The Garden’s Impact

Together, Our Green Thumbs Make a Difference

With your generous support, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden is inspiring and empowering everyone to cultivate biodiversity — both locally and beyond — so we can restore the health of the planet, one seed at a time.

Here’s what we’ve accomplished from January to October 2022 so far.

1,246

People experienced the power of native plants and habitats through our educational programming.

4,000+

Thousands, age 2 to 12, visited in the first 100 days of our new Backcountry Section opening. Thanks for making us a runner-up for the Best Family Fun Spot.

5Nature-inspired Playhouses

Casitas were installed with the help of community partners.

Visitors enjoying the Garden's "Raptor's Perch" Casita

Over 75% Converted

Carts and power tools transitioned to electric, reducing the Garden’s carbon emissions.

3,500 Hours

Children explored, learned about, and experienced native plants in our 5-week Summer Camp program.

Children enjoy Summer Camp at the Garden

12 New Species & Cultivars

The Garden’s Living Collection keeps growing.

1,200

Distinct plants were added to the Garden this year, including 40 rare and threatened plants and 15 new trees.

7 Irrigation Units

We expanded our centralized system, increasing our ability to monitor and control water usage and waste.

16,000

Native plants and 2,230 seeds sold at the Garden Nursery so far this year.

344 Volunteers

You helped drive our mission forward.

8,600

Volunteer hours clocked — and the year isn’t over yet!

210,000 Specimens

The Clifton Smith Herbarium continues to grow, with 81,497 specimens recently digitized. (See "80,000 Herbarium Specimens Digitized" story.)

6 New Lichen Species

These have been described by the Garden’s lichenologist, who is 1 of only 2 paid, full-time lichenologists in California. (Read "Adventures in Lichenology' story.)

Photo: Rikke Reese Næsborg, Ph.D.

548,082 Seeds Produced

Seeds from the Channel Islands were collected and germinated at the Garden, which produced many more seeds for on-island recovery projects by our Rare Plant Team.

54,890

Invertebrates were identified and imaged following a survey on San Clemente Island, as we aim to better understand, protect, and restore biodiversity on the island.

581

Guests accessed the Garden through the Museums for All program, which supports lowincome families.

110,000 Total Visitors

So many have enjoyed the Garden this year, with 1 in 5 from outside California. Your reviews made us a 2022 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice recipient.

5,278 Garden Members

Thank you for supporting our mission!