BRIT to Manage the Botanic Garden

In a historic vote, the Fort Worth City Council approved a 20-year agreement for the Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT^®) to manage the Fort Worth Botanic Garden, ensuring the Garden’s long-term sustainability and building upon a successful collaborative partnership built over the past several years.

“We are excited by the potential of working together with the staff, patrons and supporters of the Botanic Garden to make it an even greater resource and attraction for our City and the North Texas region,” said Ed Schneider, president of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.

After years of study, public involvement and task force recommendations, the BRIT Board of Directors saw the opportunity for significant growth and improvement through both organizations working together. The successful public private partnership between the City and Fort Worth Zoo also offered a useful framework.

“Our plant-based missions have always aligned, and after the positive synergy from previous partnership efforts, we saw this agreement as a natural fit,” said Greg Bird, chair of the BRIT Board. “The Fort Worth Zoo transforming into one of the nation’s top zoos also provided a model that we intend to build upon as we envision a future world-class botanic garden.”

Botanic Garden Director Bob Byers said the timing was right and staff were excited by the potential for growth working even more closely with BRIT.

“There’s a brighter future on the horizon with this agreement,” Byers said. “Bringing together BRIT’s fundraising, education and world-class research capabilities with the Garden’s historically significant grounds, event facilities and horticultural expertise will create one of the leading public gardens in America.”

The agreement is scheduled to go into effect Oct. 1, 2020 but could be delayed if COVID-19 disaster declarations continue into the autumn months.

The Fort Worth Botanic Garden is the oldest botanic garden in Texas, and its mission is to “engage, inform and inspire with plants, landscapes and nature.” The FWBG comprises 110 acres in Fort Worth’s cultural district two miles west of downtown Fort Worth and includes the beautiful Fuller Garden, the historic Rose Garden, the Japanese Garden, and the Victor and Cleyone Tinsley Garden, which features plants native to north central Texas. The FWBG also prides itself in its nationally recognized begonia species collection. The Garden Center is open Monday through Sunday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission to the Garden is $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 65+, $6 for children 6-15, and free for those 5 and under. Parking is free at the Garden.

The Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT^®) is a nonprofit, international research and education organization that collects and safeguards plant specimens, studies and protects living plants, and teaches about the importance of conservation and biodiversity to the world. BRIT is open to the public Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.