As gardeners, we take care of our own small corner of the world, nurturing and beautifying the environment in our immediate area. This can lead us to think about how our gardens fit into the bigger picture of the environment and what we can do to help.

How can we garden responsibly? Including plants that attract butterflies, birds and wildlife might be an option. Reducing or eliminating the use of pesticides to prevent harm to beneficial creatures is also a good possibility.

	Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens A waterfall can be seen from the Kew Mae Pan Nature Trail in northern Thailand. Two Phipps staff members traveled to the country to learn about its plants in preparation for the Phipps' new Tropical Rainforest Conservatory, opening next month. Click photo for larger image.

Expanding out to the even bigger picture, we might think about how we can help with the regional, national and global issues of biodiversity. Removing invasive plants and being careful not to plant new ones will help. Protecting natural environments and endangered plants is important.

Phipps strives to educate visitors and program participants on all of these topics and more. But we take it one step further. Through Botany in Action, a program developed by the Garden Club of Allegheny County in 1992 and turned over to Phipps in 2000, we carry out a commitment to worldwide botanical research, habitat conservation and environmental education.

Phipps' Botany in Action program supports graduate students studying botany and ethnobotany (the study of how people use plants) in natural areas around the world. Program participants strive to preserve biodiversity and foster plant conservation so there will be time to tap the unknown power of the plants they find in these little-known areas while the plants can still be found.

Students have worked in Cuba, Guatemala, Panama, Polynesia, Costa Rica, Cameroon, Madagascar, Tanzania, West Virginia and even Pennsylvania. They live and research in the field, return results to the host communities and share their work at scientific conferences.

Phipps selects the great majority of the students because they do fieldwork on medicinal plants. This research complements our community's interest in health and addresses the global pressure of overharvesting medicinal plants, which often threatens their survival.

Botany in Action students also serve as role models, encouraging youth involvement in botany and research. Once a year, students share their newfound knowledge at Phipps and in local schools through interactive programs that provide participants with a glimpse of a world they might not ordinarily see.

Botany in Action is supported by the Garden Club of Allegheny County, the Jewish Healthcare Foundation and many private individuals in our region.

On Dec. 9-10, Phipps will open its new Tropical Rainforest Conservatory, featuring the plants of Thailand. In preparation, two Phipps staff members traveled to Thailand to experience the culture and learn about the plants first hand. They started out visiting Bangkok and the surrounding areas.

In a perfect example of the Botany in Action program tying in with Phipps' education efforts, Arika Virapongse, a Botany in Action student who has been researching medicinal plants of Thailand for the past four years, met up with our staff. She talked to them about her research and served as their field guide as they explored northern Thailand, a less developed part of the country.

Ms. Virapongse traveled with them through the cloud forests of Doi Inthanon, where the trees are covered in curly moss because of the high moisture level. She introduced them to the fresh markets of northern Thailand, where local farmers and hill-tribe members come together to sell an amazing variety of produce and spices, some collected in the wilds, some grown on farms.

For a hint of the plants you will see when the Tropical Forest opens next month, visit Phipps' Thailand Discovery blog at phipps-thai.blogspot.com.