January 10, 2025

2025 will certainly be a year of excitement and growth for Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden. We recently announced the expansion of our Lost Hollow Children’s Garden and Visitor Pavilion, so we’re embracing the cozy winter season through the construction as we eagerly anticipate a stunning reveal in spring.

As we reflect on everything we want to accomplish in 2025, we realize that our main goal is helping you achieve yours. At DSBG, we strive to help all find their path to nature: on our trails, in our Garden or in the Trailhead Store coffee shop. Through unforgettable experiences here, we hope we can also help you unlock your better nature. We want to help you build a love for the outdoors, inspire you to conserve and protect our beautiful planet and appreciate plants, wildlife and the joy that comes with a connection to nature. At DSBG, there’s no better New Years resolution than that.

Here are a couple of ways you can explore finding your better nature through the great outdoors:

Get Outside and Get Moving

If your goals for 2025 include incorporating exercise into your routine, adding to your daily step count or simply just getting outside more, DSBG is the perfect place to begin. Our 6+ miles of trails offer plenty of opportunities for walks, hikes and runs, no matter your fitness level. Walking the Garden itself is a great way to get out and reap all the wonderful benefits of an outdoor winter walk.

DSBG also hosts a yearly race series with quarterly races for each season. Spring’s Zoom and Bloom 5k race is coming up quickly on March 29, 2025. And just in time, our Outdoor Recreation Manager, Rachel Andrea, is hosting Growing Together, a Couch to 5k-style training program for all fitness levels to prep for Zoom and Bloom! Whether you want to walk or run the race, Growing Together is here to help you train, cheer you on and provide support and solidarity to get you through the finish line. Sign up here.

Volunteer at DSBG

DSBG could not survive and thrive without our dedicated corp of volunteers. As a DSBG volunteer, you could work in the Garden side-by-side with our Horticulture team, provide educational tours to guests, support our members, complete administrative tasks and much more! It’s a great way to both build community and ensure a wonderful experience in nature for our guests. If your goals for 2025 include:

  • Supporting green initiatives
  • Building a community
  • Getting outside more

DSBG’s Volunteer program may help you achieve them! Learn more here or reach out to Ceci Kammire, our Volunteer Coordinator.

New for 2025, DSBG is also starting a Volunteer Leadership program. We’re seeking individuals for Advisory Committees, with interviews and selections for these roles in early 2025. Advisory Committee members will provide expertise on the following areas to support the Garden:

  • Gardens
  • Education
  • Arts & Culture
  • Nature & Trails
  • Health & Wellness

Interested in applying? Please fill out this form.

Gain a Green Thumb

If your goal for 2025 is to stop killing your plants, look no further than DSBG. We offer tons of educational events throughout the year to learn more about horticulture, get your hands in the dirt and launch your garden from the roots up! Be sure to check our Events Calendar for upcoming workshops.

Garden Giving

If your goal this year is to donate to organizations that support your values, we’d be honored if you considered giving to DSBG. Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, so we’re appreciative of any and all gifts to support our mission to inspire of love of nature and its beauty through unforgettable outdoor experiences. We have several ways to give online, including one-time, monthly and quarterly donations. We also still have naming opportunities in the Lost Hollow Children’s Garden as we work on renovations—please reach out to Director of Development Brittney Speaks to learn more.

You can also tie-in your giving to membership by joining the Evergreen Society; donors who gift $250+ annually join this exclusive group that continually funds exciting initiatives at DSBG. You’ll receive a membership to the Garden, as well as special tours, VIP events and behind-the-scenes access.

Two people walking through the garden

Build a Community

If one of your goals is to make new friends or meet like-minded people, DSBG offers so many ways to get connected and build lifelong bonds. Membership gives you the chance to visit the Garden more often and interact with others who love nature. We also offer tons of events throughout the year to learn new skills, have fun and meet new people. Lots of them are low-cost or free! For example, our Pickin’ on the Porch music series hosted weekly on Saturdays at the Trailhead Store offers an afternoon of free music. Our bi-weekly Birding Walk series also presents a relaxing, free way to learn more about wildlife at DSBG.

As we look ahead to a year filled with new opportunities, growth and shared experiences, we invite you to join us in making 2025 your year to connect with nature, community and personal development. We are excited to embark on this journey with you, and we can’t wait to see how you will thrive in the beauty of the Garden this year. Here’s to a year of exploration, adventure and growth—let’s make it your best one yet!