As a garden focused on conserving the biodiversity of southeastern native plants, we recognize that just as biodiversity is critical to a healthy ecosystem, diversity in people and perspectives makes our organization and community stronger.
We are committed to creating an environment in our gardens and natural areas where everyone’s voice is heard and everyone feels safe and welcome.
Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
The lands we steward are the ancestral homeland of several Siouan-speaking tribes and a part of the recognized home of the Occaneechi Band of the Saponi Nation. We celebrate the many Native people, who, to this day, meet, gather, walk, hike, and engage with the habitats and gardens on this land, and we honor their Native ancestors and Elders, past, present, and future.
We are grateful for the engagement of Indigenous people with the Garden across its history and strive to be of continued value to all Native communities in North Carolina. We invite you to join us in learning the history about the land we each steward and supporting Native artists and entrepreneurs and organizations advocating for American Indian communities, such as the UNC American Indian Center.
American Indian Center Partnership
The partnership between the UNC American Indian Center (AIC) and the North Carolina Botanical Garden has been the process of many years – what started as an organic build shifted and deepened into a now very intentional and tight-knit approach. We are currently working with the AIC to establish the American Indian Cultural Garden on campus.
Program Recordings
In 2020, we began holding virtual and later hybrid educational programs in addition to our traditional in-person programs. This has allowed us to record and share some of those programs with speaker permission.
The recordings below are just a sampling of the lunchbox talks, annual lectures, and special webinars from the last several years that feature stories and perspectives from across the state and country. Find additional program recordings on our YouTube channel.
2024
Urban Community AgriNomics: An Oasis of Health and Healing with Delphine Sellars
Naval Stores and the Real Tar Heels: A History of the Longleaf Forest and a Call for Preservation with Earl Ijames
The Longleaf Pine as a Source of Food, Medicine, and Craft for Tribal Nations of the Southeast with Nancy Strickland Chavis
Pine Tree Pharmacy with Mr. Arvis Boughman
Hooheh (Longleaf Pine) Reforestation and Cultural Burn Program with Ashley Lomboy
2023
Architects of Abundance: Indigenous Regenerative Land Management & the Excavation of Hidden History with Lyla June
Therapeutic Horticulture – A Gateway to Healing & Connection with the Natural World with Emilee Weaver
The Great Coharie River Initiative with Ryan E. Emanuel, PhD
Green Space As Cultural Space – Centering Native Leaders’ Voices in Conservation Conversations with Jesalyn Keziah and Joanna Massey Lelekacs
2022
Demystifying Botany with Derek Haynes
A Journey to Indigenous Participation in Environmental Decision-Making in NC’s Coast with Ryan E. Emanuel, PhD
2021
Rekindling Our Plant Relationships with New Tactics: A session of the 2021 Native Plant Symposium with Dr. Linwood Watson
Persimmons: A session of the 2021 Native Plant Symposium with Dr. Linwood Watson
North Carolina Native Herbal Plant Remedies with Mr. Arvis Boughman and Mr. Robert RedHawk Eldridge
More Than a Garden: What the Garden Writings of D’Arcy McNickle Tell Us About Indigenous Encounters with Settler Colonialism with Daniel M. Cobb, PhD
Elderberry Identification, Traditional Uses, and Medicinal Syrup Recipes with Dr. Tracie Locklear
2020
Heirloom Seeds: Saving Stories, Preserving Biodiversity with Ira Wallace
NCBG Articles
Rekindling Ancestral Connections: The North Carolina Ethnobotany Project, Conservation Gardener, Fall-Winter 2019
Jesse Mason Cemetery and the History of the Garden, February 2021
Ethnobotany: What it is, what it isn’t, and what it can be for you, Conservation Gardener, Fall-Winter 2021
Restoring Plant Connections on Tribal Land, Conservation Gardener, Spring-Summer 2022
Racism in Conservation and Environmentalism
Our statement in June 2020 in support of the Black Lives Matter movement was met with a lot of support…and a few questions, especially about framing environmentalism and land conservation from a white perspective. In response, we plan to publish a series of articles on this topic. This first article is a brief introduction to racism issues in conservation and the Garden’s history.