Sarah P. Duke Gardens letterbox]

2 messages in this thread | Started on 2003-05-22

[Fwd: [LbNA-WM] Sarah P. Duke Gardens letterbox]

From: Randy Hall (randy@mapsurfer.com) | Date: 2003-05-22 17:34:00 UTC-04:00

-------- Original Message --------
From: "stefanbloodworth"
Subject: [LbNA-WM] Sarah P. Duke Gardens letterbox
To:

Hello,

I am a horticulturist at the Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham, NC.
This Fall I became aware that a letterbox had been placed in the native
plant collection of which I am curator. Initially I felt that it's presence
there was fairly innocuous, as I rarely saw anyone visiting it. Recently
however, I have become concerned about the number of visitors to the
letterbox and the plants they are trampling to reach it. I have therefore
removed the box from the garden. I have it in my office where it can be
retrieved by the person who placed it there. It cannot be placed there
again, however. A botanic garden is not a wise place to locate one of these
things that attract people who, by and large have little interest in
anything but finding the box. Gardens such as ours play host to rare and
endangered species of plants, and I would hate to think that anyone would
think that finding a letterbox would be more important than protecting plant
species that are rapidly disappearing due to other kinds of human
encroachment. Please, let's try to keep letterboxes out of places like
botanic gardens. I would appreciate it if you would inform others that this
letterbox is no longer in place.

Thanks,

Stefan Bloodworth
Horticulturist

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Re: [LbNA] [Fwd: [LbNA-WM] Sarah P. Duke Gardens letterbox]

From: (PNWEXPLR@aol.com) | Date: 2003-05-23 01:25:28 UTC-04:00

It's funny how people can read the same message and get a different take on
it. I thought the horticulturalist's e-mail was calm, thoughtful and
diplomatic--especially considering that some of the Garden's plants had apparently been
disturbed. While I think that most people who indulge in our odd little
hobby have a greater than usual appreciation of the natural world, it's true that
it would only take one or two overanxious seekers to trample sensitive plants
and make letterboxing look incompatable with true appreciation of the place.

Who knows--maybe the placer can work something out with Mr. Bloodworth to
leave the box in a better place in the Garden that is less liable to
misinterpretation (or washout) and inadvertent distruction. If not, I agree with him that
it's best to respectfully leave the place boxless--and also to heed his
concerns when considering placing a box in any other botanical garden.

--Wild Woman