San Francisco Botanical Garden is one of the most diverse gardens in the world, stretching across 55 acres of Golden Gate Park, and showcasing over 8,000 different plants from around the world. On May 15, 2013, Julie Baldocchi and Anne Marie Massocca co-chaired the Botanical Garden Society’s annual Garden Feast, a fundraiser for the Garden Society’s Youth Education Program. The program serves 10,000 children each year from San Francisco public schools and many of the city’s most underserved neighborhoods. Some 375 supporters attended the lunch in the beautiful Botanical Garden and heard from Richard Louv, the best-selling author who inspired a movement to reconnect kids with nature.
Scenes from the San Francisco Botanical Garden Society Annual Garden Feast:
Event photos by Drew Altizer Photography
The San Francisco Botanical Garden Society’s Youth Education Program offers a range of free hands-on experiences at the San Francisco Botanical Garden to help alleviate what Richard Louv calls “Nature Deficit Disorder.” Students are enriched through the Botanical Garden’s extraordinarily diverse plant collections and learn about ecology and environmental awareness in both outdoor classrooms and the Helen Crocker Russel Library of Horticulture. Research shows that direct connection to nature helps children grow emotionally and intellectually; San Francisco Botanical Garden’s classes are year round and reflect the seasonal change in plant life. The 2013 Garden Feast raised over $290,000, in the words of Louv truly “investing in our children’s connection to the natural world… and growing future stewards of the planet.” — Nicole Clark