Miami Beach Botanical Garden Upcoming Events
Do not miss the following events at Miami Beach Botanical Garden, from poetry to horticultural therapy.
Poetry in Pajamas
Saturday • April 2 • 6pm-8:30pm
Join us for our 5th annual “Poetry in Pajamas" -- a free event providing an open mic for children of all ages. Under a sparkling crescent moon, brothers Sam and Simon, along with new co-host Aria will be hosting this star studded event.
Kids recite their favorite poem, published or original, in front of an audience of pajama clad peers.
In addition to the poetry, enjoy live performances by Afrobeta, an interactive art station by Dale Zine, pizza for sale by Simply Good Pizza, and many more special surprises.
We can't wait to see you! Please RSVP here.
SECOND SATURDAY SEMINAR
Horticulture Therapy
Saturday • April 9 • 10am-11:30pm
Marcia Bartczak of GreenThread HT will explain how to improve health, healing, and wellness through horticultural therapy. Researchers from many different areas study the effect that plants have on human well-being and improved quality of life. Research focuses on the psychological, sociological, physiological, economic, and environmental effects of plants on people. Join us after the seminar for a hands on portion in the nursery.
Free but please RSVP here.
FREE PERFORMANCE
Dance NOW! presents Short Stories in the Garden with the South Beach Chamber Ensemble
Sunday • April 10 • 4:30pm and 6pm
The Miami Beach Botanical Garden becomes the stage for this open air performance, with stories inspired by the bucolic poetry of the nineteenth century Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli. Actor Susie Taylor will bring the poems to life, danced by DNM to the lyrical music of contemporary composer Mark Carlson. Stroll through the Garden, following the performers in an unforgettable journey of spoken word, dance and music.
This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP here.
NEW EXHIBITION
Tree Huggers and Nests: The Art of Evelyn Politzer
April 13 – May 29
More than a cultural event, this exhibition is a call to action showing the need to defend and create measures to protect the planet’s natural reserves, particularly the Everglades in Florida. Evelyn Politzer’s work pays an homage to the Everglades. The use of organic materials produces changes or mutations, that gradually blend within nature, making the viewer aware of the beauty of our environment.
Both exhibitions take place outdoors in the Garden. In assembling the tree branches for the nests and drawing together lines of threads and wool, Evelyn, like a storyteller, creates a narrative of disappearance and survival. Each Nest tells the story of an endangered bird, and each Tree Hugger is a call for unity, action and transformation.
The use of colors, form, space, as well as the use of various materials in the work of Evelyn Politzer, shows how fully aware the artist is of art’s social responsibility. Preservation is the only way to recover what is still left, therefore the artist offers us an ethical reflection and a utopian model about the possibilities of dialogue between humans and nature.
NEW EXHIBITION
Native Orchids of South Florida: The Photography of Drew Mullin
April 19 – May 29
Florida is home to 106 native species of orchids, of which 77 are considered either endangered or threatened by the State of Florida due to habitat destruction and poaching.
This exhibition by the Garden's Orchid Specialist and Photographer Drew Mullin is a collection of photos taken in various parts of the everglades over the last 15 years, and brings awareness to these threatened orchids by showcasing their beauty in their natural habitat.
In celebration of Earth Month, the Garden is delighted to host such a meaningful and optimistic survey through photographs that are works of art on their own.
FREE & FAMILY FRIENDLY
Earth Day Celebration
Thursday • April 21 • 6pm–9pm
Join us for our annual Earth Day Celebration at the garden! We've got a great schedule of events:
6PM - VINYASA FLOW YOGA
Align with nature as Franci leads a gentle class (bring your mat)
7:30PM - SAVING THE FLORIDA WILDLIFE CORRIDOR
This short film presents the efforts being taken to protect the Florida Wildlife Corridor, a statewide network of public preserves and private working lands, that works to balance Florida’s rapid growth with the green infrastructure that supports all Floridians.
NATIVE PLANT GIVEAWAY: One free plant per person while they last
COMPOSTING: Pick up a free bag of organic Garden compost
BEEKEEPING: Sample honey from the Garden’s hives
SUSTAINABILITY: Learn about City of Miami Beach initiatives
PELICAN SEABIRD STATION: Learn all about their Florida bird rescue
PURA VIDA MIAMI: Kombucha samples
BOTANICAL BAR: New signature cocktails & light vegetarian bites
ART EXHIBITION OPENINGS:
Tree Huggers and Nests: The Art of Evelyn Politzer
Native Orchids of South Florida: The Photography of Drew Mullin
Please RSVP here.
A Look Back at the First Earth Day
By Kaveri Marathe, Green Your Scene contributor
Today it’s the largest secular civic event in the world but it all started with one pioneering senator from Wisconsin in 1970. We’re talking about Earth Day. Celebrated every April 22 (Miami Beach Botanical Garden will host its annual celebration on April 21) Earth Day began as a call to action to stop the degradation of our water, air, and land.
Elected in 1962, Senator Gaylord Nelson had a deep love of nature, having grown up along the pristine waters of Clear Lake, Wisconsin. But by the late 1960s, he found that his constituents were frustrated with underfunded green spaces and growing pollution. Throughout the 60s, major environmental disasters across the country, such as the burning of the Cuyahoga River in Ohio, an oil spill in Santa Barbara (still the third largest in U.S. history) and several nuclear disasters, were raising environmental awareness generally. The decade also saw a reaction to citizens’ growing concern with the founding of the World Wildlife Fund, Environmental Defense Fund and the publication of Silent Spring.
But while much of the reaction over the decade was citizen-led, little action had been taken on the federal level to conserve nature or protect the environment. Inspired by the sit-ins during the Vietnam War, Senator Nelson conceived of Earth Day as an event to galvanize youth on college campuses across the country to take up the environmental movement and drive more lasting change. Little did he know just how successful his event would be.
Held on April 22, 1970 – a day chosen to maximize student attendance on campuses – the first Earth Day saw rallies in cities across the U.S., from Los Angeles to New York with thousands of attendees nationwide. The event has remained highly successful, expanding globally in the 1990s. Earth Day’s true success has been not only raising awareness and bringing people together around the environmental movement, it has also led those citizens to demand legislation for lasting environmental protection.
By the end of 1970, President Richard Nixon had signed an executive order creating the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA. By the end of the decade, more than 20 environmental laws were signed by Congress, including the Clean Air Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.
As we again find ourselves facing daunting environmental issues around the world, it helps to remember that when we come together, we can find solutions to even our greatest challenges. And it all starts with one person – maybe it’s you!
GARDEN AFTER DARK
Negroni's Trio with Rose Max & Ramatis
Friday • April 29 • 7pm-10pm
The April 29 edition of Garden After Dark brings together two musical forces to celebrate the music of an icon: Antonio Carlos Jobim. Negoni’s Trio, a Latin jazz power group, invites the award-winning duo Rose Max & Ramatis Moraes for a special night of Brazilian classics. Negroni's Trio is a Latin Grammy® nominated jazz piano trio founded by composer, pianist, instructor, and arranger José Negroni. The trio features his son Nomar Negroni, a Berklee College of Music graduate, on drums. Together they have played in major jazz festivals around the world and multiple times at the famed Blue Note in New York City.
Since moving to Miami from Rio de Janeiro in 1993, singer Rose Max and guitarist Ramatis Moraes have built a stellar career and won multiple Miami New Times “Best of Miami” awards. This incredibly versatile duo performs various styles of Brazilian music including bossa nova, jazz, MPB (Brazilian Popular Music), choro, samba and more. They perform solo, as a duo, in various band formations, jazz big band and even with symphony orchestras. In 2013 Rose Max and Ramatis were featured guests on the CD “Bossa Nova Sinfónico,” recorded with the National Symphonic Orchestra of Costa Rica. The track “Abertura Jobiniana” earned a Latin Grammy® nomination for Best Original Classic Music.
Doors open at 7pm and show begins at 8pm. Our Botanical Bar will be serving light bites and cocktails -- no outside food or beverages please. Feel free to bring a blanket or lawn chair.
$35 non-members, $25 members (members call for code) • Buy tix here.
EXHIBITION EXTENDED
Five Contemporary Quilt Artists
This exhibition featuring the quilts of Kristin Beck, Susan DiBartolo, Isabella Elias, Deborah Krajkowski and Charlotte Noll has been extended through April 16 -- please stop by the Butterfly Gallery when you visit the Garden.