At the Upstate Chapter’s monthly meeting in May 2025, Martin Hamilton, Director of the South Carolina Botanical Garden, shared an inspiring and wide-ranging presentation on the urgent need for native plant conservation—and the expanding role public gardens can play in that work.
Martin drew from decades of experience in horticulture, botany, and conservation, including time at Kew Gardens and projects across the Caribbean, to illustrate how gardens like SCBG serve as living laboratories for preserving biodiversity. He emphasized the staggering reality: nearly 45% of the world’s flowering plants are at risk of extinction, including over 300 native species in South Carolina alone.
He outlined how SCBG is responding—with native seed banking, ex situ conservation, and partnerships across state and regional lines. His team is collecting and propagating rare plants like the pyramid magnolia and Oglethorpe oak, removing invasives, restoring habitat, and developing peat-free nursery mixes with local materials.
Martin also stressed the power of collaboration. He called for renewed momentum behind a South Carolina Plant Conservation Alliance—modeled on Georgia’s successful network—and highlighted how public engagement, from school programs to SCNPS partnerships, is key to sustaining the effort.
His message was clear: if we want resilient ecosystems, we need to grow them—literally. And we all have a part to play.
