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Issue: 983 Date: 6/25/2009
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Peter Raven Chronicles Botanical Garden's Remarkable 150-Year History
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| An internationally-renowned conservationist and professor of Botany at Washington University, 1999 RCGA Right Arm of St. Louis Award recipient Dr. Peter Raven was the featured speaker at the RCGA Breakfast with the Gazelles program on Friday. The recently renovated Climatron, right, is a major attraction of the Garden and is the first geodesic dome ever used as a greenhouse. The Climatron was constructed in 1960. |
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Peter Raven Chronicles Botanical Garden's Remarkable 150-Year History & Conveys Need To Address Global Climate Change in his RCGA Breakfast with the Gazelles presentation on Friday morning at the RCGA offices, Missouri Botanical Garden President Dr. Peter Raven presented a fascinating history lesson on the Garden's founding by Henry Shaw in 1859, its development and expansion over the past 150 years and, perhaps most importantly, focused on the Garden's central international role in helping to address the challenges associated with global climate change.
During an hour-long presentation and question-and-answer period, Peter underscored the dire condition of the world's climate and plants, noting that, "plants are responsible for the composition of the air we breathe. Plants control the runoff of water and preserve the soil. They provide all our food, directly or indirectly, and worldwide, they provide most of our medicines."
Since his arrival as Director of the Garden in 1971 after teaching for 9 years at Stanford University, Peter, who TIME magazine declared one of its "Heroes of the Planet" for "doing extraordinary things to preserve and protect the environment," has transformed the Garden into one of the world's leading plant conservation centers. He is not only a world leader in the fields of plant evolution and systematics, but has been a major force in the conservation of biodiversity around the world for nearly 30 years. He has authored more than 400 articles and 16 books.
Under his leadership, the Garden has developed major conservation programs in South America, Central America, Madagascar, parts of Africa, Indo-China, and New Caledonia. The Garden has become a center for Flora of North America, Flora of China, Flora Mesoamericana, and other important works. The Shapleigh Fountain, Japanese Garden, Lehmann Rose Garden, Ridgway Center, Chinese Garden, Shoenberg Temperate House, Kemper Center for Home Gardening, Monsanto Building, Commerce Bank Education Center, Doris I. Schnuck Children's Garden, Victorian District, Ottoman Garden; Litzinger Road Ecology Center, and Sophia M. Sachs Butterfly House; have all been established since his recruitment 38 years ago.
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