In 1842, twenty-four individuals were inspired to create the Worcester County Horticulture Society (WCHS). Since then the Society, and eventually New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, has been committed to connecting people with plants. Fifty years ago, a similar pledge was formed by our larger community of the United States. That pledge was Earth Day. The history of both is a history of learning, growth, action, and hope. On this special Earth Day week we wanted to invite some members of the New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill community to speak about that history. We begin with leaders from the WCHS.
James Karadimos
Board President
One hundred and seventy nine years ago, 24 philanthropists formed the Worcester County Horticultural Society to provide a venue for connecting people and plants. The greatest idea of the WCHS was New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. It has been a privilege to serve as their President for the past four years.
It has been a half century since the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970. In a less unusual year, that 50th anniversary might have brought worldwide notice, but a pandemic has consumed most public attention. Yet, the environmental issues that Earth Day highlights are as urgent as ever. In many ways they are woven with the coronavirus crisis.
The challenges are enormous: biodiversity loss, polluted air and water, plastic pollution, ecosystem degradation and climate change. Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and the life, the support systems that make our world habitable.
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill continues to evolve and respond to the times. Together, with a distinguished Board of Trustees, a highly talented staff, dedicated volunteers, and thousands of visitors for whom THBG is their garden, we have worked toward our mission. We have created new gardens, increased accessible features to better welcome our community, developed programs to educate and enrich people’s lives, and helped our community forge a deeper connection to nature. Clearly nature calls to something very deep in us.
THBG is truly a sight to behold. But beyond the beauty of this garden, what makes it so special for me is the larger story it contains. A story of the forest, the water, the plants, the earth. By knowing this story we will better understand ourselves and each other, it binds us together.
Human hubris is robbing Earth of its symphonic aliveness and on the moral inadmissibility of menacing silence about the destructive forces driving climate change. At THBG we are committed to transforming lives and communities through the power of nature in an inclusive environment. We view ourselves as shepherds of this message, our work to champion the environment and protect our horticultural heritage continues.
So isn’t it wonderful (in this world where comfort is very much needed) that New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill is always here for us? That it heals in moments of pain and amplifies in moments of happiness? Here, we can take solace in the predictable unpredictability of nature, not only of bloom, but also of blizzards and know that at the same time we’re doing good for the earth and for each other.
Nature beckons us to be on her side.
Lisa McDonough
Board Vice President
I have lived in the Worcester community since 1983 — first in Paxton, and for the last 20 years in Worcester. My mother-in-law Jean introduced me to New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill. I drove her to a meeting at the Farmhouse to meet John Trexler (the founding director) when he shared his dream of moving the Worce