Those familiar with the Mildred E. Mathias Botanical Garden at UCLA know it more as a living museum than as a park or an ordinary garden. Like other musea, MEMBG has a cadre of docents who lead tours for the public--tours that are enriching, entertaining, and educational. But, as the saying goes, well-trained docents don't grow on trees!
Docent training at MEMBG has undergone several refinements as our program has grown over the years. It was understood at the start that a botanical training program, no matter how extensive, would never be enough. Workshops on how to be an interpreter and tour guide--the subtle and dynamic qualities of being a docent--were equally important.
Our most recent class of docent trainees--including Pat Chazen, Evelyn Goldfinkle, Mark Heidman, Jill Hoeksma, Phillip Kwan, Eugenia Rohrberg, and Tatiana Sergheyev--has been the first group to benefit from supplemental lessons on "the art of docenting," led by senior docents, in addition to garden director Gibson's botanical instruction.
At the beginning of each docent-training program, Professor Gibson first acquaints new trainees with the differences between a park, a garden, and a living museum. Then, over a period of six weeks--in one ninety-minute session per week--he lectures, leads tours, passes out written materials, and provides hands-on demonstrations on "everything you always wanted to know about plants but were afraid to ask." Each week's instruction includes a brief review of the previous lesson followed by presentation of a new topic in greater detail. In alignment with the ways of nature, Professor Gibson's lessons are interrelated. Throughout the program he encourages trainees to ask questions, because many years of teaching have taught him that refining and asking questions is the best way to learn.
>P ALIGN="left">After this botanical instruction, several of the garden's senior docents (this year it was Helen Friedman, Millicent Stein, and Andrea George) meet separately with trainees to discuss the "how-tos" of becoming an effective docent. Topics include how to prepare for leading a tour, what to expect in the course of a tour (the many things that may run smoothly and the many things that may go awry), and the importance of maintaining control while still being flexible. Docent instructors also discuss the importance of commitment and responsibility, as well as the program's policies and procedures.The docent designation is conferred in stages. As interns, docent trainees continue with both lines of instruction. They work under the direction of an assigned senior docent mentor, if possible they audit OBEE 10 (Professor Gibson's course on economic botany), and, along with the senior docents, they attend on-going refresher classes led by Professor Gibson and garden manager Rand Plewak.
After observing two or more tours led by their mentor, docent trainees lead practice tours for their fellow interns and groups of family members or friends. Finally, trainees lead regularly scheduled tours that are observed and evaluated by their mentors. If the evaluation is successful, the interns receive their badges and certificates of completion during a special graduation ceremony. Then, as full-fledged docents, they are then invited to attend all MEMBG administrative meetings, social gatherings, and field trips.
No, docents don't grow on trees. But they do grow.