March 17, 2025 • 52 mins
The Idaho Botanical Garden is more than a scenic retreat—it’s a place where lives are transformed, community connections flourish, and nature serves as a powerful force for change. Once a small operation with big dreams, today it stands as a thriving 15-acre sanctuary, thanks to the leadership of Erin Anderson.
In this episode, Erin shares her journey from political science graduate to nonprofit leader and how her passion for plants and people has shaped the Garden’s evolution. We explore its unique location next to the Old Idaho Penitentiary—one of only three such gardens in the world—and how this history has led to extraordinary community partnerships. One of the most impactful? A workforce development program for incarcerated women, proving that gardens don’t just grow plants—they grow second chances.
But the Idaho Botanical Garden isn’t stopping there. Erin unveils ambitious plans for expansion, including Idaho’s first official arboretum, a 1,200-seat outdoor amphitheater, therapeutic gardens, and a 22,000-square-foot visitor center that will house a food hub to support local agriculture. This transformation reflects Erin’s leadership philosophy: “Surround yourself with people smarter than you and truly listen to them.”
Beyond its breathtaking plant collections and restoration of Idaho’s native sagebrush steppe ecosystem, the Garden serves over 6,000 children through STEAM-based education programs and draws thousands to signature events like the Outlaw Field Concert Series and Winter Garden Aglow. Through it all, Erin remains focused on one thing—creating a space where nature, people, and purpose come together.
Tune in for an inspiring conversation about leadership, sustainability, and how one garden is redefining what it means to grow a community.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Today on the Ever Onward podcast we have Erin
Anderson, the director of theIdaho Botanical Garden.
She has been there for aboutnine years and does amazing
things there.
We wanted to get her on to talkabout the botanical garden and
what it means to our community,but she's also been a longtime
leader in the Valley.
She serves on the chamber BoiseMetro Chamber of Commerce.
(00:23):
She's also been part ofleadership groups of several
non-profits here in the Valley.
We're really excited to catchup with Aaron and hear the
latest at the Botanical Garden.
Prior to Aaron, we will hear anAllquist update from Mark
Cleverley and Holt Haga, andHolt's going to talk a little
bit about his competitiveness,which should be fun Good morning
we're here for another littleupdate.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Quick update I'm Mark Cleverley, chief Leasing
Officer with Allquist.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Holt Haga.
Vp of Leasing AllquistDevelopment.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
So we're going to do something a little different.
We're not going to talk aboutprojects, we're not going to
talk about tenants, but we aregoing to talk about competition
and kind of our previous life,of especially I wanted you and
Keikoa at some point to talkabout, because you guys competed
at the highest levels, right,both of you did and I want to
(01:15):
talk about how that sets you upfor success in your career, how
it sets you up for success inlife and with our projects.
Like how does that, how doesthat motivate you?
How does that, um, what?
What makes you tick Right?
And so just wanted to kind ofbriefly go through that with you
(01:35):
.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Yeah, you know it, the, the value of, of, um,
competition, especially early onin life, I think is is um, it's
you know, you can't, there's nosubstitute for it.
Um, I think you learn a lotabout yourself.
You learn a lot about, you know, just, the process of setting
goals and achieving those goals,um, and and and different
(01:58):
things that motivate you.
Right.
For me, I just remember, earlyon in my life, the, the, the,
the chief motivating factor wasthe fear of failure, and that's
a very powerful motivator, right, it can either motivate you or
it can completely cripple you.
And so for me, fortunately, itwas I mean fortunately, or
unfortunately it was somethingthat really motivated me.
(02:19):
Now, if the fear of failure,you know, prevents you from even
engaging in you know the goalthat you want to set, then
that's a problem, right, but ifit's yeah, because how many
times did you fail?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
You fail all the way, all the way through, right, all
the way through, but you can'tstop, you can't stop right.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And I think and I remember there was a point, you
know, halfway or whateverthrough my career, somewhere in
my teens, where I sort offigured out that it was part of
the process, right and it's, youknow, it was actually even
became more of a motivatingfactor, understanding that
because you understand, hey, youknow this is a.
You know, these setbacks areactually the times when you
(02:58):
actually go back and look atthem, and we've talked about
this before.
But when you go back and sortof dissect and unpack each
competition or each sort of goalor milestone and you say, man,
this is like where I made thebiggest advancements was
learning from why I, you know,didn't succeed in sort of these
milestones along the way, right,and so you say, ok, this is
(03:20):
what I actually need to do tosucceed.
But the only way you're goingto figure that out is by by
failing or, or you know, notachieving that goal the first
way through.
And um, and actually anotherthing you and I were just
talking about, but my I had mydaughter, cleo, is an av, is
very engaged in taekwondo.
She loves taekwondo.
(03:41):
She goes to master Kim'staekwondo class like four or
five days a week.
It's her, her thing and like me, she's like all about
individual sports and so.
But I was at class the othernight and Master Kim, at the end
of these classes, got all thekids lined up and he gives, like
this message, this little kindof motivational speech.
(04:02):
And the other night he gave thespeech, but embedded in that
discussion, that five minutekind of talk, was this line I
just want to, you know.
He said, you know there's noelevator to Black Belt, there's
only the stairs, you know.
And then he went and he kepttalking about kind of other
things.
But that one line really stuckout to me and it kind of reverts
(04:24):
back to sort of what motivatedme and this whole thing that
we're talking about with withprocess and patience and all of
these things, is that you knowthere's no, you know, substitute
black belt for anything.
There's no elevator to X.
You know, whether it's business,sports, personal growth, it
doesn't matter.
I mean, um, there's no, for inour business, sports, personal
growth, it doesn't matter.
(04:44):
I mean there's no, for in ourbusiness there's no elevator to
a successful project, there'sonly the stairs and the
staircase that you're on.
You know, if it's a really kindof straightforward project.
It's like a nice, you knowgentle set of stairs.
If it's a really complex beastof a project, like you know
Fourth and Idaho or some ofthese really large trophy
projects we've been working on,it's it's a staircase with like
(05:07):
nails and like covered in iceand you know I mean like so it
just depends.
But I think I think why it was,I think why it rang so true to
me, is because it applied to myearly athletic career, where
just acknowledging that thestair that you're on the
staircase, I think is a veryimportant piece, right, the
stamina that it and the patiencethat that is required to
(05:30):
achieve big goals, is, is, is,is huge, and I think I think it
gets missed a lot, right,because you, you attach yourself
to these goals and and and andyou, just, you want so badly to
achieve the goal that, um, you,you want to take the elevator,
but there's no elevator, itdoesn't exist.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, yeah, only stairs.
I think thinking about that too, right, where each one of our
projects we're going to have wecall them opportunities, but
you're going to have setbacks.
You're going to have thingsthat come up in every project
that we've ever done, right, Imean, one of my favorite I'm a
big basketball guy, I know youwere skiing and in the
(06:09):
individual stuff, I'm a bigbasketball guy the team sport,
and one of my well, my all-timefavorite player is michael
jordan, and there's a quote umfrom uh about him that how many
shots did he miss?
How many turnovers did he make?
I mean all that stuff, right?
I mean, even the best playerthat's ever played the game had
failures, right, but it neverstopped him from succeeding,
(06:34):
right?
I mean, look at his career.
He's a six-time NBA champion,nba finals champion.
So for us too, it's for us too,it's it's thinking about all
that.
Every project has opportunities, every project has setbacks.
We're on the stairs per se,right?
(06:54):
We're, we're on there and we'regrinding and we're and we're
moving forward on those stairs.
And it's hard, every project ishard, but what makes us really
successful is the team and thenallowing all of us to go and do
our job and together making it asuccessful project.
(07:15):
At the end, it's like, ok, lookat what we did, but what most
people don't see are all thesetbacks and the opportunities
that happen over the course of athree to five year period in
each one of these projects.
But those are the ones, like we, we remember them.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Yeah, the more setbacks, the more rewarding
Absolutely the outcome right.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Right.
We remember every single one ofthem, cause we're like remember
when this happened Right and wewe but remember when this
happened right and we keepmoving forward, we kept pushing,
plugging.
So it's awesome to think aboutit, right, and you think about,
like 10 Mile Eagle View, landing, city Center Plaza, all the
setbacks and opportunities thathappened, and look at them now.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Right, it's pretty awesome to think about.
Yeah, we got a bunch ofgrinders in this office that are
that's right, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Pretty motivated, we rock and roll.
All right, thanks, holt.
Appreciate you, buddy, smartYep.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Erin.
Hi Thank you for coming on.
This is going to be fun.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
It is Thanks for having me.
It's going to be fun.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I'm looking forward to it.
Yeah, some of these I knowguests really, really well, and
some of them I don't.
It's a good mix.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
So you're doing great work at the Botanical Gardens
all of our favorite places to gobut I can't wait to hear more
about it.
Perfect, it would be a greatopportunity, but can you start
telling us a little bit aboutyou, mm-hmm.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Sure, what kind of things do you want to know?
Tell us everything.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
All us a little bit about you.
Sure, what kind of things doyou want to know?
Tell us everything.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
All the things Great.
How did you end up in thiswonderful place, idaho and Boise
, and tell us a little aboutgrowing up?
That's a great, great, greatplace to start.
So we moved to Idaho my familydid when I was nine months old.
Oftentimes people ask if I'mnative to Idaho, because that's
a really big thing here, youbarely missed it.
I barely missed it.
But I say yes, and then I tellpeople well, I moved here when I
was nine months old, and thenthey give me the grace to say
you're pretty much native.
So we moved to Idaho.
First we moved to Mountain Homeand then we moved up to Boise.
(09:21):
When I was about five I went toelementary, junior high.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Was it a military move?
Speaker 4 (09:27):
No, no, no.
My grandfather worked as acivilian at the base, but my
parents had my, so my dad andhis family moved to Mountain
Home in, I think, the seventies,and my mom, who's a little bit
of a wild child her brother wasin the Air Force, and so he was
(09:48):
stationed in Mountain Home andshe got sent to live with him
for a short amount of time.
He was stationed in MountainHome and she got sent to live
with him for a short amount oftime.
So that's where my mom and dadmet was in Mountain Home when
they were 16 and 17 years old inhigh school, and then they
moved back to Indiana where mymom's family's from.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
And then after and my brother was born here, and then
we moved to Indiana and then wecame back.
I mean, that's about as nativeas it gets, I think.
So.
I mean, you basically were inIndiana just for this short
pregnancy, and then you're back,I'm giving you the native card.
Thank you, I appreciate thatit's a really big deal for us
here in Idaho.
I am not authorized to do so,not being a native myself.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
But you'll do it, I'll do it, thank you.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Wow.
So then you grew up in Boise.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
So I grew up in Boise , went to junior, high and high
school and I graduated from highschool and I went to Boise
State and I wasn't quite surewhat I wanted to do.
I knew that it was mandatorythat I go to college my parents
made that very clear but Iwasn't sure what I wanted to do
and I had been at Boise Statefor a few years and I thought
how do I get out of here as soonas possible?
(10:56):
So I started meeting withadvisors and talking about the
things that interested mebecause I just wasn't quite sure
and I decided to major inpolitical science and I was
(11:16):
really interested in consuminginformation and figuring out how
to like interpret thatinformation and I really enjoyed
the paper writing and theanalysis of my degree.
But I also knew like I didn'twant to be an attorney.
Most people who major inpolitical science go on to be an
attorney.
I worked the year that Igraduated on a campaign and I
decided I didn't want to be inpolitics either.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Excuse me, Doing that once can kind of cure you.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
Yeah, so politics wasn't my thing.
But from there I got my firstjob really out of college other
than working on that firstcampaign and I started writing
grants.
I worked for the Society of StVincent de Paul and I started a
(12:02):
book program where I wrotegrants for books so that we
could help families build anin-home library for kids.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
That's cool.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
And that's how I got started in nonprofits.
It wasn't something that I knewI wanted to go into.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You kind of went right to it.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Went right to it.
Went right to it.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Super rewarding, I mean.
I think if you can marrybusiness and desire and passion
with nonprofit work, it makesfor a pretty good way to work.
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Yeah, it's nice to be able to wake up every day and
have a passion for what it isthat I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
And I've worked for several nonprofits throughout
the years.
Um, but when I was what aresome of those?
Yeah, so I.
I worked at St Vincent DePaul.
I also worked at the NationalMultiple Sclerosis Society.
I made a big leap when I was29,.
I started as the executivedirector for a small
(13:01):
organization called Boise UrbanGarden School and I had done
some work in fundraising andprogramming.
But working there I learned somuch.
But working there, I learned somuch.
My first job there.
I got paid thirty four thousanddollars a year as the executive
director and we had a hundredthousand dollar operating budget
.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
I mean, it's just like crazy to think about those
private school, those schoolthings can be so hard yeah it's.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
It's really crazy and it was when first started.
When I first started with theorganization, the executive
director before me she had lefton great terms.
So there was this reallywonderful handoff and there was
a couple founders who thenturned it over to the first
executive director and I was thesecond.
We were operating this programout of a church on Franklin, up
(13:55):
on the bench, and it was anall-day, six-week program for
kids and teaching them how togarden and how to grow food, and
then they would learn how totake that food into the kitchen
and how to cook it.
And it was a full like seed-totable type of a program.
And when I first started I,within the first week, I met
(14:16):
with Doug Holloway from BoiseParks and Rec and we were in a
meeting together.
I had no idea what I was doingin the meeting.
Somebody just said you need togo to the meeting and Doug
pulled me aside and he said hey,you know, what do you know
about community gardens?
I said gosh, I don't know a lot.
I didn't have a background ingardening or horticulture, I
(14:36):
just had a desire to do it.
When my girls were younger, westarted doing some back home I
mean backyard gardening and so Ireally enjoyed it and I enjoyed
teaching my kids about food andwhere it comes from.
In a state that's so rich withagriculture.
I just felt like that wasreally important for them to
understand.
But I met Doug Holloway and hesaid what do you know about
(14:58):
community gardening?
And I said well, I don't know alot, but you know, I'm on my
first week here at the job, butI'm willing to learn.
He said okay, let's keep incontact.
Well, the city of Boise.
There was a time that it wasvery popular for community
gardens to pop up at city parks,and so there were several
(15:19):
community gardens and there wasanother one that was coming on
and that was at Ustick and FiveMile.
So Doug and I stayed in contactthroughout my time at the garden
and it got to a point wherethere was a family and they were
going to donate a piece ofproperty.
They already had to build a parkon Eustick and Five Mile it's
(15:40):
called Comba Park and there wasa community garden there and
there was a building that theywanted to donate over to the
city to create a permanent placefor my program.
So it was really this likeamazing opportunity for a very
(16:03):
small organization.
I think at this point we had$150,000 operating budget, there
was a builder who's going todonate his time, and everything
just really came together.
And so I just look back andlaugh because within the first
year of my program we hadcreated a strategic plan and one
of those goals was to alignourself with a sustainable
funding partner and somebodythat could really help the
(16:24):
program grow.
And in that first week I metDoug and then all of a sudden I
turned around and I was runningthe community gardens at the
city of Boise and helping createordinances to how community
gardens would run.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
What a great story, though, yeah.
How it all comes together, yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
Have you spent time with Doug Holloway?
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
He's amazing.
He's one of my favorite peoplein the Treasure Valley.
I just think he's so great andhad I not met him at that time,
I don't know where thatorganization and my career would
have gone.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Incredible community guy and just the reputation of
just how can we, how can we fixthings and make them better and
yeah, yeah well, that's anamazing source.
How many years were you there?
Speaker 4 (16:58):
so I was at the at bugs about six and a half, maybe
seven years and then theposition for the Idaho Botanical
Garden came open and at thatpoint we had merged with the
city and bugs had become aprogram of the city and so I was
a city employee and I had, likeyou know, this half-and-half
position where I was a cityemployee and I had taken over
(17:21):
another program at the city thathad to do with environmental
education and I was still theexecutive director for Bugs and
doing the fundraising, thefundraising.
But then the botanical gardenjob opened up and it just so
happens there's not a lot ofpeople in the state of Idaho, or
especially in the TreasureValley, who have run a
garden-based nonprofitorganization.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
So perfect fit, yeah, and so what year was that?
Speaker 4 (17:45):
So I started at IBG in 2016, in September of 2016.
And it has just been an amazingand wild ride.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
That's nine years.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
That's great.
And to go back to your kids.
So two daughters.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
I have two daughters.
One is 20, almost 21.
She lives in Bellingham andgoes to Western Washington.
And I have an 18-year-olddaughter and she's a senior in
high school, at Boise HighSchool.
So they have really grown up inthis like mom, non-profit world
(18:22):
.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Are they inspired?
Or do they want nothing to dowith this whole thing?
They go see the way with ourkids.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
That's a great question.
I think that they're inspired.
I also think that they've beendragged along and drug along
through a lot of activities andthey've been in videos, they've
been in photo shoots.
They have really had to beflexible with our schedule.
I go to a lot of fundraisingevents and evening activities
(18:51):
and we're doing things on theweekends.
All that really surroundnonprofits in the community and
we're very active in thecommunity in that way.
And I think probably the mostchallenging part for them is
when my partner and I who he'salso very active in our
community when we're out inpublic public it's very annoying
(19:12):
from them because we can't walkfive steps without having a
conversation and sometimes theyjust want to like buy some
groceries.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
We just, we just do what we're doing and go home,
right?
Yeah, well, I'm sure it's beena tremendous example and the
great learning experience forthem too.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Yeah yeah, it'll be interesting to see where they go
and and what want to do With myyoungest and going away to
college next year.
It's amazing to watch them growinto their own people.
But I always think when I lookback at them, when I first
started even my career and whenthey were very young, people
always say, you know, when theyhave young children, what are
(19:49):
they going to be like?
I just wonder what they'regoing to be like when they're
older.
And my thought is they'reexactly the same when they're 2
and 3 as they are when they're20.
Their personalities don'treally change that much, they're
just bigger.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Yeah, and it's.
You know, I give a few talksand lately I've been giving a
lot of them.
But I talked to a high schoollast week and I was asked the
question you know, how do youfind your passion and how do you
really meet, go into the dreamjob and the thing you want to do
?
And I really believe, and I'msure this is the way with your
daughters if you're kind ofgrounded in your whys, it's less
(20:31):
really about the job, a littlebit like there's a lot of jobs
where people can be very, veryhappy if, if it matches their
why and their reason and theirpassion.
And it may be the variousthings, it may be health care,
it may be non-profit work, itmay be.
But if you're passionate aboutpeople and and that's where you
find your joy and passion Ithink a lot of kids, I think, as
(20:56):
you do mentoring they getreally hung up on exactly what
it is.
And it's okay to think that, hey, I can be happy in a lot of
things, as long as I have mylist, my priorities, my goals,
the things that I'm going to doand the things that make me tick
.
There's probably a lot ofreally great jobs that match
that.
And then it's lifestyle and alot of other things that make me
tick.
There's probably a lot of reallygreat jobs that that match that
that and then it's lifestyleand a lot of other things that
(21:16):
go into it.
But I agree, isn't it amazingthe opportunities, uh, these
kids have?
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I agree completely, and one thing that I really
recognize from kids kids thesedays is there so much more
connected I do sound so old, Iam old, and that's okay Is that
they are so much more aware andconnected into the greater
community and into the worldthan I was at that age.
(21:46):
And that's what I think isgoing to be a really significant
benefit for them that they'realready thinking about what
fills their cup and what theirvalues are.
I don't remember being a seniorin high school and really
thinking about that.
I thought, well, I know I needto go to college, my parents
have told me that's what I needto do, but I didn't have the
(22:12):
thought process of thinkingthrough like what my values were
and luckily I fell into a placebecause of some decisions and
because there were someopportunities that opened up
that really led me down thatpathway.
But I think kids are much morethoughtful about that now.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
I think they're way more thoughtful.
I think that there's a lot ofreal negatives to the way they
socially interact.
And I think there's a lot ofreal negatives to the way they
socially interact and I thinkthere's a lot of amazing
positives, and that's one of thepositives.
I mean they are plugged intothe world and the things and
everything going on and they'rejust much more aware.
I also worry as I interact withthem socially.
(22:49):
In fact, in the talk I gavelast week, I just said hey,
listen, if you're sitting inthis room today, if you can
figure out how to walk up tosomeone, look them in the eye,
shake their hand, connect withthem emotionally and express
your desires and genuine self tothem, you're going to win.
Yeah, there's not that many ofyou out there anymore.
(23:10):
I think, that's the only realbig thing is as you interact.
Is that the kids that are ableto do that in a world that's
become largely technical,especially with generations,
that we still connect with eightpeople?
Yeah, we still.
I mean, you know how businessis done, right?
I mean you're still, it'shuman-human interaction and yeah
(23:31):
, there's teams meetings andyeah, there's all this other
stuff, but ultimately you'regoing to meet and try to connect
your wishes, desires and dreamswith other people and come
together and find common groundand do great things together,
and that's where joy comes from,and that and all a lot of real
soft social skills.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Yeah, I agree, I could not do my job without the
personal relationships andconnections.
I can't imagine a world where,of course, nonprofits that are
so human, focused, where that'snot the majority of my day, or
future executive directors, orfuture nonprofit workers.
(24:08):
Now there's a lot of thingswith technology that are going
to help streamline someprocesses.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
And listen, I'm an old guy, I'm like the you know
Gran Torino Clint Eastwoodcharacter get off my lawn.
But like it is going to change,I think AI is going to make it
even more crazy out there.
Do think these real human, youknow soft skill characteristics
that make us humans are going toget more and more important as
(24:38):
they become.
More and more, uh, they adaptto the changes.
Hey one of the things I wasgoing to ask you is is another
question I got last week thatwas a really good one and you're
the right person to ask thistoo is they said well, how do
you, how do you make adifference in the community and
how do you plug in?
And I just said really quicklygo volunteer.
I mean one of the things we'vebeen here a long, long, long,
long time.
But as I talk to my friendsthat are in other cities and
(24:58):
even in the Intermountain Westand Pacific Northwest, we have a
community that really gives andso many strong, thoughtful
leaders within the nonprofitcommunity and then they all have
boards and subcommittees andways to volunteer.
And it's one of the firstthings I say when I'm asked hey,
how do I plug into a community?
(25:19):
Go volunteer, yes, go look atsomething that you're passionate
about and then just go meetpeople and serve and interact
and you'll be surprised how theywill use you and need you and
maybe put you on a subcommitteeand and pretty soon you're a
graduating senior from CUNA highschool and you're working at
the botanical gardens,volunteering, and you have this
group of people and all of asudden you have all these
(25:40):
connections.
Speak to that a little bit,because I think it's a powerful
tool for young professionalslooking to engage.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
I agree, I think it's , I agree, I think it's not only
important for youngprofessionals, but I also think
it's important for every agedemographic, for young
professionals, as they're tryingto determine where are their
values, what are their values,what direction do they want to
(26:07):
go in for their career.
But gosh, lately we've had somany people who are retired, who
are reaching out looking forcommunity Excellent point, and
at the botanical garden we'relucky enough that we have these
opportunities.
Our volunteer program is reallygrowing and it's growing in all
(26:30):
age demographics, butspecifically in that like over
60, where people are comingtogether and they could be doing
gardening, horticulture.
They could also be comingtogether for events and helping
support the garden and theevents, but we see that with all
age groups.
I think the impact of that, notonly for the organization but
(26:53):
for the individuals, is youreally do build this sense of
community.
You have friends, you havepeople who have the similar
values and beliefs as you do.
So, whether you're choosing todo that by coming to the
Botanical Garden and helping usmanage and maintain our grounds
or make sure people aren'tgetting wild at one of our
(27:13):
concerts, you can go to the foodbank you can go to your local
church.
you can, you know, go to a lotof organizations that are
supporting children in ourcommunity.
There's just so many ways.
And I think you know in Idahowe have I don't remember the
statistics, but I think it'spretty high per capita the
amount of nonprofits in thestate of Idaho.
(27:36):
So it's not hard to find agroup and to find your people.
And by getting connected inwhether you're 17 or 18 or
you're in your 40s or you're inyour 60s, I think it helps also
create a connection to thegreater community, not just the
small community that's.
At that organization you startto really understand the
(28:00):
importance of everyone comingtogether, especially in a time
that we are so challenged toconnect with each other, whether
it's over politics or values.
And I'll tell you what when youcome to, say, the Idaho
Botanical Garden and you'revolunteering, we're not talking
about politics, we're nottalking about divisive topics.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
You find things that you connect with and you find
that, hey, there's a lot ofthings there's still I mean, I
think the way things are set upnow, there's so many things that
just pull apart and thrive onthat and profit on that,
especially the way we consumemedia, but it is that it'll be
(28:44):
what saves us, by the way.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
It will be.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
I mean, it's going to be neighbors and coming
together and what do we have incommon?
And how do we?
How do we do this together?
Yeah, that ends up saving us.
It's not going to be this otherstuff.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
So no, and we see that a lot, not only through our
volunteer programs but througha lot of the events at the
botanical garden.
You can come to a bonnie rateor a lord huron or a steve Steve
Miller band concert at thegarden and nobody is talking
about politics, they're talkingabout the artists, they're
(29:19):
talking about the musician andthey're not talking about these
topics that are dividing us as acommunity.
They're talking about theirlove for music or they're simply
sitting in community andenjoying being in the beautiful
garden and the outdoors.
And I think for me that when Isee that, it just makes my you
(29:40):
know, it fills my cup, it makesmy heart full, because those
aren't the types ofconversations Everybody's coming
together and they're havingthis beautiful shared experience
.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Let's shift to the garden, let's talk, give us the
history and give us a little bitabout, about the non-profit,
what it does, um, and some ofthe exciting things that I know
you have.
You've hit on a little bit, butlet's formally kind of yeah,
let's celebrate it great, sorry,um.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
So the Botanical Garden was founded in 1984 by Dr
Christopher Davidson and thegoal of Christopher and a
handful of community members wasto bring horticulture to the
Treasure Valley, to the oldIdaho penitentiary, and it's
(30:35):
very unique in that there'sthree gardens, I've heard, that
are directly adjacent to an oldpenitentiary.
One is Alcatraz and the otherone I have no idea where it is,
I don't even know if it exists.
So we're very unique at theIdaho Botanical Garden, just in
the location.
We're in a very historicdistrict.
We were founded this is our41st year and we have grown
(30:55):
exponentially over the years,expanded our mission a little
bit to incorporate morecommunity gathering spaces
within the programs and reallythe product that we present
programs and really the productthat we present.
(31:16):
Where we are now is, we have 15acres of developed garden
spaces.
Our mission is to connectpeople, plants and nature and we
do that several ways.
Most obviously and first andforemost, we're a botanical
garden and we want to be a placeof beauty and we want to be a
place that displays plantcollections that grow well here
in our region.
We are in the sagebrush steppeecosystem.
(31:39):
That's important.
You are not going to seetropical flowers and plants at
the Idaho Botanical Garden.
We want people to come andvisit our space and see how they
can replicate the beauty thatwe have at the garden in their
own homes.
Additionally, we focus oneducational programming.
We work with children and adults.
(32:00):
We see over 6,000 kids thatcome through the garden gates
for activities like field tripsthat are based on horticulture
and gardening and justecosystems.
In general, the majority of ourprogramming, if not all, is
STEAM-based, so that's science,technology, engineering, arts
(32:22):
and math.
And then we also have adultprogramming so we bring adults
together to talk about specificthings as they're related to
horticulture.
Adults together to talk aboutspecific things as they're
related to horticulture soilcourses, planting, you know, pot
courses.
Sometimes it'll be moreartistic We've had things like
in the past painting courses butreally an opportunity for
(32:44):
people to grow a love andappreciation of the outdoors and
feel really connected intoplants and the land and seek the
positive benefits of that.
And then the last component ofour mission and what it is that
we accomplish at the garden isthrough our events and cultural
(33:04):
arts, and those are what manypeople in our community know us
for.
We host Outlaw Field ConcertSeries, where it is
world-renowned musicians thatare coming to the Garden and
playing in partnership.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
I just got something this morning, I think Charlie
Crockett.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Charlie Crockett's coming for the second time, I
think that one will be a sellouthe's amazing.
He's amazing.
We work with Seymour Concertson that series, so I am not
directly responsible, so don'trequest shows from me.
Seymour Concerts does such anamazing job of filling that
series.
But we also have a smallconcert series also.
It's called Great Garden Escape.
(33:40):
It's really a family-friendlyseries that's located up in the
garden.
We have other events andactivities Winter Garden Aglow,
which most people have been toin the community.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Total tradition for us, forever.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
All of these events.
They're really they'refundraisers for us.
That's how we keep the gardengates open year round.
That's how we ensure that we'reproviding the educational
resources that we provide andensuring that the garden stays
beautiful.
And there's a couple otherprograms that people are pretty
unaware of that we're reallyproud of.
We have a pretty deeppartnership with the Idaho
(34:16):
Department of Corrections.
There's a women's correctionalfacility that's located in the
district and we have a workforcedevelopment type program with
women from the correctionalfacility where they come to the
garden and we train them onevent logistics and management.
Horticulture, provide work forwomen from the facility, and the
(34:39):
goal is that one day, when theyare no longer incarcerated,
that they will have a new skillset to be able to bring into the
community or, for the ones thatchoose, we like to keep them on
and that they continue work atthe Idaho Botanical Garden.
A lot of people don't know aboutthat program and that's okay,
(35:01):
because we really are protectiveof the women from the facility
who work at the garden and wewant to, you know, support their
growth and their developmentand their anonymity.
But it's one of thoseopportunities that we have to
give back to the community in away that many people don't know
about.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
And I'm sure you've got some stories.
I mean the impact of whensomeone is coming out and
getting a job, which is theiridentity and their purpose.
I'll bet you have some reallygreat stories and anyone.
I know I've got a lot offriends that do that and it's
part of the best work that'sdone.
Speaker 4 (35:40):
Yeah, as we're looking at expanding our garden
and continuing to develop theuncultivated acreage that we
have.
One of the goals is to build ahorticulture therapy garden,
really with women from thefacility in our community in
mind, because being in natureand working with plants is very
(36:02):
healing, and when I firststarted at the garden it was
probably 2016 that this happenedI was up at Shore Lodge and
enjoying a weekend and I was inthe restaurant and talking about
what I had done.
I think I was with thebartender and a couple friends
and enjoying, you know, a drink,and he was asking me what I did
(36:26):
and I said I worked at theIdaho Botanical Garden.
And a woman that was sitting atthe bar just a few stools down
said did you say you work at theBotanical Garden in Boise?
And I said I did.
And she said you know thatgarden saved my life.
I said oh, that's reallyinteresting.
How so?
Tell me about that.
She was incarcerated at thefacility across the street, and
(36:52):
when you're first living in thatfacility, you're able to go out
into the community and do somevolunteer work, and we're one of
the selected sites that you cando volunteer work and then, as
you continue on in the facility,then you are open to be able to
do different types of work andjobs.
But she was in the positionwhere she was able to volunteer
(37:14):
and she said that she was reallydepressed, she was incarcerated
.
She had children.
She was no longer able to seethem at the same level that she
really wanted to see them and itwas really hard for her to get
out of bed.
But one of her the other womenwho was in the facility started
bringing her over to volunteerat the garden and she didn't
(37:34):
want to come at first, but whenshe started coming and being
able to experience nature andjust the healing powers of being
outdoors and being in thegarden, she was really able to
start getting out of bed andstart moving forward.
That's beautiful out of bed andstart moving forward.
And when I heard her and Iheard that story, I just thought
(38:02):
, wow, what, what other impactscan we have here in our
community that are beyond whatwe, what we recognize, you know,
beyond the children that arecoming in for the programming or
the you know massive amount ofpeople who are coming in for our
events?
Like there's probably for thatone story.
There's probably for that onestory, there's probably
thousands and thousands of otherstories that are similar, of
how connecting with nature inthat way really helps people.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Yeah, what a what a beautiful story.
You also have plans for someexpansion.
I'm going to your website'shere for those that are watching
on YouTube, so it's a greatplace to go navigate.
You got your events andeverything else.
Is there any information on thefuture of the garden and talk
about that?
Speaker 4 (38:41):
There is.
There is information.
It's kind of a little bithidden, but you can find it.
So right before the pandemic,we had started looking
organizationally of what's nextfor the Idaho Botanical Garden.
As I mentioned, we've been herefor 40 years.
Um, we have grown bit by bit.
Um, the garden is a little bitof a Frankenstein garden, is the
(39:05):
way that I would describe it.
Sometimes parts and pieces ofit have literally been held up
with duct tape and dental flossover the years because we have
been so strappy in the way thatwe have expanded.
It's been garden space bygarden space, and we recognize
that there's a need and a desirein our community to build a
(39:29):
space that really meets theneeds of the community and to
provide a better experience whenyou visit the garden.
How can we start pulling downsome of the duct tape and dental
floss and, you know, reallyprovide a space that is not only
a beautiful space but afunctional space and can
continue to offer amazingopportunities for our community?
(39:53):
So we started doing some workon what's called a master plan
and a master plan for abotanical garden.
It's essentially, it's a map ofwhat the garden will become,
but it's all based on communityneed and the programmatic needs
of the space.
So as we began working towardsthis master plan, we got a
(40:14):
little derailed with COVID andhad to postpone and pause.
But in 2021, we really dove inand started having some
community meetings, bringing inkey stakeholders, to determine
what is it that we need in Boise, what type of a garden could we
be and what should we become.
(40:36):
During that time of the pandemic, I was volunteering quite a bit
at the Boise Farmer's Market.
That was my social outlet.
That was the only thing that Icould really do to see people my
partner and I were, andsometimes the kids, and we were
talking with some of theorganizers of the market and
with their need to have apermanent location for the Boise
(40:59):
Farmer's Market.
This is the one that's over onShoreline If you've been here in
Boise for a long time at theold Kmart I think it's funny we
all still call it the old Kmart.
It's been years.
They had a desire to have apermanent space.
We know also in our communitythat there's organizations some
of them that popped up duringthe COVID pandemic, like City of
(41:22):
Good, which helps to feed andsupport families here with some
really healthy, great food.
With some really healthy, greatfood.
There's also a lot of culturalarts groups who are struggling
for performance space.
We have a lack of performancespace here in the Treasure
Valley, especially for a certainspecific size.
(41:44):
So we started in 2021 meetingwith not only community
stakeholders individuals butalso other nonprofits in the
area to say what are your needsand how can we all come together
on this project.
So in 2022, we finalized ournew master plan and it's pretty
massive and it's a largeundertaking that you know.
(42:08):
As you know, tommy, sometimesmaster plans take years and
years and years Taking.
That you know.
As you know, tommy, sometimesmaster plans take years and
years, and years.
But we are working right now ata phase one of the plan.
And phase one of our expansionplan includes several different
components 4.6 acres of newgarden space.
Those gardens are going to bethere's an outdoor amphitheater,
(42:32):
working a lot with the culturalarts groups in our community to
determine what does that stagelook like?
What is the size?
We'll see about 1,200individuals.
We're building an arboretum inpartnership with a local
foundation.
Boise has a arboretum desert.
Essentially.
Our closest arboretum is maybeup in northern Idaho or at Red
(42:55):
Butte Botanic Garden.
But for being the city of trees, we have no official arboretum.
So we're going to build anarboretum.
I'd mentioned before ourinterest in horticulture therapy
.
We're going to build ahorticulture therapy garden, a
new vegetable garden that'sclose down to the entrance of
the space and a scholar gardenthat's going to be dedicated to
(43:17):
Christopher Davidson, ourfounding director.
So lots of new beautiful spaces.
But also we'll be building it'sabout a 22,000 square foot
visitor center and within thatvisitor center we'll have indoor
permanent year-round classroomspace and event space and also a
(43:37):
food hub, which is essentiallya network of individuals, but
also a physical space inpartnership with City of Good
and the Boise Farmer's Market,where local farmers that are
selling produce at the BoiseFarmers Market will be able to
utilize the space to minimallyprocess, package and store their
product to get that out intothe greater community.
(44:00):
And that would be throughprograms like City of Good for
low-income families, but also sothat farmers are able to move
that into the market throughrestaurants or hospitals, and
then we'll have an officialparking garden.
We call it but a parking lot.
Right now it's a dirt lot.
So there's a lot of reallygreat opportunities within the
(44:21):
first phase as you look at thesecond phase and the third phase
of the garden.
The second phase, which willcome much later, will really be
focused on infrastructure of ourcurrent garden space and some
redesign, but it'll essentiallystay the same.
And then the third phasethere'll be opportunities for
some very minimal cultivatededucational space that focuses
(44:45):
on the ecology of Boisefoothills.
So it's a lot.
Speaker 1 (44:49):
It's amazing, um, and such a need and such a.
I mean the location too.
You talked about the locationby the penitentiary and where it
sits in, in the kind of base ofthe foothills there where it
sits in Boise Um, what, what agreat um.
I often sometimes think aboutplaces like this that have taken
hundreds of years to thousandsof years, but hundreds of years
(45:13):
as a civilized, boise-organizedplace and the history behind it,
and then where that twists andturns and then the role of the
botanical garden in thathistoric place and how it
continues to give back.
It's really pretty incredibleLeadership.
Talk about that or time's goingreally quick, but you are very
(45:37):
well known as a very dynamicleader and you're on the Boise
Chamber board in the Valley.
You said you're out and aboutbut you're constantly leading
and doing things.
A lot of our listeners areleaders or looking for
inspiration as leaders.
Tell us some of your key go-tosfor leadership and kind of some
(46:00):
of your philosophies.
Speaker 4 (46:05):
Yeah, where I really like to put my focus and my
leadership is in listening andhelping bring people along.
I have a master's inorganizational leadership and
change management and whenpeople ask me like what is the
key to change and changeleadership, and I really say you
(46:28):
have to listen and you have toinvolve people in the
decision-making process.
When I first started at thegarden, there was a lot of
opportunities to makeimprovements and I had spent
some time focused on that,literally buying chairs, you
know, and new desks, becausethings were falling apart.
But what I've learned aboutleadership along the way is
(46:53):
dialogue and surroundingyourself with people who are
smarter than you are really whatmake a difference.
We don't make a lot of decisionsat the Botanical Garden.
I don't make a lot of decisionswithout getting feedback from
others.
Now, there's a couplesituations where you're thrown
into a crisis, like the pandemic, and you just have to start
making choices.
(47:14):
But I think that's what makesthe Botanical Garden such an
interesting organization, andwhat my philosophy on leadership
has been is how do we continueto maintain dialogue?
Now, sometimes you're going tohave to make a decision as a
leader that everybody isn't onboard with, but when people feel
(47:34):
that they have had a voice inthe decision to be made.
I think it changes theperception of that change and,
you know, and helps people movethrough the change.
But change is hard.
There's a grieving process.
Speaker 1 (47:50):
Well, and you're just spot on.
I mean, I think one of thethings I say all the time is
vision, clarity, plan action andvision.
That's leadership.
But then the clarity partpeople skip over.
And clarity is where you do geteveryone on board.
Listen, make sure everyone isharmonizing in thought and mind
before you go forward, beforeyou even get to the plan,
because if not, they're notgoing to be part of this plan.
(48:12):
No If they weren't included inthat clarity, so I think that's
really really great.
Lastly, talk about Boise.
Speaker 4 (48:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
This place.
Speaker 4 (48:24):
I love Boise.
I love it so much Um I.
What I love about Boise is, um,sometimes I think the best
qualities and the worstqualities about people and
organizations and communitiescan be one in the same.
I love that I cannot go to thegrocery store without running
(48:45):
into somebody I know.
And sometimes I want to go tothe grocery store and just get
my you know groceries, but Ilove that feeling of connection
and community.
And sometimes I want to go tothe grocery store and just get
my groceries, but I love thatfeeling of connection and
community.
And I think that as a city weare constantly moving forward
and looking to do better andlooking to make a difference, a
(49:07):
difference.
And when I meet with people whohave not been to Boise and they
come to visit, sometimesthey're connected with the
garden or an activity or anevent.
Or, you know, we're hiring aconsultant and they say tell me
what I need to know about Boise.
And I say people are very kindand they're very friendly and
(49:29):
it's not fake.
When you walk down the streetand somebody waves at you and
smiles and asks how your day is,they really want to know.
And there's hundreds of storiesthat I could tell about how
I've experienced that, but Ithink because of that, we're
attracting a lot moreindividuals into our community.
I think that's one of thereasons that we're growing so
(49:50):
much is that Boise and Idahoit's people who are very
heartfelt and very genuine andreally want to be supportive of
each other and see each othergrow, and you don't get that in
a lot of other communities and Ithink there's a lot of
challenge with the growth thatwe're experiencing.
(50:12):
But we get to have a lot ofvery interesting and thoughtful
conversations about what thatlooks like and how we can do
better, and I think Boise hasalways been focused on that.
I can't think back on a time,you know and I'm almost native
here and to Boise that wehaven't been looking for a
(50:35):
better way to support ourcommunity members, and we see
that in the everyday small actsthat people you know will go
through and will contribute, andin some of the bigger ways as
well.
Speaker 1 (50:49):
That's beautiful, and I do, and you just I mean,
you're just hitting on so manythings.
I believe, with everything isit is a small ax right?
You know, we're all involved inthis community and there's
always these big visions andplans, and whether it's at the
botanical gardens or the city orwherever but but ultimately,
our days and our happiness andour interaction are the small
(51:12):
acts.
It's the little things thatpeople do and say and the way
they're thoughtful, the way theyconnect, and I I think it's
just such part of of ourheritage and our people.
I love that about this place.
Whether you've been here foryour whole life or you've been,
it just becomes part of you, andyou hear that from people that
are new here.
They're just like I just lovethis place.
I also think that we have sucha sense of pride in our
(51:36):
community.
Yes, it's so clean it matchesthat heritage and friendly, but
it also whenever we have guestsin town and we go downtown or
take that, it's just they'relike you know, they hadn't been
here before and they're likeit's so clean and nice and safe
and all those things that makeit so great.
So well, thank you for all youdo.
Speaker 4 (51:55):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
It's an amazing service to be such a dynamic
leader and lead such animportant nonprofit in our
community and it touches all ofour families as we come visit
and enjoy and can't wait towatch the progress as you grow
and keep doing great things letus know how we can help any any.
For anyone listening that needsno more.
(52:17):
It's idaho botanical gardensorgthat's right.
Speaker 4 (52:21):
That's right.
Come out and visit us.
We have plenty of activitiesand opportunities and even just
time to wander around in thegarden when it's nice and quiet.
Speaker 1 (52:29):
So I love it.
Speaker 4 (52:30):
Thanks for coming on today, thank you thanks,
everybody.
Today on the Ever Onward podcast we have Erin
Anderson, the director of theIdaho Botanical Garden.
She has been there for aboutnine years and does amazing
things there.
We wanted to get her on to talkabout the botanical garden and
what it means to our community,but she's also been a longtime
leader in the Valley.
She serves on the chamber BoiseMetro Chamber of Commerce.
(00:23):
She's also been part ofleadership groups of several
non-profits here in the Valley.
We're really excited to catchup with Aaron and hear the
latest at the Botanical Garden.
Prior to Aaron, we will hear anAllquist update from Mark
Cleverley and Holt Haga, andHolt's going to talk a little
bit about his competitiveness,which should be fun Good morning
we're here for another littleupdate.
Speaker 2 (00:43):
Quick update I'm Mark Cleverley, chief Leasing
Officer with Allquist.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
Holt Haga.
Vp of Leasing AllquistDevelopment.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
So we're going to do something a little different.
We're not going to talk aboutprojects, we're not going to
talk about tenants, but we aregoing to talk about competition
and kind of our previous life,of especially I wanted you and
Keikoa at some point to talkabout, because you guys competed
at the highest levels, right,both of you did and I want to
(01:15):
talk about how that sets you upfor success in your career, how
it sets you up for success inlife and with our projects.
Like how does that, how doesthat motivate you?
How does that, um, what?
What makes you tick Right?
And so just wanted to kind ofbriefly go through that with you
(01:35):
.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Yeah, you know it, the, the value of, of, um,
competition, especially early onin life, I think is is um, it's
you know, you can't, there's nosubstitute for it.
Um, I think you learn a lotabout yourself.
You learn a lot about, you know, just, the process of setting
goals and achieving those goals,um, and and and different
(01:58):
things that motivate you.
Right.
For me, I just remember, earlyon in my life, the, the, the,
the chief motivating factor wasthe fear of failure, and that's
a very powerful motivator, right, it can either motivate you or
it can completely cripple you.
And so for me, fortunately, itwas I mean fortunately, or
unfortunately it was somethingthat really motivated me.
(02:19):
Now, if the fear of failure,you know, prevents you from even
engaging in you know the goalthat you want to set, then
that's a problem, right, but ifit's yeah, because how many
times did you fail?
Speaker 2 (02:31):
You fail all the way, all the way through, right, all
the way through, but you can'tstop, you can't stop right.
Speaker 3 (02:35):
And I think and I remember there was a point, you
know, halfway or whateverthrough my career, somewhere in
my teens, where I sort offigured out that it was part of
the process, right and it's, youknow, it was actually even
became more of a motivatingfactor, understanding that
because you understand, hey, youknow this is a.
You know, these setbacks areactually the times when you
(02:58):
actually go back and look atthem, and we've talked about
this before.
But when you go back and sortof dissect and unpack each
competition or each sort of goalor milestone and you say, man,
this is like where I made thebiggest advancements was
learning from why I, you know,didn't succeed in sort of these
milestones along the way, right,and so you say, ok, this is
(03:20):
what I actually need to do tosucceed.
But the only way you're goingto figure that out is by by
failing or, or you know, notachieving that goal the first
way through.
And um, and actually anotherthing you and I were just
talking about, but my I had mydaughter, cleo, is an av, is
very engaged in taekwondo.
She loves taekwondo.
(03:41):
She goes to master Kim'staekwondo class like four or
five days a week.
It's her, her thing and like me, she's like all about
individual sports and so.
But I was at class the othernight and Master Kim, at the end
of these classes, got all thekids lined up and he gives, like
this message, this little kindof motivational speech.
(04:02):
And the other night he gave thespeech, but embedded in that
discussion, that five minutekind of talk, was this line I
just want to, you know.
He said, you know there's noelevator to Black Belt, there's
only the stairs, you know.
And then he went and he kepttalking about kind of other
things.
But that one line really stuckout to me and it kind of reverts
(04:24):
back to sort of what motivatedme and this whole thing that
we're talking about with withprocess and patience and all of
these things, is that you knowthere's no, you know, substitute
black belt for anything.
There's no elevator to X.
You know, whether it's business,sports, personal growth, it
doesn't matter.
I mean, um, there's no, for inour business, sports, personal
growth, it doesn't matter.
(04:44):
I mean there's no, for in ourbusiness there's no elevator to
a successful project, there'sonly the stairs and the
staircase that you're on.
You know, if it's a really kindof straightforward project.
It's like a nice, you knowgentle set of stairs.
If it's a really complex beastof a project, like you know
Fourth and Idaho or some ofthese really large trophy
projects we've been working on,it's it's a staircase with like
(05:07):
nails and like covered in iceand you know I mean like so it
just depends.
But I think I think why it was,I think why it rang so true to
me, is because it applied to myearly athletic career, where
just acknowledging that thestair that you're on the
staircase, I think is a veryimportant piece, right, the
stamina that it and the patiencethat that is required to
(05:30):
achieve big goals, is, is, is,is huge, and I think I think it
gets missed a lot, right,because you, you attach yourself
to these goals and and and andyou, just, you want so badly to
achieve the goal that, um, you,you want to take the elevator,
but there's no elevator, itdoesn't exist.
Speaker 2 (05:48):
Yeah, yeah, only stairs.
I think thinking about that too, right, where each one of our
projects we're going to have wecall them opportunities, but
you're going to have setbacks.
You're going to have thingsthat come up in every project
that we've ever done, right, Imean, one of my favorite I'm a
big basketball guy, I know youwere skiing and in the
(06:09):
individual stuff, I'm a bigbasketball guy the team sport,
and one of my well, my all-timefavorite player is michael
jordan, and there's a quote umfrom uh about him that how many
shots did he miss?
How many turnovers did he make?
I mean all that stuff, right?
I mean, even the best playerthat's ever played the game had
failures, right, but it neverstopped him from succeeding,
(06:34):
right?
I mean, look at his career.
He's a six-time NBA champion,nba finals champion.
So for us too, it's for us too,it's it's thinking about all
that.
Every project has opportunities, every project has setbacks.
We're on the stairs per se,right?
(06:54):
We're, we're on there and we'regrinding and we're and we're
moving forward on those stairs.
And it's hard, every project ishard, but what makes us really
successful is the team and thenallowing all of us to go and do
our job and together making it asuccessful project.
(07:15):
At the end, it's like, ok, lookat what we did, but what most
people don't see are all thesetbacks and the opportunities
that happen over the course of athree to five year period in
each one of these projects.
But those are the ones, like we, we remember them.
Speaker 3 (07:33):
Yeah, the more setbacks, the more rewarding
Absolutely the outcome right.
Speaker 2 (07:37):
Right.
We remember every single one ofthem, cause we're like remember
when this happened Right and wewe but remember when this
happened right and we keepmoving forward, we kept pushing,
plugging.
So it's awesome to think aboutit, right, and you think about,
like 10 Mile Eagle View, landing, city Center Plaza, all the
setbacks and opportunities thathappened, and look at them now.
Speaker 3 (07:56):
Right, it's pretty awesome to think about.
Yeah, we got a bunch ofgrinders in this office that are
that's right, you know.
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Pretty motivated, we rock and roll.
All right, thanks, holt.
Appreciate you, buddy, smartYep.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Erin.
Hi Thank you for coming on.
This is going to be fun.
Speaker 4 (08:24):
It is Thanks for having me.
It's going to be fun.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
I'm looking forward to it.
Yeah, some of these I knowguests really, really well, and
some of them I don't.
It's a good mix.
Speaker 4 (08:36):
That's good.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
So you're doing great work at the Botanical Gardens
all of our favorite places to gobut I can't wait to hear more
about it.
Perfect, it would be a greatopportunity, but can you start
telling us a little bit aboutyou, mm-hmm.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Sure, what kind of things do you want to know?
Tell us everything.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
All us a little bit about you.
Sure, what kind of things doyou want to know?
Tell us everything.
Speaker 4 (09:00):
All the things Great.
How did you end up in thiswonderful place, idaho and Boise
, and tell us a little aboutgrowing up?
That's a great, great, greatplace to start.
So we moved to Idaho my familydid when I was nine months old.
Oftentimes people ask if I'mnative to Idaho, because that's
a really big thing here, youbarely missed it.
I barely missed it.
But I say yes, and then I tellpeople well, I moved here when I
was nine months old, and thenthey give me the grace to say
you're pretty much native.
So we moved to Idaho.
First we moved to Mountain Homeand then we moved up to Boise.
(09:21):
When I was about five I went toelementary, junior high.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
Was it a military move?
Speaker 4 (09:27):
No, no, no.
My grandfather worked as acivilian at the base, but my
parents had my, so my dad andhis family moved to Mountain
Home in, I think, the seventies,and my mom, who's a little bit
of a wild child her brother wasin the Air Force, and so he was
(09:48):
stationed in Mountain Home andshe got sent to live with him
for a short amount of time.
He was stationed in MountainHome and she got sent to live
with him for a short amount oftime.
So that's where my mom and dadmet was in Mountain Home when
they were 16 and 17 years old inhigh school, and then they
moved back to Indiana where mymom's family's from.
Speaker 1 (10:10):
And then after and my brother was born here, and then
we moved to Indiana and then wecame back.
I mean, that's about as nativeas it gets, I think.
So.
I mean, you basically were inIndiana just for this short
pregnancy, and then you're back,I'm giving you the native card.
Thank you, I appreciate thatit's a really big deal for us
here in Idaho.
I am not authorized to do so,not being a native myself.
Speaker 4 (10:28):
But you'll do it, I'll do it, thank you.
Speaker 1 (10:30):
Wow.
So then you grew up in Boise.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
So I grew up in Boise , went to junior, high and high
school and I graduated from highschool and I went to Boise
State and I wasn't quite surewhat I wanted to do.
I knew that it was mandatorythat I go to college my parents
made that very clear but Iwasn't sure what I wanted to do
and I had been at Boise Statefor a few years and I thought
how do I get out of here as soonas possible?
(10:56):
So I started meeting withadvisors and talking about the
things that interested mebecause I just wasn't quite sure
and I decided to major inpolitical science and I was
(11:16):
really interested in consuminginformation and figuring out how
to like interpret thatinformation and I really enjoyed
the paper writing and theanalysis of my degree.
But I also knew like I didn'twant to be an attorney.
Most people who major inpolitical science go on to be an
attorney.
I worked the year that Igraduated on a campaign and I
decided I didn't want to be inpolitics either.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Excuse me, Doing that once can kind of cure you.
Speaker 4 (11:41):
Yeah, so politics wasn't my thing.
But from there I got my firstjob really out of college other
than working on that firstcampaign and I started writing
grants.
I worked for the Society of StVincent de Paul and I started a
(12:02):
book program where I wrotegrants for books so that we
could help families build anin-home library for kids.
Speaker 1 (12:11):
That's cool.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
And that's how I got started in nonprofits.
It wasn't something that I knewI wanted to go into.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
You kind of went right to it.
Speaker 4 (12:17):
Went right to it.
Went right to it.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Super rewarding, I mean.
I think if you can marrybusiness and desire and passion
with nonprofit work, it makesfor a pretty good way to work.
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
Yeah, it's nice to be able to wake up every day and
have a passion for what it isthat I'm doing.
Speaker 1 (12:38):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (12:38):
And I've worked for several nonprofits throughout
the years.
Um, but when I was what aresome of those?
Yeah, so I.
I worked at St Vincent DePaul.
I also worked at the NationalMultiple Sclerosis Society.
I made a big leap when I was29,.
I started as the executivedirector for a small
(13:01):
organization called Boise UrbanGarden School and I had done
some work in fundraising andprogramming.
But working there I learned somuch.
But working there, I learned somuch.
My first job there.
I got paid thirty four thousanddollars a year as the executive
director and we had a hundredthousand dollar operating budget
.
Speaker 1 (13:21):
I mean, it's just like crazy to think about those
private school, those schoolthings can be so hard yeah it's.
Speaker 4 (13:28):
It's really crazy and it was when first started.
When I first started with theorganization, the executive
director before me she had lefton great terms.
So there was this reallywonderful handoff and there was
a couple founders who thenturned it over to the first
executive director and I was thesecond.
We were operating this programout of a church on Franklin, up
(13:55):
on the bench, and it was anall-day, six-week program for
kids and teaching them how togarden and how to grow food, and
then they would learn how totake that food into the kitchen
and how to cook it.
And it was a full like seed-totable type of a program.
And when I first started I,within the first week, I met
(14:16):
with Doug Holloway from BoiseParks and Rec and we were in a
meeting together.
I had no idea what I was doingin the meeting.
Somebody just said you need togo to the meeting and Doug
pulled me aside and he said hey,you know, what do you know
about community gardens?
I said gosh, I don't know a lot.
I didn't have a background ingardening or horticulture, I
(14:36):
just had a desire to do it.
When my girls were younger, westarted doing some back home I
mean backyard gardening and so Ireally enjoyed it and I enjoyed
teaching my kids about food andwhere it comes from.
In a state that's so rich withagriculture.
I just felt like that wasreally important for them to
understand.
But I met Doug Holloway and hesaid what do you know about
(14:58):
community gardening?
And I said well, I don't know alot, but you know, I'm on my
first week here at the job, butI'm willing to learn.
He said okay, let's keep incontact.
Well, the city of Boise.
There was a time that it wasvery popular for community
gardens to pop up at city parks,and so there were several
(15:19):
community gardens and there wasanother one that was coming on
and that was at Ustick and FiveMile.
So Doug and I stayed in contactthroughout my time at the garden
and it got to a point wherethere was a family and they were
going to donate a piece ofproperty.
They already had to build a parkon Eustick and Five Mile it's
(15:40):
called Comba Park and there wasa community garden there and
there was a building that theywanted to donate over to the
city to create a permanent placefor my program.
So it was really this likeamazing opportunity for a very
(16:03):
small organization.
I think at this point we had$150,000 operating budget, there
was a builder who's going todonate his time, and everything
just really came together.
And so I just look back andlaugh because within the first
year of my program we hadcreated a strategic plan and one
of those goals was to alignourself with a sustainable
funding partner and somebodythat could really help the
(16:24):
program grow.
And in that first week I metDoug and then all of a sudden I
turned around and I was runningthe community gardens at the
city of Boise and helping createordinances to how community
gardens would run.
Speaker 1 (16:34):
What a great story, though, yeah.
How it all comes together, yeah.
Speaker 4 (16:37):
Have you spent time with Doug Holloway?
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yes.
Speaker 4 (16:39):
He's amazing.
He's one of my favorite peoplein the Treasure Valley.
I just think he's so great andhad I not met him at that time,
I don't know where thatorganization and my career would
have gone.
Speaker 1 (16:49):
Incredible community guy and just the reputation of
just how can we, how can we fixthings and make them better and
yeah, yeah well, that's anamazing source.
How many years were you there?
Speaker 4 (16:58):
so I was at the at bugs about six and a half, maybe
seven years and then theposition for the Idaho Botanical
Garden came open and at thatpoint we had merged with the
city and bugs had become aprogram of the city and so I was
a city employee and I had, likeyou know, this half-and-half
position where I was a cityemployee and I had taken over
(17:21):
another program at the city thathad to do with environmental
education and I was still theexecutive director for Bugs and
doing the fundraising, thefundraising.
But then the botanical gardenjob opened up and it just so
happens there's not a lot ofpeople in the state of Idaho, or
especially in the TreasureValley, who have run a
garden-based nonprofitorganization.
Speaker 1 (17:42):
So perfect fit, yeah, and so what year was that?
Speaker 4 (17:45):
So I started at IBG in 2016, in September of 2016.
And it has just been an amazingand wild ride.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
That's nine years.
Speaker 4 (17:56):
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
That's great.
And to go back to your kids.
So two daughters.
Speaker 4 (18:02):
I have two daughters.
One is 20, almost 21.
She lives in Bellingham andgoes to Western Washington.
And I have an 18-year-olddaughter and she's a senior in
high school, at Boise HighSchool.
So they have really grown up inthis like mom, non-profit world
(18:22):
.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Are they inspired?
Or do they want nothing to dowith this whole thing?
They go see the way with ourkids.
Speaker 4 (18:30):
That's a great question.
I think that they're inspired.
I also think that they've beendragged along and drug along
through a lot of activities andthey've been in videos, they've
been in photo shoots.
They have really had to beflexible with our schedule.
I go to a lot of fundraisingevents and evening activities
(18:51):
and we're doing things on theweekends.
All that really surroundnonprofits in the community and
we're very active in thecommunity in that way.
And I think probably the mostchallenging part for them is
when my partner and I who he'salso very active in our
community when we're out inpublic public it's very annoying
(19:12):
from them because we can't walkfive steps without having a
conversation and sometimes theyjust want to like buy some
groceries.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
We just, we just do what we're doing and go home,
right?
Yeah, well, I'm sure it's beena tremendous example and the
great learning experience forthem too.
Speaker 4 (19:28):
Yeah yeah, it'll be interesting to see where they go
and and what want to do With myyoungest and going away to
college next year.
It's amazing to watch them growinto their own people.
But I always think when I lookback at them, when I first
started even my career and whenthey were very young, people
always say, you know, when theyhave young children, what are
(19:49):
they going to be like?
I just wonder what they'regoing to be like when they're
older.
And my thought is they'reexactly the same when they're 2
and 3 as they are when they're20.
Their personalities don'treally change that much, they're
just bigger.
Speaker 1 (20:06):
Yeah, and it's.
You know, I give a few talksand lately I've been giving a
lot of them.
But I talked to a high schoollast week and I was asked the
question you know, how do youfind your passion and how do you
really meet, go into the dreamjob and the thing you want to do
?
And I really believe, and I'msure this is the way with your
daughters if you're kind ofgrounded in your whys, it's less
(20:31):
really about the job, a littlebit like there's a lot of jobs
where people can be very, veryhappy if, if it matches their
why and their reason and theirpassion.
And it may be the variousthings, it may be health care,
it may be non-profit work, itmay be.
But if you're passionate aboutpeople and and that's where you
find your joy and passion Ithink a lot of kids, I think, as
(20:56):
you do mentoring they getreally hung up on exactly what
it is.
And it's okay to think that, hey, I can be happy in a lot of
things, as long as I have mylist, my priorities, my goals,
the things that I'm going to doand the things that make me tick
.
There's probably a lot ofreally great jobs that match
that.
And then it's lifestyle and alot of other things that make me
tick.
There's probably a lot of reallygreat jobs that that match that
that and then it's lifestyleand a lot of other things that
(21:16):
go into it.
But I agree, isn't it amazingthe opportunities, uh, these
kids have?
Speaker 4 (21:23):
I agree completely, and one thing that I really
recognize from kids kids thesedays is there so much more
connected I do sound so old, Iam old, and that's okay Is that
they are so much more aware andconnected into the greater
community and into the worldthan I was at that age.
(21:46):
And that's what I think isgoing to be a really significant
benefit for them that they'realready thinking about what
fills their cup and what theirvalues are.
I don't remember being a seniorin high school and really
thinking about that.
I thought, well, I know I needto go to college, my parents
have told me that's what I needto do, but I didn't have the
(22:12):
thought process of thinkingthrough like what my values were
and luckily I fell into a placebecause of some decisions and
because there were someopportunities that opened up
that really led me down thatpathway.
But I think kids are much morethoughtful about that now.
Speaker 1 (22:27):
I think they're way more thoughtful.
I think that there's a lot ofreal negatives to the way they
socially interact.
And I think there's a lot ofreal negatives to the way they
socially interact and I thinkthere's a lot of amazing
positives, and that's one of thepositives.
I mean they are plugged intothe world and the things and
everything going on and they'rejust much more aware.
I also worry as I interact withthem socially.
(22:49):
In fact, in the talk I gavelast week, I just said hey,
listen, if you're sitting inthis room today, if you can
figure out how to walk up tosomeone, look them in the eye,
shake their hand, connect withthem emotionally and express
your desires and genuine self tothem, you're going to win.
Yeah, there's not that many ofyou out there anymore.
(23:10):
I think, that's the only realbig thing is as you interact.
Is that the kids that are ableto do that in a world that's
become largely technical,especially with generations,
that we still connect with eightpeople?
Yeah, we still.
I mean, you know how businessis done, right?
I mean you're still, it'shuman-human interaction and yeah
(23:31):
, there's teams meetings andyeah, there's all this other
stuff, but ultimately you'regoing to meet and try to connect
your wishes, desires and dreamswith other people and come
together and find common groundand do great things together,
and that's where joy comes from,and that and all a lot of real
soft social skills.
Speaker 4 (23:48):
Yeah, I agree, I could not do my job without the
personal relationships andconnections.
I can't imagine a world where,of course, nonprofits that are
so human, focused, where that'snot the majority of my day, or
future executive directors, orfuture nonprofit workers.
(24:08):
Now there's a lot of thingswith technology that are going
to help streamline someprocesses.
Speaker 1 (24:16):
And listen, I'm an old guy, I'm like the you know
Gran Torino Clint Eastwoodcharacter get off my lawn.
But like it is going to change,I think AI is going to make it
even more crazy out there.
Do think these real human, youknow soft skill characteristics
that make us humans are going toget more and more important as
(24:38):
they become.
More and more, uh, they adaptto the changes.
Hey one of the things I wasgoing to ask you is is another
question I got last week thatwas a really good one and you're
the right person to ask thistoo is they said well, how do
you, how do you make adifference in the community and
how do you plug in?
And I just said really quicklygo volunteer.
I mean one of the things we'vebeen here a long, long, long,
long time.
But as I talk to my friendsthat are in other cities and
(24:58):
even in the Intermountain Westand Pacific Northwest, we have a
community that really gives andso many strong, thoughtful
leaders within the nonprofitcommunity and then they all have
boards and subcommittees andways to volunteer.
And it's one of the firstthings I say when I'm asked hey,
how do I plug into a community?
(25:19):
Go volunteer, yes, go look atsomething that you're passionate
about and then just go meetpeople and serve and interact
and you'll be surprised how theywill use you and need you and
maybe put you on a subcommitteeand and pretty soon you're a
graduating senior from CUNA highschool and you're working at
the botanical gardens,volunteering, and you have this
group of people and all of asudden you have all these
(25:40):
connections.
Speak to that a little bit,because I think it's a powerful
tool for young professionalslooking to engage.
Speaker 4 (25:46):
I agree, I think it's , I agree, I think it's not only
important for youngprofessionals, but I also think
it's important for every agedemographic, for young
professionals, as they're tryingto determine where are their
values, what are their values,what direction do they want to
(26:07):
go in for their career.
But gosh, lately we've had somany people who are retired, who
are reaching out looking forcommunity Excellent point, and
at the botanical garden we'relucky enough that we have these
opportunities.
Our volunteer program is reallygrowing and it's growing in all
(26:30):
age demographics, butspecifically in that like over
60, where people are comingtogether and they could be doing
gardening, horticulture.
They could also be comingtogether for events and helping
support the garden and theevents, but we see that with all
age groups.
I think the impact of that, notonly for the organization but
(26:53):
for the individuals, is youreally do build this sense of
community.
You have friends, you havepeople who have the similar
values and beliefs as you do.
So, whether you're choosing todo that by coming to the
Botanical Garden and helping usmanage and maintain our grounds
or make sure people aren'tgetting wild at one of our
(27:13):
concerts, you can go to the foodbank you can go to your local
church.
you can, you know, go to a lotof organizations that are
supporting children in ourcommunity.
There's just so many ways.
And I think you know in Idahowe have I don't remember the
statistics, but I think it'spretty high per capita the
amount of nonprofits in thestate of Idaho.
(27:36):
So it's not hard to find agroup and to find your people.
And by getting connected inwhether you're 17 or 18 or
you're in your 40s or you're inyour 60s, I think it helps also
create a connection to thegreater community, not just the
small community that's.
At that organization you startto really understand the
(28:00):
importance of everyone comingtogether, especially in a time
that we are so challenged toconnect with each other, whether
it's over politics or values.
And I'll tell you what when youcome to, say, the Idaho
Botanical Garden and you'revolunteering, we're not talking
about politics, we're nottalking about divisive topics.
Speaker 1 (28:23):
You find things that you connect with and you find
that, hey, there's a lot ofthings there's still I mean, I
think the way things are set upnow, there's so many things that
just pull apart and thrive onthat and profit on that,
especially the way we consumemedia, but it is that it'll be
(28:44):
what saves us, by the way.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
It will be.
Speaker 1 (28:46):
I mean, it's going to be neighbors and coming
together and what do we have incommon?
And how do we?
How do we do this together?
Yeah, that ends up saving us.
It's not going to be this otherstuff.
Speaker 4 (28:59):
So no, and we see that a lot, not only through our
volunteer programs but througha lot of the events at the
botanical garden.
You can come to a bonnie rateor a lord huron or a steve Steve
Miller band concert at thegarden and nobody is talking
about politics, they're talkingabout the artists, they're
(29:19):
talking about the musician andthey're not talking about these
topics that are dividing us as acommunity.
They're talking about theirlove for music or they're simply
sitting in community andenjoying being in the beautiful
garden and the outdoors.
And I think for me that when Isee that, it just makes my you
(29:40):
know, it fills my cup, it makesmy heart full, because those
aren't the types ofconversations Everybody's coming
together and they're havingthis beautiful shared experience
.
Speaker 1 (29:49):
Let's shift to the garden, let's talk, give us the
history and give us a little bitabout, about the non-profit,
what it does, um, and some ofthe exciting things that I know
you have.
You've hit on a little bit, butlet's formally kind of yeah,
let's celebrate it great, sorry,um.
Speaker 4 (30:08):
So the Botanical Garden was founded in 1984 by Dr
Christopher Davidson and thegoal of Christopher and a
handful of community members wasto bring horticulture to the
Treasure Valley, to the oldIdaho penitentiary, and it's
(30:35):
very unique in that there'sthree gardens, I've heard, that
are directly adjacent to an oldpenitentiary.
One is Alcatraz and the otherone I have no idea where it is,
I don't even know if it exists.
So we're very unique at theIdaho Botanical Garden, just in
the location.
We're in a very historicdistrict.
We were founded this is our41st year and we have grown
(30:55):
exponentially over the years,expanded our mission a little
bit to incorporate morecommunity gathering spaces
within the programs and reallythe product that we present
programs and really the productthat we present.
(31:16):
Where we are now is, we have 15acres of developed garden
spaces.
Our mission is to connectpeople, plants and nature and we
do that several ways.
Most obviously and first andforemost, we're a botanical
garden and we want to be a placeof beauty and we want to be a
place that displays plantcollections that grow well here
in our region.
We are in the sagebrush steppeecosystem.
(31:39):
That's important.
You are not going to seetropical flowers and plants at
the Idaho Botanical Garden.
We want people to come andvisit our space and see how they
can replicate the beauty thatwe have at the garden in their
own homes.
Additionally, we focus oneducational programming.
We work with children and adults.
(32:00):
We see over 6,000 kids thatcome through the garden gates
for activities like field tripsthat are based on horticulture
and gardening and justecosystems.
In general, the majority of ourprogramming, if not all, is
STEAM-based, so that's science,technology, engineering, arts
(32:22):
and math.
And then we also have adultprogramming so we bring adults
together to talk about specificthings as they're related to
horticulture.
Adults together to talk aboutspecific things as they're
related to horticulture soilcourses, planting, you know, pot
courses.
Sometimes it'll be moreartistic We've had things like
in the past painting courses butreally an opportunity for
(32:44):
people to grow a love andappreciation of the outdoors and
feel really connected intoplants and the land and seek the
positive benefits of that.
And then the last component ofour mission and what it is that
we accomplish at the garden isthrough our events and cultural
(33:04):
arts, and those are what manypeople in our community know us
for.
We host Outlaw Field ConcertSeries, where it is
world-renowned musicians thatare coming to the Garden and
playing in partnership.
Speaker 1 (33:16):
I just got something this morning, I think Charlie
Crockett.
Speaker 4 (33:20):
Charlie Crockett's coming for the second time, I
think that one will be a sellouthe's amazing.
He's amazing.
We work with Seymour Concertson that series, so I am not
directly responsible, so don'trequest shows from me.
Seymour Concerts does such anamazing job of filling that
series.
But we also have a smallconcert series also.
It's called Great Garden Escape.
(33:40):
It's really a family-friendlyseries that's located up in the
garden.
We have other events andactivities Winter Garden Aglow,
which most people have been toin the community.
Speaker 1 (33:50):
Total tradition for us, forever.
Speaker 4 (33:52):
All of these events.
They're really they'refundraisers for us.
That's how we keep the gardengates open year round.
That's how we ensure that we'reproviding the educational
resources that we provide andensuring that the garden stays
beautiful.
And there's a couple otherprograms that people are pretty
unaware of that we're reallyproud of.
We have a pretty deeppartnership with the Idaho
(34:16):
Department of Corrections.
There's a women's correctionalfacility that's located in the
district and we have a workforcedevelopment type program with
women from the correctionalfacility where they come to the
garden and we train them onevent logistics and management.
Horticulture, provide work forwomen from the facility, and the
(34:39):
goal is that one day, when theyare no longer incarcerated,
that they will have a new skillset to be able to bring into the
community or, for the ones thatchoose, we like to keep them on
and that they continue work atthe Idaho Botanical Garden.
A lot of people don't know aboutthat program and that's okay,
(35:01):
because we really are protectiveof the women from the facility
who work at the garden and wewant to, you know, support their
growth and their developmentand their anonymity.
But it's one of thoseopportunities that we have to
give back to the community in away that many people don't know
about.
Speaker 1 (35:21):
And I'm sure you've got some stories.
I mean the impact of whensomeone is coming out and
getting a job, which is theiridentity and their purpose.
I'll bet you have some reallygreat stories and anyone.
I know I've got a lot offriends that do that and it's
part of the best work that'sdone.
Speaker 4 (35:40):
Yeah, as we're looking at expanding our garden
and continuing to develop theuncultivated acreage that we
have.
One of the goals is to build ahorticulture therapy garden,
really with women from thefacility in our community in
mind, because being in natureand working with plants is very
(36:02):
healing, and when I firststarted at the garden it was
probably 2016 that this happenedI was up at Shore Lodge and
enjoying a weekend and I was inthe restaurant and talking about
what I had done.
I think I was with thebartender and a couple friends
and enjoying, you know, a drink,and he was asking me what I did
(36:26):
and I said I worked at theIdaho Botanical Garden.
And a woman that was sitting atthe bar just a few stools down
said did you say you work at theBotanical Garden in Boise?
And I said I did.
And she said you know thatgarden saved my life.
I said oh, that's reallyinteresting.
How so?
Tell me about that.
She was incarcerated at thefacility across the street, and
(36:52):
when you're first living in thatfacility, you're able to go out
into the community and do somevolunteer work, and we're one of
the selected sites that you cando volunteer work and then, as
you continue on in the facility,then you are open to be able to
do different types of work andjobs.
But she was in the positionwhere she was able to volunteer
(37:14):
and she said that she was reallydepressed, she was incarcerated
.
She had children.
She was no longer able to seethem at the same level that she
really wanted to see them and itwas really hard for her to get
out of bed.
But one of her the other womenwho was in the facility started
bringing her over to volunteerat the garden and she didn't
(37:34):
want to come at first, but whenshe started coming and being
able to experience nature andjust the healing powers of being
outdoors and being in thegarden, she was really able to
start getting out of bed andstart moving forward.
That's beautiful out of bed andstart moving forward.
And when I heard her and Iheard that story, I just thought
(38:02):
, wow, what, what other impactscan we have here in our
community that are beyond whatwe, what we recognize, you know,
beyond the children that arecoming in for the programming or
the you know massive amount ofpeople who are coming in for our
events?
Like there's probably for thatone story.
There's probably for that onestory, there's probably
thousands and thousands of otherstories that are similar, of
how connecting with nature inthat way really helps people.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
Yeah, what a what a beautiful story.
You also have plans for someexpansion.
I'm going to your website'shere for those that are watching
on YouTube, so it's a greatplace to go navigate.
You got your events andeverything else.
Is there any information on thefuture of the garden and talk
about that?
Speaker 4 (38:41):
There is.
There is information.
It's kind of a little bithidden, but you can find it.
So right before the pandemic,we had started looking
organizationally of what's nextfor the Idaho Botanical Garden.
As I mentioned, we've been herefor 40 years.
Um, we have grown bit by bit.
Um, the garden is a little bitof a Frankenstein garden, is the
(39:05):
way that I would describe it.
Sometimes parts and pieces ofit have literally been held up
with duct tape and dental flossover the years because we have
been so strappy in the way thatwe have expanded.
It's been garden space bygarden space, and we recognize
that there's a need and a desirein our community to build a
(39:29):
space that really meets theneeds of the community and to
provide a better experience whenyou visit the garden.
How can we start pulling downsome of the duct tape and dental
floss and, you know, reallyprovide a space that is not only
a beautiful space but afunctional space and can
continue to offer amazingopportunities for our community?
(39:53):
So we started doing some workon what's called a master plan
and a master plan for abotanical garden.
It's essentially, it's a map ofwhat the garden will become,
but it's all based on communityneed and the programmatic needs
of the space.
So as we began working towardsthis master plan, we got a
(40:14):
little derailed with COVID andhad to postpone and pause.
But in 2021, we really dove inand started having some
community meetings, bringing inkey stakeholders, to determine
what is it that we need in Boise, what type of a garden could we
be and what should we become.
(40:36):
During that time of the pandemic, I was volunteering quite a bit
at the Boise Farmer's Market.
That was my social outlet.
That was the only thing that Icould really do to see people my
partner and I were, andsometimes the kids, and we were
talking with some of theorganizers of the market and
with their need to have apermanent location for the Boise
(40:59):
Farmer's Market.
This is the one that's over onShoreline If you've been here in
Boise for a long time at theold Kmart I think it's funny we
all still call it the old Kmart.
It's been years.
They had a desire to have apermanent space.
We know also in our communitythat there's organizations some
of them that popped up duringthe COVID pandemic, like City of
(41:22):
Good, which helps to feed andsupport families here with some
really healthy, great food.
With some really healthy, greatfood.
There's also a lot of culturalarts groups who are struggling
for performance space.
We have a lack of performancespace here in the Treasure
Valley, especially for a certainspecific size.
(41:44):
So we started in 2021 meetingwith not only community
stakeholders individuals butalso other nonprofits in the
area to say what are your needsand how can we all come together
on this project.
So in 2022, we finalized ournew master plan and it's pretty
massive and it's a largeundertaking that you know.
(42:08):
As you know, tommy, sometimesmaster plans take years and
years and years Taking.
That you know.
As you know, tommy, sometimesmaster plans take years and
years, and years.
But we are working right now ata phase one of the plan.
And phase one of our expansionplan includes several different
components 4.6 acres of newgarden space.
Those gardens are going to bethere's an outdoor amphitheater,
(42:32):
working a lot with the culturalarts groups in our community to
determine what does that stagelook like?
What is the size?
We'll see about 1,200individuals.
We're building an arboretum inpartnership with a local
foundation.
Boise has a arboretum desert.
Essentially.
Our closest arboretum is maybeup in northern Idaho or at Red
(42:55):
Butte Botanic Garden.
But for being the city of trees, we have no official arboretum.
So we're going to build anarboretum.
I'd mentioned before ourinterest in horticulture therapy
.
We're going to build ahorticulture therapy garden, a
new vegetable garden that'sclose down to the entrance of
the space and a scholar gardenthat's going to be dedicated to
(43:17):
Christopher Davidson, ourfounding director.
So lots of new beautiful spaces.
But also we'll be building it'sabout a 22,000 square foot
visitor center and within thatvisitor center we'll have indoor
permanent year-round classroomspace and event space and also a
(43:37):
food hub, which is essentiallya network of individuals, but
also a physical space inpartnership with City of Good
and the Boise Farmer's Market,where local farmers that are
selling produce at the BoiseFarmers Market will be able to
utilize the space to minimallyprocess, package and store their
product to get that out intothe greater community.
(44:00):
And that would be throughprograms like City of Good for
low-income families, but also sothat farmers are able to move
that into the market throughrestaurants or hospitals, and
then we'll have an officialparking garden.
We call it but a parking lot.
Right now it's a dirt lot.
So there's a lot of reallygreat opportunities within the
(44:21):
first phase as you look at thesecond phase and the third phase
of the garden.
The second phase, which willcome much later, will really be
focused on infrastructure of ourcurrent garden space and some
redesign, but it'll essentiallystay the same.
And then the third phasethere'll be opportunities for
some very minimal cultivatededucational space that focuses
(44:45):
on the ecology of Boisefoothills.
So it's a lot.
Speaker 1 (44:49):
It's amazing, um, and such a need and such a.
I mean the location too.
You talked about the locationby the penitentiary and where it
sits in, in the kind of base ofthe foothills there where it
sits in Boise Um, what, what agreat um.
I often sometimes think aboutplaces like this that have taken
hundreds of years to thousandsof years, but hundreds of years
(45:13):
as a civilized, boise-organizedplace and the history behind it,
and then where that twists andturns and then the role of the
botanical garden in thathistoric place and how it
continues to give back.
It's really pretty incredibleLeadership.
Talk about that or time's goingreally quick, but you are very
(45:37):
well known as a very dynamicleader and you're on the Boise
Chamber board in the Valley.
You said you're out and aboutbut you're constantly leading
and doing things.
A lot of our listeners areleaders or looking for
inspiration as leaders.
Tell us some of your key go-tosfor leadership and kind of some
(46:00):
of your philosophies.
Speaker 4 (46:05):
Yeah, where I really like to put my focus and my
leadership is in listening andhelping bring people along.
I have a master's inorganizational leadership and
change management and whenpeople ask me like what is the
key to change and changeleadership, and I really say you
(46:28):
have to listen and you have toinvolve people in the
decision-making process.
When I first started at thegarden, there was a lot of
opportunities to makeimprovements and I had spent
some time focused on that,literally buying chairs, you
know, and new desks, becausethings were falling apart.
But what I've learned aboutleadership along the way is
(46:53):
dialogue and surroundingyourself with people who are
smarter than you are really whatmake a difference.
We don't make a lot of decisionsat the Botanical Garden.
I don't make a lot of decisionswithout getting feedback from
others.
Now, there's a couplesituations where you're thrown
into a crisis, like the pandemic, and you just have to start
making choices.
(47:14):
But I think that's what makesthe Botanical Garden such an
interesting organization, andwhat my philosophy on leadership
has been is how do we continueto maintain dialogue?
Now, sometimes you're going tohave to make a decision as a
leader that everybody isn't onboard with, but when people feel
(47:34):
that they have had a voice inthe decision to be made.
I think it changes theperception of that change and,
you know, and helps people movethrough the change.
But change is hard.
There's a grieving process.
Speaker 1 (47:50):
Well, and you're just spot on.
I mean, I think one of thethings I say all the time is
vision, clarity, plan action andvision.
That's leadership.
But then the clarity partpeople skip over.
And clarity is where you do geteveryone on board.
Listen, make sure everyone isharmonizing in thought and mind
before you go forward, beforeyou even get to the plan,
because if not, they're notgoing to be part of this plan.
(48:12):
No If they weren't included inthat clarity, so I think that's
really really great.
Lastly, talk about Boise.
Speaker 4 (48:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (48:22):
This place.
Speaker 4 (48:24):
I love Boise.
I love it so much Um I.
What I love about Boise is, um,sometimes I think the best
qualities and the worstqualities about people and
organizations and communitiescan be one in the same.
I love that I cannot go to thegrocery store without running
(48:45):
into somebody I know.
And sometimes I want to go tothe grocery store and just get
my you know groceries, but Ilove that feeling of connection
and community.
And sometimes I want to go tothe grocery store and just get
my groceries, but I love thatfeeling of connection and
community.
And I think that as a city weare constantly moving forward
and looking to do better andlooking to make a difference, a
(49:07):
difference.
And when I meet with people whohave not been to Boise and they
come to visit, sometimesthey're connected with the
garden or an activity or anevent.
Or, you know, we're hiring aconsultant and they say tell me
what I need to know about Boise.
And I say people are very kindand they're very friendly and
(49:29):
it's not fake.
When you walk down the streetand somebody waves at you and
smiles and asks how your day is,they really want to know.
And there's hundreds of storiesthat I could tell about how
I've experienced that, but Ithink because of that, we're
attracting a lot moreindividuals into our community.
I think that's one of thereasons that we're growing so
(49:50):
much is that Boise and Idahoit's people who are very
heartfelt and very genuine andreally want to be supportive of
each other and see each othergrow, and you don't get that in
a lot of other communities and Ithink there's a lot of
challenge with the growth thatwe're experiencing.
(50:12):
But we get to have a lot ofvery interesting and thoughtful
conversations about what thatlooks like and how we can do
better, and I think Boise hasalways been focused on that.
I can't think back on a time,you know and I'm almost native
here and to Boise that wehaven't been looking for a
(50:35):
better way to support ourcommunity members, and we see
that in the everyday small actsthat people you know will go
through and will contribute, andin some of the bigger ways as
well.
Speaker 1 (50:49):
That's beautiful, and I do, and you just I mean,
you're just hitting on so manythings.
I believe, with everything isit is a small ax right?
You know, we're all involved inthis community and there's
always these big visions andplans, and whether it's at the
botanical gardens or the city orwherever but but ultimately,
our days and our happiness andour interaction are the small
(51:12):
acts.
It's the little things thatpeople do and say and the way
they're thoughtful, the way theyconnect, and I I think it's
just such part of of ourheritage and our people.
I love that about this place.
Whether you've been here foryour whole life or you've been,
it just becomes part of you, andyou hear that from people that
are new here.
They're just like I just lovethis place.
I also think that we have sucha sense of pride in our
(51:36):
community.
Yes, it's so clean it matchesthat heritage and friendly, but
it also whenever we have guestsin town and we go downtown or
take that, it's just they'relike you know, they hadn't been
here before and they're likeit's so clean and nice and safe
and all those things that makeit so great.
So well, thank you for all youdo.
Speaker 4 (51:55):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (51:57):
It's an amazing service to be such a dynamic
leader and lead such animportant nonprofit in our
community and it touches all ofour families as we come visit
and enjoy and can't wait towatch the progress as you grow
and keep doing great things letus know how we can help any any.
For anyone listening that needsno more.
(52:17):
It's idaho botanical gardensorgthat's right.
Speaker 4 (52:21):
That's right.
Come out and visit us.
We have plenty of activitiesand opportunities and even just
time to wander around in thegarden when it's nice and quiet.
Speaker 1 (52:29):
So I love it.
Speaker 4 (52:30):
Thanks for coming on today, thank you thanks,
everybody.
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