A Midwest native with a penchant for plants and nature, Nancy Swanson has been a Desert Botanical Garden volunteer and donor since 1980. She has completed more than 3,000 volunteer hours and is still supporting the Garden today.
Nancy was first introduced to the Garden after she moved to the Phoenix area and immediately joined the docent class. Previously, while working in the Midwest and England, she joined and volunteered at local botanical gardens. Arizona’s dry packed desert soil meant there was a lot to learn here.
In 1983, Nancy joined the Garden board. About this time, Dr. Charles Huckins, former Garden Director, came west and helped the Garden attain accreditation. He suggested growing membership by offering trips, Garden tours and events. Volunteers worked with him and soon organized a Baja whale watching trip, Garden toursand Dinner on the Desert.
Later, as board president, Nancy asked key staff members to suggest new ideas to further grow the Garden. Ruth Greenhouse, a staff horticulturist and ethnobotanist, came with the idea of a plants and people trail, tracing man’s use of plants in the Sonoran Desert. Soon after, work began to make this idea a reality. “It became a trailblazer in teaching people about the desert land and the people that called it home for thousands of years, as well as today,” says Nancy.
Nancy holds a deep veneration for the trail, so much so that in 2023 she supported the trail’s renovation through a generous gift. The revamped project allowed for upgraded interpretive signage, discovery stations, renovated ethno-botanical structures, new lighting, new plantings and paths.
The revitalized exhibit and trail reopened in November of 2023 with a festival of storytelling, music, dance and culture. Guests experienced a variety of ways native people use desert plants for food, textiles, medicine and shelter. Local artisans demonstrated basket weaving, pottery, etching and more.
The Garden continues to educate and inspire visitors and the trail remains a vital part of Garden. From Nov. 11-17, the Garden will host the Plants & People of the Sonoran Desert Celebration, with hands-on discovery stations, Indigenous makers and vendors and special activities for the whole family. The celebration will culminate with a festival weekend Nov. 16-17 to celebrate Arizona’s Native American communities with storytelling, music, dance and culture. We are truly grateful for Nancy’s dedication to preserving this beautiful and important piece of our shared heritage. Thank you, Nancy, for your lasting impact on the Garden. Get tickets.
