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Volunteers
Nearly 600 volunteers provided over 50,000 hours of service to Brooklyn Botanic Garden in the past year, an invaluable donation of time, dedication, and spirit. Volunteers work in almost every department of the Garden and help with everything from office work to pruning shrubs. They lead tour groups for children and adults, help at children's workshops, answer questions in the Visitor Center and the Gardener's Resource Center, and give their time and talents at every public event throughout the year. They bring with them the highest level of commitment.
The Garden's annual Forsythia Day ceremony honors civic and philanthropic leaders of the borough with an award named after the official flower of Brooklyn. In 2007, the Forsythia Award was given to Otis Pratt Pearsall in recognition of his leadership in the preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods in New York City, including the designation of Brooklyn Heights as New York's first historic district. The Forsythia Youth Award was presented to Ashemsa M. Lewis, a junior at Kamit Preparatory Institute, for her volunteer work with children's education programs at both the Brooklyn Museum and Brooklyn Botanic Garden. A Special Honor was also given to Ellen Kirby, retiring director of Brooklyn GreenBridge, BBG's community environmental horticulture program, for her outstanding service to the Garden and the Brooklyn community.
The annual Plant Sale, run by the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Auxiliary, drew record-breaking crowds once again, with over 20,000 visitors this year. More than 21,000 indoor and outdoor plants were offered during the three-day event, and, as always, BBG horticulturalists and experts were on hand to answer customer questions and help with selections. Led by Auxiliary members Lois Carswell and Lucille Plotz and over 100 volunteers, the plant sale was a huge success.
At this year's Volunteer Recognition Dinner, BBG had the pleasure of presenting several awards to volunteers. Dorothy DeShong received this year's Magnolia Award for being the volunteer with the most documented hours during the past year. The Merit Award, which was established in 1976 to recognize volunteers who have performed outstanding service to assist the staff and benefit the Garden, was given to Byron Lloyd. Byron began volunteering at the Garden in 1994 as a Garden Guide, and he further added to his workload by volunteering in the horticulture department working with plant propagation and signature plants. Byron has also taken on a leadership role at BBG's Plant Sale.
Over 100 volunteers assisted with the Garden’s wildly successful Plant Sale this year.