About Preservation Weekend

History and goals

The Preservation Weekend conference series, launched in 2007, was created to extend the garden preservation mission of the Garden Conservancy, with the goals of enhancing collaboration and sharing expertise in garden development and management among people working with gardens around the country. Many of these gardens are in the process of emerging as public gardens; all are gardens with whom the Garden Conservancy is working to preserve and share, or with whom the Conservancy may work in the future.

The information and inspiration gained at these conferences advances professional development of individuals and helps ensure the long-term stewardship of gardens that play an important role in the aesthetic and cultural life of their communities. Bill Noble, director of preservation at the Garden Conservancy, notes that there is enormous benefit for all the participants in the synergy created at the conference, as well as from the opportunity for participants to hear from experts in the field on a spectrum of topics, and to learn from each other, colleague to colleague.

Preservation Weekend conferences provide as a way to connect like-minded garden owners, staff, board members, and volunteers from different parts of the country, from gardens of varying sizes, with diverse financial situations, and in different organizational stages: some are now public, others are in transition from private to public, and still others just beginning to contemplate a transition from a private to a public garden. Although each garden has unique needs,all have drawn upon the resources of the Preservation department of the Garden Conservancy for advice, knowledge, expertise, and guidance as they navigate the journey from private to public garden.

Preservation Weekend serves as a forum to share ideas and to explore topics of importance from the most practical aspects of fundraising or board development to critical issues of creating a vision or mission; from methods and best practices in horticulture to developing infrastructure and visitor services; from specific methods of outreach to the community to generating mission-based public programs.

Preservation Weekend conferences

Recent

Sustaining the Garden: Preservation Weekend 2012 was the third conference in the series. View a photo album and read all about Preservation Weekend 2012.

The two previous Preservation Weekend conferences were Thriving in Challenging Times, held in 2010 at Mt. Cuba Center, Hockessin, Delaware, and Fundraising and Capital Campaigns, held in 2007 at the Glynwood Center, Cold Spring, New York. Read a newsletter article about Preservation Weekend 2010.

Upcoming

Planning for the next Preservation Weekend conference to be held in the San Francisco Bay area in 2014 is underway. This conference is intended for owners, staff, board members, and volunteers of gardens with whom the Conservancy works through our garden preservation program.