Proposal for the Establishment of a Mutually Beneficial Botanical Staff Exchange Program Between China and the United States

With the vast diversity of China’s flora and its similarity to that of North America’s, the interest in study and botanical collaboration has continued in both countries despite changes in regulations and bureaucracy. This study investigated the potential development of a Sino-American horticultural staff and educational exchange program modeled after the Garden Club of America’s Interchange Fellowship/Martin McLaren Scholarship.

Both the Chinese and American perspectives were investigated. In China, interviews were conducted during July 2008 at 11 botanical gardens in seven provinces/provincial level cities with directors and/or upper management. The American perspective was documented through surveys, interviews, focus groups, and case studies; data was collected and examined from the American Public Gardens Association, Garden Club of America, the North American China Plant Exploration Consortium, and key public gardens engaged in collaboration with China.

Data indicate that an ongoing exchange partnership of this type will have several important and potentially valuable benefits to the horticulture professions. Considering China’s relationship-based culture and previous Sino-American collaborative experiences, greater staff and educational exchange will nurture cross-cultural professional relationships and increase cultural understanding. Greater personnel exchange will also increase awareness among students in both countries of potential intern and graduate study opportunities, best practices, and industry standards. A system of ongoing staff exchange will create a resource network available to non-associated individuals or institutions wishing to collaborate. Additional benefits include increased exchange of scientific techniques and cultural practices; cultivar and germplasm exchange; and greater access to type specimens and wild species populations for studies of vicariance, disease resistance, invasiveness/weed control, and agronomic uses.