The Trust's original vision was to establish an indigenous botanical garden on the site of the Van Kervel Nature Reserve. However, it was acknowledged that the project had to encompass the broader issues of floral destruction and social conditions and the southern Cape Herbarium and its BEEP (Botanical & Environmental Education Project) are now fully amalgamated into the Trust.

Audrey Moriarty, with great generosity and foresight helped the Trust to buy a large property adjacent to the Botanical Garden. The house is ideal for our purposes, providing offices (already functioning,) lecture room, living accommodation for a future Curator / Horticulturist, and the Herbarium is housed in two large rooms. The large garden running adjacent to the Botanical Garden is ideal for functions and social activities while there is enough room for adequate propagation sheds and storage as well to serve the Botanical garden's needs. We are now a huge step closer to being able to fulfill our aims and objectives. This property is now known as the "Moriarty Environmental Centre". The official opening took place on July 26th 2002.

Mission Statement

The Garden Route Botanical Garden Trust is an independent, non-profit organisation. Its mission is to establish and maintain an indigenous Botanical Garden and establish an Environmental Centre for educational, research, horticultural training, conservation, and recreational purposes.
The outcomes will be:

- An educational resource for use by all
- Sustained job creation and training
- An educational resource for use by all
- A strong environmental ethic amongst the wider community
- An eco-tourism venue to give meaning to the "Garden" component of the Garden Route

Objectives

- House and catalogue the Herbarium collections in accordance with the norms of Herbaria world-wide.

- By developing awareness of the flora of the region, and by identifying the importance of the flora in the context of community and environmental health, to enable communities to gain a better understanding of the value, to them, of the regional flora. 

- Help to instill a better conservation ethic in the region to the benefit of the community and the environment as a whole. 

- Generate funds and access donations and sponsorships, in order to cover running costs, build up a Botanical Library, and acquire other essential equipment.

Local Community Involvement

Local Municipality extends to us a long lease at nominal cost on the land, and they for the first time allocated us R5 000 from the 2002 budget for new water points, with the possiblity of more in the future. We also have a good relationship with the Outeniqua and Little Karoo District Municipality who allocated us R10 000 in 2002.

Cape Nature Conservation, Wilderness Lakes Park's Board, and the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF), Saasveld Technikon, all support the project and help in many ways. They all have representatives on our Garden & Herbarium Management Committee. We also enjoy the full support of the local branches of the Botanical Society of South Africa and the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa.

In addition to their present participation in the management of the project, we envisage that in time our educational facilities and programmes can become an integral component of the conservation activities of all these bodies and societies in our region.

A large volunteer force of about 30 local people fulfil multiple roles, and have contributed enormously to the achievements in the garden and herbarium which would not be possible with the very small salaried staff.

Why do we need the GRBG Trust?

The answer is that the Cape Floral Kingdom is one of the richest, smallest and most threatened floral kingdoms on Earth, and while the western part of the Cape Floral Kingdom has 3 major gardens, here, further east, there is no botanic garden in the entire Southern Cape let alone the Garden Route.

The Garden Route Botanical Garden therefore, has a vital role to play nationally and globally in the
conservation and study of what is arguably proving to be as rich a diversity of plant life in this area
as there is further West. In addition the garden's position at the heart of the Garden Route, an area of the country named after its fantastic flora and famous worldwide for the beauty of its natural environment, makes it ideally suited to this vital role.

As the general population becomes isolated from the natural environment they become increasingly unaware of how their daily lives impact on the environment; how much mankind relies on the health of that very fragile environment to sustain all human and animal life on earth. Therefore, there is a desperate need to increase public sensitivity to the environment and development problems, and to foster a greater sense of personal environmental responsibility and commitment towards truly sustainable development

	Jenny Potgieter handing flowers to Audrey Moriarty, a great benefactor, at the opening of the Moriarty Environmental Centre. Our Trustees: David Day; Mandy Fick; Dudley King; Bruce MacKenzie; Ena McIntyre; Liesl Stokes; Alice Strydom;

Funding and Donors

Thank You to all the following for financial and other donations during the past few years:

Audrey Monarty; Joan Hofmeyr; George Municipality;CEPF; SANBI; Botanical Society of S A; Botanical Society Garden Route Branch & Plettenberg Bay Twig; Tne S A Lottery; The National Research Foundation, SABIF & Indigenous Knowledge Sector; Palm Tyres, PPC Cement; South Cape Homenet Realty; Servistar; DWAF. The Perm, Garden Route Herb Club; Active Civil; Garden Volunteers Propagation Group; Rademachers; New Plant; Dudley King; Yvette van Wijk; The Garden Enthusiasts Club; T & A Booth; K Crowther; J Joons; P Davey; S de Wet; S Wastell; I Kirsten & fam.; P Gillespie & family; Mr Thompson; Dr A Jacobsen; H Boerlindemann; Dr A Jordaan; The Green Trust (WWF/Nedbank); Leta & Roland Hill Trust (WWF/Syfrets);Billiton International; Eden Municipality; S A Breweries; WESSA / Eskom; Anglo American; DEAD&P (DECAS);and many more for donations of various kinds.

A special 'Thank You' to our management Committee:
This committee was more or less disbanded in 2006 and the members became "Partners" which has not been a success, however we hope to get together again in 2007 and thrash out a way forward! We would like to Thank every one who has been on the Management Committee, some of whom have attended meetings for years since the Museum days! Your input was so valuable and we do not want to lose your expertise, interest and concern on our behalf!

Over the past years we have received sponsorships from businesses in George, and consequently all of our "friends" and associates should really be supporting these sponsors.

Palm Tyres make a monthly contribution to the cost of our fuel for the tractor and grass cutting equipment. We all use tyres and petrol regularly and urge you to fill up your car at Palm Tyres, Caltex Service Station in Courtenay Street.

Direct Security Systems repaired the electronic gates at the entrance to the Moriarty Environmental Centre at no charge. If you need electric gates repaired or installed on your property, call Mike at Direct Security for an excellent and price competitive job.

Chubb Security provides a free alarm system on an ongoing basis to the Herbarium and offices. For this service they also deserve our support.

Homenet Southern Cape & Miller's Attorneys for sponsorship of garden flyers

Sponsors form an integral part of our ongoing aims and objectives. They will continue to support us if we make a concerted effort to support them. When you give them your support, tell them it is because they support the Herbarium and Botanical Garden. It will be appreciated!

Please remember that we also received funding from the National Lotteries Board (though not for the past 2 years because of their internal management problems!) - so keep buying those Lotto tickets in the knowledge that valuable funds do eventually get distributed to worthy organisations.

Baie dankie aan almal wat bydra tot die welstand van ons Tuin en Herbarium!