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4 THE TROPICAL Garden I have always appreciated our Garden’s rich history and innovative spirit. While we continue to celebrate the legacy of Col. Robert Montgomery and Dr. David Fairchild, we are also creating programs with a futuristic take on botany. This fall, we have been especially aware of our past, revisiting the world of Dr. Fairchild through an extraordinary trip to Southeast Asia. Last month, I spent 12 days on a wooden schooner with an adventurous group of longtime Fairchild supporters, members and volunteers. We retraced a route traveled by Dr. Fairchild on his 1940 botanical expedition, weaving our way among remote Indonesian islands that have changed very little during the last 76 years. The winter issue of The Tropical Garden will include stories from our trip, along with photos of the plants, places and people we encountered. While we were on our historic expedition, seeing the world through Dr. Fairchild’s eyes, our students were here in Miami contemplating plants from the perspective of an astronaut on a mission to Mars. Thousands of middle and high school students are participating in our NASA-funded Growing Beyond Earth project, sifting through the world’s edible plants to find varieties suited to growing on spacecraft. Several of our programs are pushing the boundaries of botany in similar ways. The Million Orchid Project, unique in its scale, is leveraging the enthusiasm of our community to reestablish rare orchids in city neighborhoods. We are also reimagining the design of tree plantings across Miami-Dade, through a scientific partnership with The Nature Conservancy and more than 100 elementary schools. Within the Garden, we are introducing, planting and studying new plants at a faster rate than ever, innovating and reshaping tropical horticulture for generations to come. As a Fairchild member, you are helping us preserve 83 acres of paradise carved out by our founders 80 years ago. Your membership, combined with the enthusiasm and generosity of our forward-thinking supporters, is also allowing us to chart the future of botany for our community, our planet and beyond. Best regards, Carl Lewis, Ph.D. Director from the director


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