LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 125th Anniversary of the New
York Botanical Garden

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to commend the efforts
of those who seek to bring recognition to historical places within the
State of New York, and in doing so, help to ensure that the complete
history of our State and Nation is preserved and shared with present
generations of citizens; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 125th Anniversary of the New York Botanical Garden; and
WHEREAS, Established on April 28, 1891, the Lorillard family owned
most of the land that later became the New York Botanical Garden; the
Garden's creation followed a fundraising campaign led by the Torrey
Botanical Club and Columbia University botanist Nathaniel Lord Britton
and his wife Elizabeth who were inspired to emulate the Royal Botanic
Gardens in London; and
WHEREAS, The New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) is a botanical garden
and National Historic Landmark located in the Bronx, New York City; the
250-acre site's verdant landscape supports more than one million living
plants in extensive collections; and
WHEREAS, Each year over one million individuals visit the Garden's
remarkable diversity of tropical, temperate, and desert flora, as well
as programming that ranges from exhibitions in the Haupt Conservatory to
festivals on Daffodil Hill; and
WHEREAS, NYBG operates one of the world's largest plant research and
conservation programs, with nearly 200 staff members; and
WHEREAS, The Garden is also a major educational institution; more than
300,000 people annually, among them Bronx families, school children, and
teachers, learn about plant science, ecology, and healthful eating
through NYBG's hands-on, curriculum-based programming; and
WHEREAS, Furthermore, nearly 90,000 of those visitors are children
from underserved neighboring communities, while more than 3,000 are
teachers from New York City's public school system participating in
professional development programs that train them to teach science
courses at all grade levels; and
WHEREAS, The New York Botanical Garden is an advocate for the plant
kingdom; the Garden pursues its mission through its role as a museum of
living plant collections arranged in gardens and landscapes across its
National Historic Landmark site, through its comprehensive education
programs in horticulture and plant science, and through the wide-ranging
research programs of the International Plant Science Center; and
WHEREAS, This Legislative Body is pleased to have this opportunity to
express its highest admiration for the New York Botanical Garden, and
for all of the individuals who have worked to bring proper attention to
a place and time which merits recognition in the grand panorama of the
history of our State and Nation; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 125th Anniversary of the New York Botanical Garden; and
be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the New York Botanical Garden.