Bard College Receives $1 Million Grant from Burpee Foundation to Support the Creation of the Burpee Trial Garden at Montgomery Place Campus
The Burpee Trial Garden at Montgomery Place campus gives Bard students the opportunity to learn how to design, plan, and execute a planting schedule, develop skills to maintain display-quality working gardens, and interpret them for visitors on a public site. This opportunity further instills a passion for plants in students, inspires their commitment to nurture their environment, and opens up knowledge of plant-related careers.
“We are thrilled that the Burpee Foundation will help Bard restore and revive the historic formal gardens at the Montgomery Place campus, since they have been left fallow for decades. The new Burpee Trial Garden will showcase various varieties of vegetables and flowers that will be open to the public and act as a unique educational opportunity for students interested in research, horticulture, agriculture, and ecology. We are very excited to begin work on enhancing and using the gardens and reporting and sharing the results. Additionally, the grant award allows Bard to show their unwavering commitment to the stewardship of the campus landscape with a dedicated arboretum director and additional gardener positions,” said Bard’s Director of Horticulture and Arboretum Amy Parrella ’99.
Comprising more than 1000 acres along the historic Hudson River, the Bard Arboretum serves as both a place for enjoyment as well as a living classroom. Working to promote environmental and social justice, the Arboretum engages with the ecological and horticultural biodiversity of the Hudson River Valley as well as the political narratives that have shaped the land.
The Burpee Foundation is committed to reducing hunger and promoting well-being through investment in horticultural and agricultural projects across the US and around the world. The Foundation was established in 2003 by George Ball ’73, when he became the sole owner of W. Atlee Burpee Company, the innovative and iconic American horticultural company whose beautiful mail order catalogues, along with Sears Roebuck’s, were the mainstays of American farms and homes during the late 19th through the mid-20th centuries. Since its inception, the Foundation has made approximately $6.5 million in gifts consistent with its mission to more than 75 charitable organizations.
Post Date: 06-18-2024