Act III: Of, By, For All
Before the pandemic brought us back to South Bend in late 2020 (with no job, no house, one car, two dogs, and no plan), I had spent the first decade of my career working in public botanical gardens. I once heard these living museums described as, “repositories of our cultural and natural commonwealth,” and for a time that was enough to get me out of bed and showing up for work every day.
In 2016, my co-worker introduced me to the visionary and community-forward work of museum director Nina Simon, who for many years led the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History through a renaissance and rebirth in a way where community and co-creation were central themes long before it was trending.
As Nina and her team continued to distill their approach, they began sharing what they were learning with others, and we were able to attend one of their first OF/BY/FOR ALL (OBFA) boot camps at the Santa Cruz museum in 2018. By 2020, OBFA had spun off into its own entity, apart from the museum, in order to amplify and magnify their impact, especially as organizations moved to be more inclusive across the board.
Following a challenging family medical diagnosis, Nina stepped back from the high-pace, high-demand grind of leading and growing a new national organization and today is a mystery novel writer, still living in California. I admire her ability to transition from high-octane growth to steady, level, balanced living. (A topic for another day...)
I can hardly believe I’m nearly a decade out from those transformative and pivotal learning experiences. They formed the bedrock of my professional practice for many years, and as I transitioned from institutions to entrepreneurship in 2021, I grieved what I perceived as a loss of no longer being part of public cultural entities.
It felt at the time as though I’d have to leave those parts of myself behind: I was entering the world of cut-throat capitalism and building a business, after all. I didn’t (yet) see how these two worlds could produce a new hybrid.
Today, with five years of experience in owning a business behind me – and all of you, our community, at the core – I’ve come to realize that the ideas and values of OBFA: inclusion, co-creation, collaboration, and community not only can co-exist in a local and independent business, they are essential.
Foundational.
Indeed, this may be the only way forward if we’re to reclaim our agency, hope, happiness, and optimism as individuals and neighbors in a broken world.
In this spirit, today I’m sharing the next call to action and invitation with you.
Community Focus Group | Interactive Exhibition
Happening now through Friday, August 21 inside the Shop, I hope you’ll stop in to share your ideas and help me focus our forward energy on the things that matter most to you right now.
This experience is in-person only: it’s a hands-on, analog, tactile, and not just about collecting data. It’s also about connecting in person and seeing what your neighbors are thinking about.
Community Working Groups | Join the Team!
As The Lot continues its transformation, I’ve been thinking a lot about how we operate and care for both the “venue” as a place, and the plantings themselves, through a community-forward lens.
I’m realizing the nature of what we need help with, when, and how, is a bit variable – and also prime opportunities to invite more of you into our world of bringing Botany & Co. to life and cultivating a beautiful botanical hub.
When you join one of these working groups, you’re empowering us to take another step toward a vision of a fully public garden for South Bend.
While we still have plenty of green and warm days to look forward to in 2026, I’m already thinking ahead to the 2027 season, and we’ll soon begin planning in earnest. In this spirit, we’ll focus the remainder of this year on building and testing systems we can grow into.
As a for-profit business, we’re legally unable to welcome volunteers without also providing compensation for your time and talents. Here’s what I have in mind, and I’ll welcome your thoughts, too.
Working Group Compensation
You’ll enjoy our employee discount anytime you work (30% off).
Contribute at least five hours before the end of 2026, and you can look forward to an exclusive T-shirt for the 2027 season.
Contribute at least 20 hours in a 12 month period and enjoy a complimentary SUPERBLOOM Society membership ($420/year value) including access to all perks, experiences, and social events.
Working Weekend participants can also look forward to coffee, pastries, and snacks with every work party.
How Can You Plug In?
Neighbor Stewards
My dream for 2027 is for The Lot to open dawn-dusk, year-round.
This way, if you’re a morning person and want to sit among the plants while you drink your morning coffee, you can. Or, maybe you’d like a peaceful spot for some morning meditation or yoga? Or, maybe you’re walking the neighborhood at golden hour with friends and want a beautiful spot to touch down to catch your breath and take in the scenery.
The possibilities are endless.
I hope The Lot can one day be open far more than the Shop ever will be, and that means we’ll need folks (likely who live nearby and within easy walking distance) to open and close The Lot, including a quick inspection of the space to ensure things are in good, safe, working, tidy order, ready to welcome guests. You can expect about 15 minutes of chores with every shift – quick, simple, in and out: vital.
I’d love for each steward to commit to at least two shifts each week to build routine and keep things fresh. You can indicate your preferences for the days and times you’d like before we build out a schedule.
Experience Stewards
If you’d love to be a smiling face greeting guests at our next big event, if you love answering questions and giving directions, if you love to always be moving and enjoy the feeling of helping to create a welcoming space, if you love answering questions about plants (don’t worry, we’ll make sure you have the answers 😉) this is the group for you.
We always need extra hands during large events, and as we continue to host more of them, you’ll be able to sign up for half or full day shifts. You’ll be the front-line ambassadors of Botany & Co. and the Near Northwest Neighborhood, and we’ll be sure you have the latest news and resources so you can help guests feel welcome and comfortable.
Community Programming
As I dream about our future, I see more gathering, more convening, more activation, more energy, more memories and connections formed. This working group will be tasked with identifying and aligning community needs with the spaces and resources Botany & Co. has available to share.
Maybe this takes the form of a community theater performance, a pet adoption event, a clothing drive, a plant swap, an acoustic jam session or a poetry slam. Bring it on.
Botany will continue to program our signature events like markets and plant sales; you’ll help to fill the time in between. I’ll need your help with promoting these events too, so expect this as part of your scope within this group. We’ll plan to meet monthly starting in September and adjust as needed.
Working Weekends
If you love getting dirty, laughing a lot, don’t mind sweating, and love to feel the unbridled joy of a group accomplishment (“many hands make lite work”) while also contributing to beautifying the public realm: this is the group for you. We’ll work side-by-side in the plantings as I share lessons and knowledge, and then we’ll hang out to enjoy snacks and coffee while getting to know one another better.
You’ll also play a critical role in helping us gear-up for big public events that happen outdoors. From Plant Pride to LUMINOUS, you’ll help us ensure the entire block is glistening and gorgeous, ready to welcome guests.
I can’t wait to welcome you to these feel-good gatherings. Coffee, pastries, and post-game snacks are always included. Please bring your own water bottle, sunscreen, and favorite gloves. We’ll have extras if needed, and all other tools provided.
You can now sign up for our final sessions of the year below, and I’m capping enrollment at 6 per session. While I loved having “an army” in our first two gatherings, I felt like I was missing out on time working with the group more directly and intentionally, because I was always sprinting to stay ahead. A lot got done, but I didn’t feel as grounded and focused with you all as I’d like to be.
I’m excited to dig in with you.
Sunday, September 6 from 12:30-3:30p (Focus: Late Summer Garden Chores)
Saturday, October 3 from 8:30-11:30a (Focus: Putting the Field to Bed)
Saturday, November 7 from 9:30a-12:30p (Focus: Holiday Flip & Bulb Planting)
Tentative | Saturday, December 19, 9:30-12:30p (Focus: LUMINOUS Prep)
The Prop Wall is Back!
While this falls outside the “working group” theme, it feels like it fits the OBFA theme, hence why I’m including it today.
This small yet mighty connective and interactive installation – a perpetual plant swap – is back inside the Shop! You can either swap a cutting for free or purchase a cutting for $2. This is a great way to grow your plant collection, try something new, and share abundance with others.
Parting Thoughts
I hope, especially with this added context, you’re beginning to notice a pattern in the moves and choices over the past few weeks: repositioning The Lot as a community-forward venue and public garden oasis; launching the SUPERBLOOM Society with its social and gathering components as central pillars, along with the shared direction ability.
And today, with the introduction of the Community Focus Group and Working Groups.
We’re just getting warmed up. The weirder it gets the better it feels…
See you soon, plant lovers.
Ben | Founder, Owner, Farmer