Feb. 21, 2007 – In January, Robert Bowden, executive director of the Harry P. Leu Gardens and Museum in Orlando, Fla., visited St. Croix to meet with members of the Board of Governors and staff of the St. George Village Botanical Garden. Bowden's visit was funded by a grant awarded to the SGVBG by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which is an independent federal grant-making agency dedicated to creating and sustaining a nation of learners by helping libraries and museums serve their communities.
The botanical garden was one of 160 museums across the country that was awarded a Museum Assessment Program (MAP) grant in 2005 by IMLS. MAP is a cooperative program between IMLS and the American Association of Museums (AAM) designed to help museums assess their strengths and weaknesses and plot a course for future improvements. The MAP grant that was awarded to the botanical garden was for a governance assessment, which examines the roles, responsibilities and performances of the botanical garden's governing authority, the board of governors.
In 2006 the board of governors completed the first phase of the assessment, a comprehensive self-study. Board members met throughout the year to discuss topics and complete a series of activities provided by AAM in the form of a self-study workbook.
In January 2007, the second phase of the Governance Assessment included an on-site assessment by a museum professional. Bowden was selected by the AAM to visit St. Croix based on his successful experience in the management and governance of museums and public gardens dedicated to education. He will recommend ways in which the botanical garden can improve the way it is governed.
The 16-acre St. George Village Botanical Garden is a living museum dedicated to the conservation, education and preservation of the botanical heritage of the US. Virgin Islands. The unique combination of a Pre-Columbian Indian site, the structures and ruins of an 18th and 19th century sugarcane plantation, the living botanical collections, and the herbarium and library collections help to tell the complete story of the important role plants have played in the survival of man on this site for over 2,000 years.
By completing MAP, the Board of Governors of SGVBG has demonstrated a commitment to ensuring the success of the botanical garden to develop into an institution that can effectively benefit the V.I. community.
For more information on how IMLS supports America's museums and libraries, visit www.imls.gov; for more information on St. George Village Botanical Garden, visit www.sgvbg.org .
