Michael Desplaines greeted President Jim in French and introduced our speaker Clay Dills.
We were given a look at what is going to happen at the Botanical Gardens over the next months. The goal is to immerse the public into space and create the Garden of Tomorrow. The parking lots will be restructured to be a garden and avoid an excessive runoff.
Then there will be a raft of new buildings and exciting additions. The first thing you’ll see coming in will be a boating and rowing pavilion. The open space next to the Rose Garden will be converted into an entry pavilion followed by a conservatory and several biomes including Tropical and Desert. Running over and through all this will be a high canopy walk above much of the tram road. The goal is to take the visitor into a garden, not to look from the outside.
One of the most exciting aspects is that much of the building will be done with Biomason brick/pavers. Using bacteria, sand is converted into a coral-like cement. All-natural and, unlike cement, environmentally sustainable. Another building material is shou sugi ban, charred cedar planks which are waterproof, resist insects, and fire-resistant.
Groundbreaking will be in July.
During question time we were told that all existing buildings except the toll booth will stay; you will be able to rent kayaks from the Garden; the green rooftop will be mostly editable plants to be used in the bistro. Fundraising was very successful, all totaled near $30,000,000.
The Meeting:
President Jim called the meeting to order at 12:33 p.m. Bob Heely accompanied himself and the club as we sang “La Bamba” in observance of Cinco de Mayo. We then sang the first verse of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” Bob Batcher gave the invocation.
Joe Massey reported that Chris McKinnon is still in a coma but showing some encouraging signs. We were happy to hear that Ann Morgan is making progress. She will soon move to a rehab center and will be happy to get a telephone call from anyone.
We congratulated one new Paul Harris fellow, Brian McGuire.
We had a unanimous decision to accept Lauren LaBonte as a member of the club.
Club Business:
Several community service projects are listed on the website.
We will go back to the Basilica of St. Mary for food distribution. And on May 26, we will be again at the Food Bank. Many thanks to those who came last Saturday to clean the trash on East Princess Ann. One of the favorite service projects, Clean the Bay Day, will occur on 5 June. Stay tuned for more information.
Happy Bucks/Fines:
- Jim Kitz got on a plane again and visited their daughter and his son who is planning a wedding
- Pam Tubbs just spent a couple of weeks with her family. AND the Tide will have its first home game in over 600 days. Maybe Pam would organize and invite other Rotarians to join her.
- Marcia Conston was very happy that President Biden was on campus a few days ago. What great publicity.
- Bob Ash just gave his last final exam and will retire after submitting grades. Also, a big deal the Mars oxygen experiment just carried out proved the accuracy of his system for generating oxygen on Mars. Our own Bill Nye the science guy
- Joey Rothgery was very grateful to Michael Desplaines for speaking to the Master Gardeners
School of the Week: Tanners Creek Elementary School
Adjourned: 1:37 p.m.
