Forums 20th Anniversary - July 2021

The UBC Botanical Garden Forums are twenty years old this month! You can read the oldest extant thread here: small potatos

The Garden's marketing team has an interview with me about the forums and other gardening outreach here: Plants, Computers and Community: Celebrating the Garden Forum's 20th Anniversary - UBC Botanical Garden , but we'd also like to invite you to share your stories about the forums in this thread -- what draws you to them, what gardening discoveries you've made through the forums, or friendships you've made, or... anything positive, really!

 

Daniel, thanks for making us aware of the 20th Anniversary of these forums and for the link to that blog article. Time flies when you're having fun, eh? I'm still waiting for the party @togata57 suggested we have to celebrate the 10th anniversary!

I started here as a Seedling in May 2002,

and have worked my way up to Esteemed Contributor and Forums Moderator. I've learned less than that would seem to imply, but I've experienced a lot, and the documentation is here for me to review what I should have learned but have forgotten, such as the name Piptanthus, from what I think was my first posting: Photo suggestion | UBC Botanical Garden Forums.

In the early days, I was always impressed by how well-managed this site was, in comparison to other forums. In more recent years, it has never occurred to me to look elsewhere, so I have no idea what's going on out there, but I remain impressed by how well this site runs and is run. I feel well-cared-for here. I'd particularly like to thank you for providing a home for the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival Forums, which have enabled the Cherry Scouts to get to know each other in addition to learning about our cherries.

I'll reiterate what I wrote one year when I tried unsuccessfully to get information from a botanical garden where I photographed some plants:
This is a very special place we have here on the UBCBG forums, where people with no credentials like me can get the attention of faculty and staff from the garden and also of so many other knowledgeable people.

I certainly hope the forums persist in the way they are.

 

Congratulations!

 

I've been a member here since 2007 and soon became a moderator for the Fungi/Lichen Forum.

This has been a marvellous place for useful friendly conversation and ongoing resources. I really appreciate being able to access historical information here, as there is so much knowledge shared that cannot be found by googling. I have been so grateful for the tone set by (the culture established by) Daniel, Eric and all the Moderators and frequent Contributors here: Very positive culture, very clear and consistent processes and framework.

While I participate in other forms of social media, I find those spaces generally irritating: The margin of usefulness is just above the margin of too-irritating :-) ... and as a result I don't take the UBCBGF's for granted, and think upon this space with gratitude.

Another thing worth mentioning I think is the quiet large multitude out there of individuals and organizations who benefit from these forums, who are not necessarily members/contributors. There are vast numbers of folks who respect and value this site that we won't often hear from.

Lastly gratitude to my fellow Moderators for the kindness and support you have shown me over the years. I appreciate these relationships with you!