Author: pkincan

In our findings within the CODES research teams, my team dove into the history of African American knowledge within the garden. We discovered that the contributions of enslaved people to botany often go unrecognized or unacknowledged. These enslaved individuals lacked proper credit for their botanical discoveries. We aim to rectify this injustice by centering their stories and prioritizing reparative justice throughout our research. This semester we used surveys as a tool to hear directly from MOBOT. Our questions included some of the following: “How well do you think the gardens currently represent African American culture, history, and contributions?” and “What strategies or approaches do you suggest for effectively integrating African American knowledge into the garden’s initiatives?”. 

In analyzing the findings from both the survey and my time conducting research with my team, several themes and patterns emerged that shed light on the significance of Black representation and engagement within the gardens. Many participants believe the garden does a slightly good job at representing African American Knowledge, some say not well at all.

One significant theme that emerged was the desire for more diverse programming and representation within the Gardens. Many desire to see more events, exhibitions, and educational programs that highlight Black culture, history, and contributions to the field. One response from the survey states we can do the following: “Signs all around the garden. Celebrating and highlighting African American holidays, history, community, events, and employees. Opening access to the garden for efficiency.” This theme is particularly significant as these challenges of botanical gardens are solely dedicated to the study of plants and biodiversity, highlighting the need for these spaces to also serve as platforms for cultural exchange and celebration.

Something I found interesting while conducting the in-person interviews with the MOBOT employees was the significance donors have to the garden. Most, if not all donors at MOBOT are older, white, and upper class, and because they have a voice in where their money goes, African American Knowledge is not a top priority for most unfortunately. What can be done about this? Diverse programming and representation within the Gardens would be great. There is a huge lack of diversity within the staff and I believe donors can help with this problem. Donors can establish endowments to provide scholarships and fellowships for African American students and researchers interested in studying botany and related fields. By providing financial support for education and training opportunities, donors can help cultivate the next generation of African American botanists and scientists, ensuring their knowledge and perspectives are represented and valued within the botanical community. Many participants in the survey were white, this continues the need for diversity within the garden.

Moving forward, our research indicates the need for the Missouri Botanical Garden to confront and address the historical injustices perpetuated against enslaved individuals. This might involve initiatives such as creating educational programs and exhibits that highlight the contributions of enslaved botanists, establishing partnerships with descendant communities, and implementing policies that prioritize reparative justice. By centering the stories of these individuals, the Garden can work towards creating a more inclusive and equitable environment for all visitors.

Priscilla Kincanon

Hildebrandt

12, October 2023

CODE 120

MC #2

The Missouri Botanical Gardens has a herbarium with collections of preserved plants, specimens, and other data used for studies. One of the best research collections in the world for bryophytes and vascular plants is the herbarium at the Missouri Botanical Garden. These two main plant categories are the only ones included in the collection. In 2018, there were around 7 million specimens in the collection.

Example of plant pressing researchers use.

Although The Missouri Botanical Gardens herbarium is a great place for research to be conducted, wicked problems arise. There are access problems, excluding other systems of knowledge (very Western), and hard to sustain and fund.

One issue the herbarium faces is access problems. In a herbarium, all plants are concentrated in a single location. This wicked problem has no easy solution and can feel irreversible. Herbarium specimens may be vulnerable to deterioration from incorrect storage, water damage, mold, pests, detached specimens, dust, and dirt. Much of the potential damage can be reduced or avoided via proactive conservation.

There are three key bits of information on each herbarium sheet. The physical specimen itself, which consists of stems, leaves, roots, flowers, and fruits, is the most obvious. Researchers may identify the species from these and see how different the individual plants are within and between groups. The foundation for species descriptions and identification keys is the measurements and observations of specimens. The interior chemistry of the specimens can reveal additional information, including genetic information.

Another issue the herbarium faces is that it is Western and excludes other systems of knowledge. Sampling biases can be categorized broadly into various groups. The imbalanced sampling of some taxa or clades over others is known as taxonomic or phylogenetic bias, and it often results from a collector’s scholarly interests or the allure of plants. Geographic bias arises when samples are gathered more frequently in one location compared to another, frequently due to accessibility differences. There are big taxonomic gaps in data on the occurrence of plants worldwide, Strong temporal discontinuities in occurrence records across decades, extensive spatial gaps in areas with high concentrations of plant diversity, particularly in Asia, Central Africa, and the Amazon, and these factors can all make it difficult to draw conclusions about how current and upcoming environmental change will affect plants.

The last wicked problem the herbarium faces is that it’s hard to sustain and fund. Small herbaria’s are not digitizing their collections and making them accessible online for a variety of reasons. several tiny herbaria have challenges like a lack of financing, a staffing shortage, and curators who have several duties outside of the collection (such as teaching, counseling students, and conducting research outside the collections). Prioritizing these efforts becomes even more challenging because curators at smaller institutions frequently do not receive any credit toward promotion for their curatorial responsibilities. Additionally, collection managers and curators who desire to digitize could find it difficult to know where to start and what their alternatives are.

In conclusion, there are many wicked problems the herbarium faces. Herbarium specimens are used as a source of information on plant species (such as the habitats where they exist, when they flower, and what compounds they contain), as validation or documentation, as a reference for identification, and to record the diversity of plants in a specific geographic area.

References

Harris, Kari M, and Travis D Marsico. “Digitizing Specimens in a Small Herbarium: A Viable Workflow for Collections Working with Limited Resources.” Applications in Plant Sciences, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 11 Apr. 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5400430/. 

Priscilla Kincanon

Hildebrandt

CODE 120

20 Sept. 2023

MC #1

A societal or cultural problem is referred to as a “wicked problem” when it cannot be resolved because of a lack of information or knowledge that is inconclusive, a large number of people and points of view, a heavy financial burden, or the interconnectedness of the problem with other problems. Wicked problems are characterized as problems that cannot be solved; on the contrary, easy fixes are problems that have a straightforward and fast way of solving them. An easy fix seeks to solve the immediate problem but may not solve the underlying problem. 

The Missouri Botanical Gardens can be seen as a wicked problem. Page 68 of our class text, Sustainable World, talks about the six characteristics of wicked problems. These characteristics are vague problem definition, undefined solution, no endpoint, irreversible, unique, and urgent. The Missouri Botanical Gardens fits under a wicked problem because it goes with these characteristics. 

The first characteristic is the vague problem definition. There is diversity among stakeholders. Not everyone will agree with the issues that go along with the problem. There are many factors like geographic locations, different capacities to deal with it, different cultures, beliefs, values, and informal norms. Slavery played a crucial role in both the history of the United States and the city of St. Louis. Slavery left a lasting impression on our state, our city, and the Missouri Botanical Garden, from the Missouri Compromise to the legal dispute between Dred and Harriet Scott to the deeds of notable people in St. Louis history, such as Henry Shaw.

The next characteristic is the undefined solution. There is no definite solution when there’s a wicked problem. MBOT has a few methods. Most of what we know about the people enslaved by Shaw comes from archival records—bills of sale, tax records, census records, newspaper ads, and an early version of Shaw’s will. Examination of these records and the broader history they represent was carried out in collaboration with organizations and institutions that engage with challenging history.

Another characteristic is that there’s no endpoint. There are no final solutions to wicked problems. This is one of the methods MOBOT is using. More than 30 pages of pertinent documents from The Garden’s archives have been converted to digital format. We wish to provide others the chance to conduct their own study about the lives of the people featured here by making these source papers freely available to the public. 

The fourth characteristic is irreversible. The text says “Implementing a solution creates changes in the world that cannot be undone and will have real consequences.” (Remington-Doucett, 68). The garden is working on good solutions. Here is another one. The Garden continues to provide interpretive programming, displays, signage, and significant methods to communicate this heritage with our neighborhood. They invite everyone to continue on this path toward being a welcoming community. 

The 5th characteristic is unique. There are certain factors that go into a wicked problem that mean that the same solution will not work in all places. There are factors like cultural, political, social, environmental, technological, economic, and other issues depending on the problem. Shaw’s contacts with slavery were not isolated, which in no way excuses his behavior. Henry Shaw’s history is entwined with the histories of St. Louis, Missouri, and the United States as a whole. In this way, the recording of Shaw’s personal history aids in our comprehension of this larger history.

Characteristic number six is the one of a wicked problem and it is urgent. If there is no action right away, it could result in permanent harm to humans and/or natural systems. The textbook, Sustainable World, states “solutions must often be pursued prior to fully understanding the problem.” (Remington-Doucett, 69). The garden is working on fully understating the issue. The Missouri Botanical Garden webpage is where I get this next information. While keeping his city townhouse, Shaw opened the Missouri Botanical Garden in 1859 and spent a lot of time at Tower Grove House. Again, the lack of documents makes it difficult to determine where or for what types of jobs these slaves were employed.

Based on the material at our disposal, we are unable to declare with certainty if the Garden itself was constructed by slaves. It seems likely that Shaw’s slaves at this time were doing forced domestic labor at Tower Grove House, such as cooking and cleaning, based on the ages and genders indicated in the 1860 census.

The Garden is dedicated to expanding on its efforts to share the narratives of Shaw’s slaves and to draw attention to other individuals and underrepresented groups who have contributed to the Garden’s current success. The garden’s behavior and its duty to the community it serves are informed by understanding and respecting this past. To make these stories a more prominent part of the visiting experience, the Garden is actively reviewing the signage and display space on this wicked problem.