Arboretum Lectures
Lecture #1 - Education & Environment – Using an Arboretum to capture the minds of today’s youth! Sponsored by NC Arboretum
Lecture Summary: Get a behind-the-scenes tour of how the NC Arboretum’s education staff have designed programs that integrate with the Arboretum’s design to awaken the imaginations and curiosity of today’s youth. Screens cannot compete with dynamic, engaging programs with real nature. The program has resisted the typical playground model and has designed spaces that maximize creativity. Participants in this tour will learn about design techniques and key attributes that they can use in their designs.
Learning Objectives
- Learn how education is integrated into the physical spaces of the Arboretum.
- Learn how the Arboretum creates programs that focus on underserved populations
- Learn about the importance of outdoor education and how the spaces at the gardens support this mission area
Jonathan Marchal
Jonathan is an educator, naturalist, and environmental program director in Asheville, North Carolina. He has an interest in connecting people to the amazing plants and animals that surround them using citizen/community science. Jonathan is the creator of ecoEXPLORE, a youth and family-centered initiative that has allowed young people to contribute over 50,000 observations to crowd-based natural science with partners representing hundreds of libraries, parks, and greenways across North Carolina.
Lecture #2 - Imagining Olmsted - Creating public sculpture that has a connection to legacy and place - Sponsored by NC Arboretum
Lecture Summary: This talk will take participants through the process of creating the larger-than-life sculpture of Frederick Law Olmsted. Participants will learn about the owner/sculptor/donor process. A behind-the-scenes look into the multiple iterations of the design and how elements of the final piece connect to the more extraordinary history of Olmsted in Western North Carolina. This talk will also discuss the technical aspects of mounting and installing the sculpture in a public space.
Learning Objectives
1. Learn how and why the site was selected for the location of the larger-than-life sculpture.
2. Learn the construction administration methods for the installation of sculptures in a natural setting. This will include how the artist was selected and working with a commissioned artist on the piece for the site design.
3. Learn about design process and the materials used for this project.
Drake Fowler, PLA
Drake Fowler serves as the Deputy Executive Director and also functions as the Chief Financial Officer for The North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville. Drake also serves as the president of the Arboretum’s supporting non-profit organization. In these roles, Drake directs the Arboretum’s finance, development, horticulture, facilities, and information technologies departments. Managing the NC Arboretum’s $10 million annual budget, he directs daily operations and organizational strategy.
Before joining the Arboretum in 2015, Drake worked twelve years for Design Workshop, an international, award-winning landscape architectural firm, serving as the operations manager for both the Asheville office and the flagship office in Denver, Colorado.
Drake is currently the president of the North Carolina Chapter of ASLA