches
the flourishing of the seeds they have sown.
You
will also see disabled individuals working with plants often in concert
with a senior volunteer reaping the benefits of a harvest, transplanting
or grooming plants.
Because
labor is one of the costliest factors in maintaining a botanic garden,
much is saved in Cheyenne when volunteers provide 90 percent of the labor.
This offsets a major portion of labor costs that enables the project to
survive on a proportionately smaller budget.
Public Programming
The
staff at the Cheyenne Botanic Garden also sustains the ongoing education
of horticulture through public displays, public assistance, regular radio
programs, newspaper articles and newsletters. The Cheyenne Botanic Garden
also boasts a library with over 600 books on a variety of gardening
topics.
In
addition, the Cheyenne Botanic Garden helps to sustain the cultural life
of the city with several guest lecturers who speak on a variety of
gardening topics, an annual Glass Art
Celebration –
an art show where the beauty of stained glass and other glass art pieces
are enhanced by being displayed in the light and greenery of the solar
conservatory. The Glass Art Celebration has the distinction of being
Wyoming's largest glass show and brings in over 2,000 visitors each year.
In the summer you will find concerts, theater and other cultural
activities on the grounds.
The
Cheyenne Botanic Garden attracts over 25,000 visitors each year,
representing all 50 states and over 30 countries. Cheyenne Chamber of
Commerce President Larry Atwell comments, "The Cheyenne
Botanic Garden is a special piece of the city's many attractions which
bring in both tourists and economic development to our area. It
contributes to our high quality of life."
Visit our Calendar for more information on
upcoming events!
A Foundation for the Future
There
are great challenges in operating a public supported botanic garden in
such a small community. The city of Cheyenne has one of the smallest
expenditures per capita on parks in the Rocky Mountain region as city
government funds are always in short supply (Wyoming does not have a state
income tax). In order to continue developing gardens and landscapes the
Cheyenne Botanic Gardens incorporated an independent non-profit foundation
(501-C-3) in the early 1990’s known as the “Friends of the Cheyenne
Botanic Gardens.” The purpose of this foundation is to support the
goals and mission of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.
The
Friend’s foundation has been incredibly successful and is responsible
for the funding and development of all capital projects on the grounds
since 1995. In addition, the foundation helps support the volunteer
program and enables the Gardens to grow and sustain itself in ways which
city government cannot provide. This foundation includes a benefits
based supporting membership and endowment. Through individual donations as well
as grants, the foundation continues to grow in value.
Master
Plan
The
Cheyenne Botanic Garden has come a long way since 1977 and continues to
follow its original mission and pursue the goals set forth in a
20-year
master plan completed in 1997.
Future
projects include a children’s garden
and a refurbished and expanded
solar conservatory as well as further garden,
infrastructure development and building expansion.
Another
major ongoing initiative is to work towards saving and enhancing the plant
collection located at the old USDA Horticulture Station (now the High
Plains Grasslands Station) located west of Cheyenne.
It is our plan to turn a part of this
site into a 62 acre nature center and arboretum.
Awards and Recognition
The
success of the Cheyenne Botanic Garden has not gone unnoticed. It has
received recognition from Harvard University in 1989 by granting Director,
Shane Smith, the Loeb Fellowship. In addition, the Cheyenne Botanic
Gardens has received the following awards:
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The
President’s Volunteer Action
Award from President
Reagan
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The
Point of Light Award
from President Bush (senior)
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The
American Entrepreneurial
Leadership Award from Partner’s for Livable Communities in
association with President Clinton
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Community Hero Award from Wyoming Governor Jim
Geringer
The Results
Since 1977, the
Cheyenne Botanic Garden has practiced sustainability daily through solar
energy, biologically based plant production, education, an incredible volunteer force, and creative community-based
funding. As a result, you will find wondrous displays of plant life in the
conservatory and beautiful, educating grounds. At the Cheyenne Botanic
Gardens you
can see first-hand how people have come together to sustain
the importance of human values, community, ecology and renewable energy
into the new millennia.
For data on the
last year of operation click here (pdf file).
For staff and board
information click here
Need
more information?
E-mail:
info@botanic.org
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