Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens

The Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens will develop, implement, and evaluate a new dialogue-based approach for engaging visitors on two environmentally significant, emotionally complex, and socially challenging topics of interest: climate change and biodiversity loss. In collaboration with an interdisciplinary project team of educational, scientific, and evaluation partners, the garden will provide training for docents, interns, and volunteers to facilitate learning dialogues with visitors on these topics. An external evaluator will measure the efficacy of the training using onsite documentation of conversations and post-visit investigation of visitors’ experience. Through this project, the garden intends to improve visitors’ willingness to listen and participate in dialogue on these topics, as well as make connections from the natural world to their everyday lives.