Interested in taking a class? Click here to see a complete list of upcoming educational programs.
Pen and Ink – Virtual
In this class, students learn to draw with pen and ink using standard techniques and conventions. Students work with both “old-fashioned” dip pens and modern technical pens to create accurate botanical drawings.
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk: Increasing Seeds for Conservation Needs
North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NCThere’s a problem in natural resource conservation: a lack of plant material (seed and vegetative plugs). But not just any type of plant material; there is a lack of genetically diverse, locally sourced plant material. In this talk we’ll learn about the importance of using local material, what is involved in plant materials development (wild collections, propagation, seed increase, seed storage) and what the North Carolina Botanical Garden is currently doing to address the demand.
Bird-Friendly Landscape Series
Birds can be an indicator of the health and biodiversity of the landscapes around us. Our landscape design and management practices can make a big difference in whether birds decide to ignore or explore our built environments. Join landscape architect Preston Montague for a presentation series designed to help you provide more resources for birds through design and management practices. Presentations are developed in collaboration with New Hope Audubon who provides fantastic resources to the public for the improvement of resources for birds. This 3-part course provides CEUs for landscape architects.
Darwin Day Lecture – The hybrid in your genome: How recent advances in behavior and genetics are changing our view of Darwinian evolution
Where do new species come from? Darwin proposed that the diversity of life could be explained when population divisions become magnified into new species over time. This “tree of life” thinking became our foundational metaphor for the natural world. Hybridization –– mating between species –– undercuts “tree thinking.” Until recently, this phenomenon was regarded as an evolutionary dead end and ignored. However, new data from diverse fields point to an inescapable conclusion: hybridization is common and can significantly impact living things (including our species!). So, we will celebrate Darwin’s birthday by asking whether Darwin’s tree still adequately represents life’s diversity or if a new metaphor is needed.
Bird-Friendly Landscape Series
Birds can be an indicator of the health and biodiversity of the landscapes around us. Our landscape design and management practices can make a big difference in whether birds decide to ignore or explore our built environments. Join landscape architect Preston Montague for a presentation series designed to help you provide more resources for birds through design and management practices. Presentations are developed in collaboration with New Hope Audubon who provides fantastic resources to the public for the improvement of resources for birds. This 3-part course provides CEUs for landscape architects.
Hybrid Lunchbox Talk: Green Space as Cultural Space: Centering Native Leaders’ Voices in Conservation Conversations
The UNC American Indian Center (AIC) and the North Carolina Botanical Garden (NCBG) each demonstrate unique leadership in conservation programming, and both aspire to deepen the focus on Indigenous-led conservation and climate strategies. The cultural and community strengths of the AIC paired with the technical and botanical strengths of NCBG have led to a partnership grounded in strong relationships and trust. We will share the many ways we are uplifting the voices and perspectives of Native conservation and climate resilience leaders and the outcomes of this work, both expected and unexpected, with our reflections on what characteristics and methods have supported, strengthened, and sustained this educational partnership.
An Introduction to Birds and Birding
North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NCJoin instructors from the New Hope Audubon Society for an introductory course in bird identification, classification, physiology, behavior, and more. This hybrid course is aimed at bird watchers of all skill levels. Whether you're not sure if that bird at your feeder is a chickadee or a nuthatch or whether you know how to tell ruby-crowned from golden-crowned kinglets, this class will have something for you.
Botany for the Artist – Virtual
North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NCTraditional botanical illustration was relied on to record and share the identification of plants through accurate representation. Botany for the Artist is a practical course which hopes to encourage the inquisitive artist to understand, interpret and improve their botanical knowledge by reinforcing terminology, observing and notating plant structure and practicing identification with the taxonomic keys. The four lessons—Habitat, Flower Parts, Leaf Comparison, and Fruit Structure—will culminate with the students drawing a graphite work representing a specimen identified at the NCBG.
Art and Yoga Retreat – The Heart of Hope: Wisdom from the Garden
North Carolina Botanical Garden 100 Old Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NCParticipants will explore how we can embody the meaning of HOPE in our mind, body, and heart with the beautiful backdrop of the fall colors of the North Carolina Botanical Garden. Through the integration of mindfulness practices of gentle yoga, meditation and creative journaling practices, participants will have the opportunity to express themselves to foster community, resilience, and hopeful intention.
Beginning Watercolor – Virtual
In this class, students are introduced to watercolor and learn basics techniques such as flat and graded washes. Students learn to paint various simple shapes (spheres and cylinders) and a small botanical subject.