Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, & Accessibility

The Association’s Policy Statement

The American Public Gardens Association is committed to creating an equitable, diverse and inclusive culture where the contributions of all community members are valued, respected and appreciated.  The Association also seeks to encourage and support its members in creating this same culture within their own institutions.

Just as the gardens and landscapes we present are biologically diverse and engaging, we seek to consistently re-examine our professional values, modify our existing practices and remove barriers to being diverse and inclusive.

Strategic Plan

Our board, IDEA Committee, staff, and stakeholders, collaboratively identified organizational goals that have been embedded within our 2020-2025 Strategic Plan. Each area of our strategic plan’s goals was designed with an IDEA lens.

Tools For Taking Action

Library and Media Center

The IDEA Committee, Association staff, and many active members like you have contributed to the resources that can be found in the Library & Media Center. Searches may be done using category types, or you can find specific items such as IDEA Café recordings by using a keyword search.

IDEA Community

The IDEA Community is a place for all Association members to share resources, receive guidance and support, and build professional networks with a shared goal of increasing equitable access, representation, and benefit sharing at our gardens and in our communities.

IDEA Cafe

The IDEA Cafés are hosted as free webinars. A Café can be a single speaker presentation, a panel, a workshop, or a group discussion. Each café is organized by the IDEA Committee or collaboratively with the IDEA Center for Public Gardens. All recordings are available on YouTube.

IDEA CENTER FOR PUBLIC GARDENS

IDEA Center for Public Gardens

A Future of Possibilities

The IDEA Center for Public Gardens™ (the Center) was launched January 2022 as a partnership between Denver Botanic Gardens and the American Public Gardens Association, with support from the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS MG-249862-OMS-21), to empower public gardens to prioritize and champion diversity and inclusion initiatives within our industries and beyond.

Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Committee

Who We Are

The Board, by establishing the IDEA Committee, seeks to eradicate all barriers to inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility across the Association – including in its Board, Staff, committees, communities, programs, and membership – to promote and sustain a public garden culture that is free from discrimination.

Learn more about nominations for the IDEA Committee and all Association member service roles.

Learn More

What We Do

Guide

We foster continuous learning and sharing of knowledge, next practices, experiences, tools, and resources related to IDEA principles to Association members

Learn more in the Committee’s charter.

Facilitate

We identify, collaborate, promote and elevate IDEA relevant topics with other committees and communities

Advise

We bring forth recommendations and advocate for policy change, programs and actions to Association leadership, as industry leaders and association representatives of member gardens

How We Are Doing It

The IDEA Café is the Committee’s main public program, held quarterly and hosted as a webinar that is free to register and attend. A Café can be a single speaker presentation, a panel, a workshop, or a group discussion. Each café is organized by the Committee or collaboratively with the IDEA Center for Public Gardens.