Event Details

Agenda:
5:50-6:20 PM: Social half hour with refreshments.
6:20-7:40 PM: Meeting and presentation.
Title: Durango Botanic Gardens: watch us grow
Speakers: Melanie Palmer & Cathy Metz
Presentation summary: How many people have visited the Durango Botanic Gardens recently and seen it other than just from the River Trail? There are 10 themed gardens (counting the Pollinator Garden). The DBG Mission Statement and educational purpose will be reviewed. DBG is 100% volunteer with NO paid staff.

Speaker bio: Melanie Palmer has a background in Clinical Laboratory Science, a field she worked and taught in for 20 years. She had a subsequent career as a middle school teacher before moving to Durango with her husband Clark in 2006. Having lived in many different locations as the wife of a pilot, she found gardening here to be a unique challenge. She became a Colorado Master Gardener in 2012 and a Board member of Durango Botanic Gardens the same year, to establish a Docent program for the Gardens. Seeing a need for better plant signage and organized plant record keeping and reporting, she created the Curator function in 2017. She is the Captain of the Classics bed in the new Literary Garden.

Speaker bio: Cathy Metz and her husband, Jim, moved to Durango in 1995 to pursue new careers in the southwest region. Cathy grew up in the military living all over the world and came to Colorado to attend Colorado State University, graduating with a bachelors degree in Psychology. She has a masters degree in Public Administration from the University of Colorado at Denver. Cathy served as the City of Durango Parks and Recreation Director for over 25 years, retiring in 2021. During her tenure with the city, the Parks and Recreation Department received the National Gold Medal Award by the National Recreation and Park Association, the highest honor of the profession. Since her retirement, Cathy completed the Colorado Master Gardener Program and joined the Durango Botanic Gardens Board of Directors in 2022. Her board responsibilities include community outreach, public education, and the development of new gardens.