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In this interview, Noozhawk spoke with Gerry Rubin, Director of Marketing and Communications at Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens, to learn more about the nonprofit’s conservation work.
Santa Barbara Botanic Garden
Question: What is the name of your nonprofit, and what is its mission?
Answer: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden was founded in 1926 and its mission is to conserve native plants and habitats for the health & well-being of people & our planet.
Q: How long has your organization been serving the community, and who founded it?
A: This year, the Garden is celebrating 100 years of service to native plant conservation.
In 1925, the Carnegie Institution suggested a cooperative undertaking with the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History to administer what it envisioned as a botanical garden “reaching from the sea to the crest of the mountains, connected by a drive lined with trees, shrubs, and flowers from all parts of the earth.”
Plant ecologist Dr. Frederic Clements came to Santa Barbara as Carnegie’s representative in search of geographic sites that could be used for experimental plant research.
In 1926, local philanthropist Anna Dorinda Blaksley Bliss purchased 13 acres (5 hectares) in Mission Canyon and requested it be developed into a botanic garden to memorialize her father, Henry Blaksley.
At the same time, Bliss created an endowment fund to care for the maintenance. The Garden was originally named after Bliss’s father, the Blaksley Botanic Garden, and Dr. Elmer J. Bissell was chosen as the first director.
Since its founding in 1926, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has protected, studied, and shared native plants to help heal our planet.
This enduring mission to conserve and grow native plant communities distinguishes us from most botanic gardens, which often extract exotic plants from other parts of the world. As our first committee stated, the Garden is also unique for “[uniting] the aesthetic, educational, and scientific” to inspire solutions that support native habitats.
Ecologist Dr. Frederic Clements is often credited as our founding visionary however, many forward-thinking women also came together to shape and sustain this beautiful space. Coming from different disciplines, these women leaders helped interweave science, art, and culture at the Garden.
Our library was built by Lutah Maria Riggs, a pioneering woman architect, while much of our grounds were designed by Beatrix Farrand, the country’s first female landscape architect.
Q: How is your nonprofit primarily funded, and what are its biggest needs right now?
A: The Garden’s work and facilities are primarily funded through the generous support of our growing community of nature and native plant advocates in two important ways: visitation and direct giving.
When you visit the Garden, 100% of your admission fee goes back into the maintenance of the Garden’s grounds as well as funding our conservation, horticulture, and education programs. Membership is also a great way to show your ongoing support of the Garden – and receive the added benefit of visiting!
In addition to being an advocate for the environment, members also receive some great benefits, including early access to popular events (summer camp, Beer Garden, family nights, and more) and discounts at the Garden Nursery and Shop.
For more information on membership visit https://sbbotanicgarden.org/support/membership/.
We also depend on the support of individual contributors. By contributing a charitable gift to support the Garden’s mission, you have the opportunity to put your assets to work while also capitalizing on the numerous tax benefits available to you.
We provide tax-efficient charitable strategies, simplifying the process of supporting the Garden, on our website. You can access this information and download a free estate planning guide here: https://legacy.sbbotanicgarden.org/.
Q: What types of events or programs do you run to engage your community and raise funds?
A: From horticultural and wellness classes throughout the year to volunteer and special events throughout our community, the Garden has a calendar full of opportunities to engage with the natural world and each other!
To access the Garden calendar, please visit https://sbbotanicgarden.org/calendar/ and sign-up for our newsletter to be sure you don’t miss out on anything.
Q: How is your team structured? Have there been any major changes in your operations since you started?
A: The Garden comprises seven core teams: Conservation and Research, Horticulture and Operations, Education and Engagement, Development, Finance and Administration, Marketing and Communications, and now Advocacy and Impact.
While we continue to maintain and enhance the Garden as a premier destination, we’re also evolving our focus to build a broader native plant movement.
This includes expanding digital resources to reach people beyond our historical 78-acre grounds, investing in advocacy to protect and promote California’s native plants in public spaces and policy, and creating programs that empower the community to take action.
Evolving in this way allows us to connect more people with native plants, wildlife, and conservation work in meaningful and impactful ways.
Q: How can people get involved with your nonprofit or volunteer?
A: We’re always looking for passionate volunteers who want to help native plants and each other thrive across California’s central coast and beyond.
In addition to volunteering, people can also join our new Native Plant Pledge, with the goal of inspiring 10,000 stewards in 2026 to grow more native plants in their home gardens, schools, and communities.
To learn more or sign the pledge, visit SBBotanicGarden.org/100years, and to get started as a volunteer, visit SBBotanicGarden.org/support/volunteer.
Q: What sets your nonprofit apart from similar organizations?
A: As the first botanic garden to focus exclusively on native plants, the Garden offers a unique experience to our visitors. Featuring 11 distinct ecosystems, a walk in the Garden offers a glimpse at the incredibly diverse landscape of this region. However, the Garden is so much more than a beautiful location.
The Garden is also a locally and nationally respected conservation organization. With more than 4M+ seeds safeguarded seeds safeguarded in our Seed Bank, more than 200K specimens in our Clifton Smith Herbarium available for research, nearly 1,000 plants protected in our Living Collection, and more than 50 conservation projects currently in progress with government, state, and local partners like Navy, The Nature Conservancy, U.S. Fish and Wildlife, Los Padres National Forest, City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation, and more; the Garden is actively working to safeguard the health and wellbeing of our community and the planet so our future generations can flourish.
Q: Can you share a fun fact or little-known detail about your nonprofit that would surprise people?
A: Did you know … By the close of 2025, the Garden will have three landscape transformation projects taking place across the central coast? And we have more planned!
These projects bring the Garden directly into our community and transform public gardens and other open spaces around the County into native habitat havens.
We’re excited and proud of this program, but it wouldn’t be possible without the support of our community and partners!
Starting in the fall of 2023, our first site at Elings Park transformed a one-acre plot of invasive grasses on the Park’s mesa into a native plant habitat featuring more than 1,300 plants. Through this project, we’re increasing climate resiliency and biological diversity while improving human health and well-being.
Since the beginning, our team has been watching, collecting data, and building a case (based in science) for native plants and the vital role they have in creating and maintaining healthy ecosystems.
You can read more about our work at Elings and get involved by visiting: https://sbbotanicgarden.org/conservation/our-impact/restoring-habitats/elings-park-transformation/.
As part of a community-wide initiative in Cuyama Valley, the Garden is partnering with local farmers, schools, businesses, and residents to bring the power of native plants to the Valley.
Funded by USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, this project will develop climate-smart conservation practices to conserve soil and water while creating a diverse, healthy habitat in the Cuyama Valley as producers fallow land to reduce groundwater use and comply with the California Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. (USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.)
To learn more about this project visit: https://sbbotanicgarden.org/press/santa-barbara-botanic-garden-receives-grant-from-usda-for-plant-with-purpose-conservation-outreach-in-cuyama-valley/
The Garden is partnering with the City of Santa Barbara Parks and Recreation to transform two beds at Alice Keck into beautiful (and functional) native plant display gardens.
Through this project, we’ll not only showcase the beauty of native plants but also continue our research to see how native plants are impacting ecosystem health. To hear more about our project at Alice Keck Park, join the Garden’s newsletter: https://sbbotanicgarden.org/
Q: How do you share your nonprofit’s impact and updates with the public?
A: A great way to ensure you receive the Garden’s latest news and updates is to join our mailing list or become a Garden member.
Garden Members are the first to receive news and, as part of membership, receive a copy of Ironwood, the Garden’s biannual magazine, right in your mailbox. To read past issues of Ironwood, visit: https://issuu.com/sbgarden
Q: What makes your organization trustworthy for donors, and are there other ways people can support your cause beyond donations?
A: Santa Barbara Botanic Garden has received the highest ratings from Candid’s Guidestar and Charity Navigator, two premier charity assessment organizations that evaluate and rate thousands of charity organizations in the U.S. These ratings reflect our commitment to our mission and the responsible management of our resources in the pursuit of ensuring biodiversity thrives across the central coast – and beyond – so our future generations have a place where they can flourish.
Q: Can you highlight one immediate goal and one long-term vision your nonprofit aims to achieve in the next year?
A: At the Garden, we believe native plants are the foundation of all ecosystems. Because these plants have evolved in their habitats over millennia, the organisms around them have also evolved to eat, find shelter in, and otherwise rely on these specific native plants.
Over time, these relationships have become a complex tapestry of interdependent lives that connect to build rich systems. Systems that all life – including humans – relies on. Without the foundation of these precious plants, the building blocks of a healthy ecosystem weaken.
That’s why, together, we’re empowering everyone to make choices about their landscapes to ensure they’re equally as beautiful as they are beneficial. Starting today, join us in our goal of achieving 30% coverage of native species in the spaces where we live, work, and play.
This effort can do a lot to support the web of life, which in turn, supports all of us.
Click here to support Santa Barbara Botanic Garden’s mission to conserve native plants and habitats for the health & well-being of people & our planet.
Check out Noozhawk’s Guide to Giving for a full list of nonprofits to donate to this giving season.
If you would like to include your nonprofit in our Good for Santa Barbara section and Giving Guide click HERE.