If you are at Bartram’s Garden, always try to make the Welcome Center your first stop. Get to know Tahnisha and Mary who keep the shop running seven days a week from April through December. They can let you know the most recent happenings at the Garden and can set you up with the free loaner fishing rod or let you borrow a pair of binoculars for birding. They have all the information you might be looking for and they great to talk to.
On a weekend, you might want to get know our farmers, Ty, Chris, and Qiana, and our youth crew by coming out for 2nd and 4th Saturday volunteer days. This will give you a chance to learn first-hand about the experience that local high school students are having on the Sankofa Community Farm. If you ask, one of them may give you a tour of the African Diaspora Garden they are growing there.
Gardeners are working on in the garden every day to maintain the large variety of plants that are in the Garden. Ever wonder what a plant’s name or story is? Feel free to say hello to a gardener when they are out working with their plants: Tom, Mandy, Katie, Dan, Ryan, Marissa, and Haley will be happy to share their knowledge with you.
If you have been attending Arts & Culture programs here at the Garden, you may have already met Zach and Shanna. They manage all movie nights, workshops, and cultural events at the Garden. Are you an artist in Southwest looking to bring your work to the Garden? Pass your suggestions on to Zach and Shanna. They are always looking for ways to highlight Southwest talent.
Do you have great ideas on how to strengthen your Southwest community or get more people involved here at Bartram’s Garden? Talk to Sophia, who manages all our community partnerships and organizes events like bike rides, public meetings, and more.
When you are down by the river boating and fishing, say hello to Danielle, Chloe, and Joanne! They run the river programs at the dock. If you have a chance, ask Chloe about her water testing work or Joanne about the youth crew she is leading on the river.
If you have never taken a tour of the Garden or of the historic house on site, I hope you will take one soon. Tickets are only $2 for Southwest residents and you will have an opportunity to talk with one of our tour guides, Hedy and Heather (or me, Aseel!), about the history of the Garden and Southwest Philly or about the research projects we have going on.
And if you ever wanted to know more about the Bartram’s Garden or about the history of Southwest, you are welcome to schedule a visit to our archive. Joel, our historian, is full of knowledge about the history of the neighborhood. There is so much that he can share.
The students in your life will love meeting Leslie and Marion, who run all our school programming as well as library visits, homeschool, and Little Explorer toddler lessons. They know where to find all the hidden stories of the Garden that are only at eye-level for children.
You’ll find our executive director, Maitreyi, in all corners of the Garden—look for her big hat and let her know what you like to do in the Garden! Or take a picture and tag it #bartramsgarden: LJ handles all our communications and marketing (like this special issue!), and if you get a really good shot, they might repost it on our feeds.
Annemarie oversees all our finances and staffing, and you can talk to Andrea if you are interested in hosting a special event at Bartram’s Garden. Or you can come to one of our special events or volunteer days, which are run by June, to have fun and help support the Garden at the same time. Not a party person or a volunteer but still want to contribute? You can talk to Caroline about making a donation or to Alison about joining as a Bartram’s Garden member. And any time you’re here, you’ll see Bill, Dave, and Ahmed, who make sure that all our 45 acres are clean and safe.
We look forward to getting to know you!
