Community Partnerships
As the community botanic garden of Fort Collins, The Gardens partners with many other community organizations to build
synergies, expand programming, and augment program offerings. With that mind, here are a few of our 2010 partnerships:
• Colorado State University –
co-hosted Twilight Garden Series;
offered Internships, Service
Learning, and Key Cluster volunteer
opportunities to CSU students
• Front Range Community College
– we offered student internship
opportunities; their horticulture
students grew a portion of the plants
for our Spring Plant Sale
• Poudre School District – Gardens
staff assisted in creating School
Garden Guidelines to be used
when schools build a garden;
we hosted school field trips for
elementary students; service
learning projects across multiple
junior and senior high schools were
held at The Gardens
• Food Bank for Larimer County
5,214 pounds of produce, valued
at $8,342 grown in the Garden of
Eatin’, Children’s Friendship Growing
Garden, and the Greenhouse were
donated to the Food Bank
• Poudre Valley Health System
Foundation – partnered with
CanDo to staff the Community
Garden Outreach Program, which
managed the Garden of Eatin’ and
provided technical assistance to three
community gardens in Fort Collins
helping low-income residents in
Fort Collins
• United Way – The Gardens was a
volunteer site for Make a Difference
Day; a member of the Technical
Assistance Partnership; part of DOVIA
(Directors of Volunteers In Agencies);
United Way helped with volunteer
recruitment/pairing assistance for The
Gardens
• Beet Street – co-sponsor of
Creative Garden
• Plant Select® – hosted a Plant
Select® demonstration site
• Larimer County Cooperative
Extension – co-hosted Twilight
Garden Series and High Plains
Landscape Workshop; hosted
Master Gardener plant clinics at
The Gardens
• Larimer County Youth
Conservation Corps – assisted with
garden maintenance projects
• Timber Framers Guild – built the
new Outdoor Classroom
• Wildlands Restoration Volunteers – their volunteers
installed paths, viewing platform,
and 600 native plants in the
Wetland Demonstration Site
• National Charity League – mother/
daughter volunteers assisted with
youth programs, garden projects and
special events throughout the year;
The Gardens is designated as an
official charity site
• Foothills Gateway – The Gardens
is a community integration site for
their clients to learn socialization
and basic work skills
The Gardens on Spring Creek
2010 Annual Report
• Other City of Fort Collins
departments – worked
with the Water Conservation
Specialist to present the High
Plains Landscape Workshop;
partnered with Natural Resources
to host the Urban Gardening
Festival; worked with the Parks
Department’s botanical team on
horticulture projects around
the City
• Other botanic gardens –
collaborated with staff of all
Colorado and Wyoming botanic
gardens including Denver Botanic
Garden, Cheyenne Botanic
Garden, Yampa River Botanical
Gardens and Western Colorado
Botanic Garden
• Many local businesses –
contributed through the Perennial
Fund sponsorship program
• Local Garden Clubs – including
the Northern Colorado Daylily
Club, Rocky Mountain Chapter
of the North American Rock
Garden Society, and Colorado
Dahlia Society
Volunteers
Our awesome volunteers were integrated into all aspects of The Gardens operations.
In 2010, they donated 7,219 hours of their time reflecting more than $154,800 of
labor. Volunteers served on the Friends of the Gardens board of directors; sat on the
Grants, Development, Membership, and Special Events committees; greeted visitors at
the front desk; assisted in youth programs; worked in the greenhouse; maintained our
extensive gardens; hung holiday lights; and the list went on and on.
2145 Centre Ave. • Fort Collins, CO 80526
970.416.2486 • fcgov.com/gardens
Take Root. Grow. Flourish.
Thanks to each of our volunteers for your time and dedication to The Gardens.
GOSC 2010 Annual Report.indd 1
2/10/2011 11:10:38 AM
Vision
Vision: To be a world-class botanic garden that is community oriented, educational, experiential and sustainable.
Mission:
Garden Construction Projects
From the Director - Michelle Provaznik
With the help of many, the Gardens on Spring Creek continued its journey
to become a major cultural asset of Fort Collins. In 2010, more than
45,000 visitors attended one of our community events, participated in
adult or youth education programs, or simply enjoyed a beautiful garden in
the middle of the city.
Highlights of 2010 included an increase in tourist visits and several capital
construction projects. We began to notice a significant increase in tourists
visiting The Gardens, so we put a guest book at the front desk to informally
track visitation. To our amazement, we tracked visitors from 19 cities in
Colorado, 40 states, and 5 foreign countries. Some came specifically to Fort
Collins to visit The Gardens, while others were searching for a uniquely Fort
Collins activity during their visit.
The Gardens undertook four construction projects in 2010:
REVENUES
Grants
$74,500
City of Fort
Collins
$330,000
• Outdoor Teaching Kitchen was completed. The stunning and functional
kitchen opened in September. It is believed to be the largest in Colorado—a
very good thing when you have 30 kids in the kitchen!
Memberships
$10,000
• The Rock Garden is ready to be planted! Berms are nearly complete,
irrigation was installed and the flagstone path looks beautiful. We anticipate
planting in the spring of 2011.
Earned Revenue
and Donations
$74,500
• Phase Two of the Wetland Demonstration Site was completed. The new
viewing platform allows us to offer environmental education programs.
• Finally, the new Outdoor Classroom was nearly completed. The Timber
Framers Guild and Frameworks Timber, in partnership with many local
organizations, brought this unexpected opportunity to us. The beautiful
structure will be used for outdoor classes and rentals. The roof will be
installed in 2011.
Capital projects were happening across our site throughout the summer and fall. The Outdoor Teaching Kitchen was completed.
Construction continued on the Rock Garden and it will be planted in the spring of 2011. The Wetland Demonstration Site was
expanded to include a viewing platform and pathways. Finally, a stunning timber frame Outdoor Classroom was constructed.
Each of these projects was made possible by private donations and grants.
2006
2,505
Gardens on Spring Creek
Number of Visitors per Year
2007
2008
2009
11,013 28,028 36,114
Visitation increased 25 percent in 2010.
Adult and Youth Education
Participation in adult education classes
continues to grow. In 2010, 1,249 people
attended offsite lectures and classes at The
Gardens. New cooking classes were added in
September and proved to be very popular.
Attendance in youth programs soared, with
nearly 3,500 children participating. School
tours for Poudre School District students and
other youth groups topped the list with 1,266
students learning about plant science. Read
and Seed, a story time and craft project for
preschoolers, increased from one to three
sessions per week, due to popularity.
GOSC 2010 Annual Report.indd 2
2010
45,441
Mission
To enrich the lives of people and foster environmental stewardship through horticulture.
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to our Friends of the Gardens
Board Members, corporate sponsors, donors, and dedicated
volunteers. Each of you is helping to build a lasting legacy for
our community at The Gardens. We cannot wait to see what
2011 has in store!
Friends of the Gardens on Spring Creek
The Gardens on Spring Creek and its 501(c)3 partner, the Friends of the Gardens
on Spring Creek, form a unique public/private partnership. What does that mean
exactly? The Gardens is a City of Fort Collins facility with a portion of its operations
and maintenance budget paid by the City through General fund dollars.
Special Events
Several special events expanded
this year. With the opening of the
Outdoor Teaching Kitchen, the
Harvest Festival took on a whole
new look. More than 1,900 visitors
enjoyed food tastings and cooking
demonstrations, and purchased items
from local food and craft vendors.
Cider pressing, square dancing, and
even a yak were big hits.
The Friends is a volunteer organization made up of local citizens. The Board was
instrumental in helping raise money for expanded programs and capital expansion
projects (gardens). The Friends raised this much-needed funding through
memberships, grants, and cash and in-kind donations. Their support and hard work
were essential to growing The Gardens.
The Grants Committee—a team of Board members, staff and volunteers—
was very successful with $74,485 in grants awarded. A new Development
Committee was formed to solicit corporate sponsors and individual donors.
The Membership Committee researched other botanic gardens membership
programs, and is putting together a new membership plan for 2011.
With more than 5,000 in attendance,
Garden of Lights is quickly becoming
a family tradition for Northern
Colorado residents. Each year
there are new light displays to see.
December weekends wouldn’t be
the same without Santa, carolers and
the Sugar Plum Fairies.
2/10/2011 11:10:41 AM