People and Happenings
Council of Visitors Meeting
Special Garden Tour
People and Happenings
Above: Council of Visitors member Frank Reese moderates the keynote conversation by Dave Barnett and Ned Friedman.
Below: Pre-meeting tour led by Meg Winslow.
Council of Visitors Meeting
On October 2, 2014, Mount Auburn was pleased to host our third annual Council of Visitors meeting. Despite unseasonably rainy and cool weather, nearly 100 attendees joined us for this day of thoughtful conversation. After a pre-meeting tour highlighting the founders’ vision for Mount Auburn led by Meg Winslow, Curator of Historical Collections, guests gathered in a tent on Bigelow Chapel lawn for lunch and an update on the State of the Institution by Tom Cooper, Chair of Mount Auburn’ s Board of Trustees. They then enjoyed a spirited keynote conversation between President & CEO Dave Barnett and Ned Friedman, Director of the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, on the leadership roles that their institutions have played and will continue to play in the fields of horticulture, ecology, and historic landscape preservation.
Each attendee also participated in one of four afternoon breakout sessions, which included presentations by content experts and community leaders, a walk on the grounds, and group discussion of Mount Auburn’ s future opportunities and challenges. Each group reported the results of their discussion, which will help inform Mount Auburn’ s strategic planning process, during the meeting’ s closing remarks. At the end of the day, guests enjoyed a special sneak peek at videos created by Roberto Mighty, Mount Auburn’ s first Artist-in-Residence. We are grateful to all of the day’ s presenters for sharing their expertise and to our Council of Visitors members for their participation and their support throughout the year.
Special Garden Tour
On June 5, 2014, Alan Emmet, a landscape historian and author of So Fine a Prospect: Historic New England Gardens, hosted twenty of the Friends of Mount Auburn’ s 1831 Society members for a tour of the gardens at her home, Mole Hill, in Westford, Mass. This special tour was led by Claude Benoit, Mount Auburn’ s former Director of Horticulture and the gardener at Mole Hill. While the tour began in a light rain, the sun cleared as the group walked the grounds. After the tour, Alan, a member of Mount Auburn’ s Council of Visitors and the 1831 Society, graciously welcomed guests for a reception on the porch of her home.
Pat and John Jacoby, Ron Barbagallo, and Liz Goodfellow at Mole Hill
Winter 2015 | 17