Going Green at APGA: American Public Gardens Association’s 2022 Conference Recap

It’s a wrap for the 2022 American Public Gardens Association (APGA) annual conference!

On Monday, June 20th, hundreds of representatives from hundreds of parks, gardens, and arboretums around the country gathered in Portland, Oregon for five days of discussions and collaborations, horticultural festivities, garden tours and good fun.

This year’s theme – “CommUNITY Gardens” – highlighted the relationships between gardens and their local cities, towns, and neighborhoods. Key discussion topics included diversity and accessibility, investment in staff and volunteer forces, and strengthening partnerships with garden visitors, members, and donors.

Cuseum had the honor of both attending and participating this year: our panel on “The Future of Garden Membership” covered some of the trends and challenges garden membership programs face in the COVID era and beyond, and offered some practical solutions to help drive and manage growth in the coming years.

Joining Cuseum’s very own Anda Clark on the panel were Melissa Dietrich, Associate Director of Membership at Longwood Gardens and Dr. Katherine Sadler, Director of Operations at Houston Botanic Garden, both of whom shared their insights as membership professionals in the garden sphere, highlighting the role of digital tools and data analytics in building a robust and sustainable membership program.

The discussion also shone a spotlight on Anne Springs Close Greenway, a nature preserve in South Carolina that partnered with Cuseum in 2020. Adopting digital membership cards during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic helped ASC Greenway facilitate rapid growth (nearly doubling their membership in just six months), allowing them to deepen their focus on improving member experience and engagement, and reallocate resources to other crucial development projects and events - like summer movies-in-the-park, outdoor yoga, earth day celebrations, and more.

To find out more about Cuseum’s successful partnerships with parks and gardens, check out some of our case studies here!

APGA 2022 also featured a keynote address from Dr. Kathleen Wolf, a Research Social scientist in the field of environmental psychology at the University of Washington College of the Environment, who spoke about her work on nature-based solutions to climate change and structuring urban ecosystems toward sustainability and resilience.

During the conference, we also heard from many other brilliant and committed garden leaders as they spoke about the value of conserving natural spaces, nurturing community health and equity, and cultivating a greater appreciation for the environment on a global scale.

Our mission at Cuseum is to provide the tools and resources gardens need to better serve their members, stakeholders, and communities – and to that end, we are committed to supporting and investing in the success of parks, gardens, nature conservancies, and other organizations devoted to the preservation and flourishing of the natural world.

We hope to see you next year in Dallas, Texas for APGA 2023!