2021 Impact Report

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Your Impact Impact Report FY 2021 7/1/20 – 6/30/21 The Botanic Garden of Smith College: image of student, Jamila dePeiza-Kern '22, Anthropology major, sitting in the Rock Garden.Quote from Jamila: “Knowing that everyone here is working to support my interests and needs feels like a super power!” Read more about Jamila at garden.smith.edu/ super-power Students from nine states. PLANTS IN THE LANDSCAPE/LAPTOP Senior Instructor Gaby Immerman recreated a “sense of place” by having students use their own backyards and neighborhoods, wherever they were. The immersive digital classroom relied on synchronous meetings, virtual field trips, audio reflections, and sketchbooking (which built skills in seeing, identifying, and inter-preting landscapes, as well as creating a sense of belonging). STUDENT-MADE FIELD GUIDES INCLUDE: SKETCHES, PRESSED PLANTS, PHOTOS + NOTES images of student field guides by Camille Butterfield '21 and Amelia Murphy '24 23 courses enriched directly benefiting 312 students. "What I have learned in the classroom and my practical experiences as an intern and work study student have not only aided my understanding and academic performance, it has informed my interests as a scholar and my career goals.” - Jamila dePeiza-Kern ’21 As part of a larger collaboration with the Design Thinking Initiative, Sasha Zeidenberg '22 (Biological Sciences major) and Olivia Davis '22 (English Language and Literature major, Book Studies concentration) developed a paper making studio which connects the practice of making with botanical studies. The studio will be used this fall by faculty and their students in Studio Art, Anthropology, and East Asian Languages and Cultures courses. Image of student McKenie Swart AC '21, working in the papermaking studio.Black and white photo of a person hanging from tree climbing equipment, surrounded by the silhouette of tress. TREE RISK MANAGEMENT Seeking to ensure the highest standard of arboretum care, Botanical Garden arborists developed a plan that means campus trees can be quickly, comprehensively, and regularly surveyed. In the coming months, the Botanic Garden of Smith College Tree Risk Management plan will be made freely available for other arboreta and botanical gardens to use or modify. TREE RISK MANAGEMENT Seeking to ensure the highest standard of arboretum care, Botanical Garden arborists developed a plan that means campus trees can be quickly, comprehensively, and regularly surveyed. In the coming months, the Botanic Garden of Smith College Tree Risk Management plan will be made freely available for other arboreta and botanical gardens to use or modify. GARDEN.SMITH.EDU/ABOUT/MISSION, DONOR IMPACT: TOTAL OPERATING EXPENSES: $1.15 M, 40.9% of our budget comes from you. Endowment returns: $368,777 (up 15%), Gifts and memberships: $102,818 (up 8.6%), Grants: $10,000 (down 35%). Image of a circular graph showing our income