National Tropical Botanical Garden to Celebrate 50th Anniversary with Agents of Change Symposium and Dinner

Symposium Hosts Experts in Science, Conservation, and Strategy to Discuss Botanic Gardens in the 21st Century

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Aug 20, 2014, 12:13 ET

WASHINGTON, Aug. 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG), in conjunction with the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, will hold a Symposium and Dinner Tuesday, October 7^th in Washington, DC. Celebrating the 50^th anniversary of NTBG's Congressional Charter, leading experts in preserving plant species, the impact of global changes on plants, changing global nutritional requirements for feeding the planet, and more will share the most pressing issues and trends.

Today, as dramatic changes to the Earth's climate and ecosystems unfold at an alarming rate, botanic gardens are being called upon to play a vital role as principal stewards in saving the natural world. The event will focus on four main themes: Extinction or Survival: Conserving plants in a changing world; Feast or Famine: How we can and will feed 9 Billion People; Biocultural Conservation: Interpreting the richness of the human experience; and Operational Sustainability: Are Botanic Gardens an endangered species?

Featured Symposium speakers include Dr. Peter Raven, President Emeritus of the Missouri Botanical Garden; Sir Tim Smit, Executive Chairman of Eden Regeneration Ltd and Eden Project co-founder; Professor Sir Ghillean Prance, former Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Eden Project and NTBG Trustee. The Dinner features remarks from Thomas Friedman, Pulitzer prize-winning author and New York Times columnist.

View event details and a full listing of presenters here.

WHO:	National Tropical Botanical Garden
WHAT:	Agents of Change: Botanic Gardens in the 21^st Century Symposium and Dinner
WHEN:	Tuesday, October 7, 2014
WHERE:	Symposium – Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC
	Dinner – The St. Regis Hotel, Washington, DC

For more information or to arrange interviews, contact Dana Doran at (202)-680-0282, [email protected].

About the National Tropical Botanical Garden: The National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG) is a not-for-profit institution, dedicated to discovering, saving, and studying the world's tropical plants and to sharing what is learned. NTBG encompasses nearly 2,000 acres of gardens and preserves, including the largest assemblages of native Hawaiian plant species and of breadfruit cultivars in existence. NTBG actively works to restore endangered plants and degraded habitats, further expanding its efforts to save plants that are otherwise faced with extinction. Visit http://ntbg.org/ or follow NTBG on Twitter and Facebook.

SOURCE National Tropical Botanical Garden