St. Lucie Cultural Alliance | Member Spotlight – Heathcote Botanical Gardens
Contributed by Dorothy Kamm
Member Spotlight – Heathcote Botanical Gardens
Joan Friedman, Executive Director of Heathcote Botanical Gardens, is a woman of vision who gets things done, even during the most challenging of times. Originally from New York City, she moved around for her husband’s career as a nuclear engineer, until settling in Omaha, Nebraska, where the family lived for 22 years.
“I was a community activist involved in environmental tobacco issues, working towards establishing smoke-free indoor environments and educating children about the dangers of smoking tobacco,” says Joan. “I also worked towards building coalitions to support the legislation.”
She and her husband moved to the Treasure Coast in 2017 when her husband joined FPL. Joan took a position as Community Development Director for the Boys & Girls Club of St. Lucie County, where she began building community support for the Club. “I know how to build assets for an organization, reaching out to businesses, schools, clubs and other organizations, finding ways to partner,” says Joan.
Despite her success as part of the Boys & Girls Club of SLC, Joan wanted to get back to focusing on environmental issues and to have broader responsibilities within an organization. “My passion is preserving the quality of the earth,” emphasizes Joan.
She joined Heathcote on April 15, 2020, in the early days of the pandemic when many businesses, schools and venues had closed. Luckily for Heathcote, as an outdoor space, the garden was able to remain open to visitors while employing precautionary measures. “We leveraged our asset as an outdoor site and marketed it as a safe place where one could be happy and renew and rejoice in the environment,” notes Joan. “As a result of our marketing efforts, 2020 was our most profitable year.”
Joan once again established cooperative relationships within the community. “I sought out what I could do to support Heathcote’s mission and increase their visibility,” she says. “Last year, we gambled on the decision to host our annual Garden of Lights, which paid off with the largest attendance of any or the previous Garden of Lights events. “The community banded together to keep Heathcote open,” says Joan. “That says a lot about how much the gardens are valued.”
Currently, Heathcote staff and volunteers are planning the upcoming Garden of Lights, to be held from November 26 to December 18. There will be new lighting displays combining creativity, color and magic to illuminate and accentuate the gardens. “Visitors will be dazzled by all the lights, and they will be filled with the spirit of wonder, beauty and goodwill that defines the holiday season,” says Joan.
Success is about building relationships. “As a collective group, we have more power to support each other and each other’s initiatives,” she says. Heathcote partners with Indian River State College (IRSC) and has been reaching out to nonprofits as well. “We have a space suitable for so many opportunities,” she adds. The garden is collaborating with IRSC to have interns participate in the USDA’s research garden at Heathcote. On February 6, 2022, Heathcote will host the Great Cupcake Escape cupcake competition with the Inner Truth Project.
A partnership with the St. Lucie Cultural Alliance already was in place prior to Joan’s tenure. It’s a partnership that Joan wants to maintain and develop. The garden has an artist-in-residence program where, for a 60-day cycle, a chosen artist is allowed to sell his or her artwork in its gift shop. Recently, the Young Hearts to Arts competition and exhibition featuring artwork created by local students collaborated by the Cultural Alliance was on display at the gardens. Heathcote is in discussion with the Cultural Alliance to collaborate on future events, such as hosting concerts. Working together, both organizations can provide creative opportunities for the community and extend beyond the Treasure Coast to one day attract international attention.
To learn more about Heathcote Botanical Gardens visit https://www.heathcotebotanicalgardens.org/
To be featured in our Spotlight or to learn more about the benefits of being a Cultural Alliance member, please visit ArtStLucie.org/memberships, email: info@artstlucie.org or call 772-462-2783.