DAGSBORO – Ray Sander, president of the Delaware Botanic Garden, and Sherrill Swed, executive director of DBG, accepted the 2022 Best Attraction Award from the Southern Delaware Tourism Office on Dec. 14.
“This award is a dream come true. When we started this public botanical garden in December 2016, we could only hope that our vision would achieve this level of excellence and recognition,” said Mr. Sander Told.
“Over six years of dedicated effort, with major support from our elected representatives, the generosity of philanthropic foundations, individuals, local businesses and organizations, and the unbridled spirit of our volunteers, we have created one of America’s extraordinary public parks here in Sussex County. Thank you for this recognition. We are honored and humbled.”
DBG Executive Director, Sherrill Swed, said, “When I first visited the Pine Neck property in 2012 with Wendy Baker, executive director of the Sussex County Land Trust (SCLT), we knew the potential for the proposed Delaware Botanic Garden It was the right place.. We are indebted to SCLT, Heidi Gilmour, Pennoni Associates and Mark Davidson, the Longwood Foundation and Piet Oudolf for their vision that DBG could make the dream of a public botanical garden a reality in Sussex County.
“With this award today, all members of the DBG community, especially DBG volunteers, are recognized for their leadership, tenacity and hard work. Thank you.”
Awards and achievements for DBG in the last 12 months:
- Governor’s Outstanding Volunteer Service Award.
- Best Restored Shore Project by the American Shore and Beach Preservation Association with the Center for Inland Bays.
- Top ten best public toilets in 2022 by CINTAS. This restroom facility has also been nominated for a design award by the American Institute of Architects.
- Fundraisers and Communicators Excellence (FACE) Award for 2020 Annual Report by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.
- Over $150,000 awarded by the State of Delaware to landscaping and best stormwater practice projects.
- Awarded $475,000 in state 2023 Community Reinvestment Fund.
- The annual fundraising dinner raised over $139,000.
- At the Garden, DBG set new attendance, membership and educational programming records, and our volunteers contributed over 5,600 hours as Garden Stewards and Docents.
The new season of Gardens will open on March 16, 2023.
Delaware Botanic Garden is located 30220 Pine Neck Rd. Membership is available at www.delawaregardens.org/membership.
The mission of the Delaware Botanic Garden is to create a world-class, inspiring, educational and sustainable public botanical garden in southern Delaware for the benefit and enjoyment of all.
Visit www.delawaregardens.org for more information and a virtual tour of the gardens.
