Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, Feb. 24, to celebrate the official opening of the Mimsie Lanier Center for Native Plant Studies at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia.
The ceremony will begin at 3 p.m. at the garden, 2450 S. Milledge Ave., in Athens. Speakers and guests will include UGA Vice President for Public Service and Outreach Jennifer Frum, State Botanical Garden of Georgia Director Wilf Nicholls, and Mimsie and Reese Lanier.
The Center for Native Plant Studies was established in 2011 and named for Mimsie Lanier, former president of the garden’s board of advisors, who led the effort to raise money to hire a conservation coordinator. A gift from Lanier’s husband Reese made the center possible.
The purpose of the center is to propagate Georgia native plants for habitat restoration, recover endangered species and introduce native plants to the gardening community.
A classroom at the center was completed in January. In addition to academic courses, the room will be used for courses available to the general public, such as the Certificate in Native Plants.
For more information about the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, a unit of UGA Public Service and Outreach, see http://botgarden.uga.edu.