Editing Botanical garden (section)

==== Missions and strategy ====

The [[Center for Plant Conservation]] at [[St Louis, Missouri]], coordinates the conservation of native North American species.<ref>{{Harvnb|Huxley|1992|p=377}}</ref> The 2006 ''North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Plant Conservation'' sets out its goals to document and conserve plant diversity, to use that diversity sustainably, to educate the public about plant diversity, build conservation capacity, and to build support for the strategy itself.<ref>{{cite web |title=North American Botanic Garden Strategy for Plant Conservation |publisher=Botanic Gardens Conservation International |year=2006 |url=http://www.bgci.org/files/Worldwide/Conservation/north_american_plant_conservation_strategy.pdf}}</ref>

A 2024 review in a special issue of the ''Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens'' on the sustainability of botanic gardens noted their increasing roles in conservation and research, and the many new gardens created since 1950. In its view, the gardens are being "reinvent[ed]" to serve the goals of conservation, sustainability, and social engagement. It observes that historically, the gardens emerged in an era that saw both the growth of modern science and the colonial era. In response, the gardens have engaged in decolonising and in "new socio-environmental missions". Finally, it attempts to view the gardens on a global scale.<ref name="Neves 2024">{{cite journal |last=Neves |first=Katja Grötzner |title=Botanic Gardens in Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainability: History, Contemporary Engagements, Decolonization Challenges, and Renewed Potential |journal=Journal of Zoological and Botanical Gardens |volume=5 |issue=2 |date=31 May 2024 |doi=10.3390/jzbg5020018 |doi-access=free |pages=260–275}}</ref> 
A 2023 historical review by Chinese botanists similarly notes the long history of botanical gardens from the medicinal gardens of the first universities in [[Renaissance]] Europe, and from China's ancient [[Shennong]] herbal garden tradition. The gardens have in its view continuously adapted to new demands in a changing environment, coming to serve the "core mission of [[Ex situ conservation|''ex situ'' conservation]]".<ref name="Liao Ni He 2023">{{cite journal |last=Liao |first=Jingping |last2=Ni |first2=Dujuan |last3=He |first3=Tuo |last4=Huang |first4=Hongwen |title=Historical review, current status and future prospects of global botanical gardens |journal=Biodiversity Science |volume=31 |issue=9 |date=2023 |doi=10.17520/biods.2023256 |doi-access=free |page=23256 |url=https://www.biodiversity-science.net/EN/article/downloadArticleFile.do?attachType=PDF&id=97919 |access-date=3 February 2025}}</ref>

Botanical gardens must find a compromise between the need for peace and seclusion, while at the same time satisfying the public need for information and visitor services that include restaurants, information centres and sales areas that bring with them rubbish, noise, and [[hyperactivity]]. Attractive [[landscaping]] and planting design sometimes compete with scientific interests&nbsp;— with science now often taking second place. Some gardens are now heritage landscapes that are subject to constant demand for new exhibits and exemplary environmental management.<ref>{{cite web |title=Environmental management |url=http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/horticulture/environmental-management |access-date=6 August 2010 |publisher=[[Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne]] |date=8 June 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100731004007/http://www.rbg.vic.gov.au/horticulture/environmental-management |archive-date=31 July 2010}}</ref>