Fleur-ette

♪ light piano music ♪ Here at Powell Gardens we’re all about the importance of plants in your life and really what the Midwest Spirit of place um means to all of us here and sharing that with our visitors and community. So Powell Gardens has always been a place where people can come and enjoy the beauty of plant life and we’re excited to take it to the next step and not only about ornamental Gardens but also new opportunities with regenerative agriculture and the entire importance of plant life. We have the opportunity to really bring together uh this worldclass botanical garden with uh being able to showcase regenerative agriculture practices and education opportunities where we can emphasize to people the importance of plants, the importance of pollinators, and just the natural cycle of life. ♪ light synth music ♪ The spaces here at Powell Gardens are particularly special. You can have this space where the blending of indoor and outdoor, you know kind of the lines are blurred right so you can have this protected space but still experience what it’s like to be outside. And to be able to bring together oh even you know some of our cultural institutions like bringing the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, bringing um the Kansas City Ballet into some of these spaces where you’ve now created something that’s particularly unique. You don’t really feel like you’re enclosed or encapsulated but you are protected in these spaces. Since working at Powell Gardens, I’m constantly reminded that nature is resilient and I think the organization really reflects that resiliency. It’s incredible to see this this beautiful landscape that we provide to the Kansas City community. ♪ light synth music ♪ Tallgrass prairie once covered about 15 million acres in Missouri and now we are less than uh about half of 1% of Prairie remains. People may think they drive past on their highway and they see prairie ,but prairie is something really understood when you take take a step into the prairie. The diversity that we have in our tallgrass prairies, particularly where we’re located, has uh values comparable to the Amazon rainforest. Within a quarter meter you can find up to about 40 species. It’s incredible! More plants are at risk of extinction than all other fauna so our mammals, amphibians, reptiles and birds. Yet plants are the foundation and the basis for our ecosystems and a variety of other species. The conservation work that’s going on here we think about it making a big impact in our region but it’s also protecting plants across the globe through our collections, educating people on these collections, and also bringing them out into the landscapes that these plants live in. Powell Gardens has a new master plan that really takes us into the future. We really want to become that Midwest Center for regenerative agriculture and just be known as the leading authority on what’s next with nature and plant life. ♪ upbeat synth-pop music ♪ I choose to support Powell Gardens because the work we do here is really important. It’s important to Kansas City, it’s important to the Midwest. The value that this place brings is indescribable. I would encourage everybody to donate uh what you can whether it’s your time or your talent. It really takes a diverse group of people to make this place amazing. Obviously it takes financial uh support; it also takes a lot of diverse thought and a lot of uh diverse energy to bring to life all of the creative things that we do out here. There’s no better time than now to invest in Powell Gardens with so many new opportunities on the horizon. ♪ upbeat synth-pop music ♪