Academic, internship, and cooperative extension programs at botanic gardens

Fifty-five online survey responses, 15 phone interviews, and 9 site visits were conducted to collect information on academic (for credit) classes, internships, and Cooperative Extension programs at botanic gardens and arboreta in the United States. Academic programs investigated were primarily instructional credit classes. Thirty-five (64%) of the respondents indicated their garden offers an entire or partial academic class on-site. The most limiting factor in offering more academic classes was faculty time or staff limitations, as indicated by 21 participants (38%). Thirty-one (56%) gardens offer some type of internship, although only 16 (30%) were offering an academic (for credit) internship. Respondents indicated extension involvement as follows: Extension Specialists/Extension Master Gardeners (EMG) teach classes on-site, 23 (42%); EMG training was held on-site, 17 (31%); EMG answered questions on-site, 16 (29%); and 26 (47%) indicated "other" extension collaboration. Sixty-six percent reported their working relationship with extension as minimal or fair as opposed to 33% who described their extension relationship as good to excellent. Examples of successful programs in these three areas are presented, which offer models for collaborative work between botanic gardens, academia, and extension.