Santa Barbara Botanic Garden Invites Visitors to “Join the Enlichenment”

New gallery exhibition opens June 14, blending science, storytelling, and art to reveal the hidden world of lichens

Santa Barbara, Calif. – June 10, 2025 – Santa Barbara Botanic Garden invites visitors to “Join the Enlichenment,” and discover a new interactive exhibit that brings the quiet brilliance of lichens into focus through science, art, and hands-on creativity. This new exhibit opens in the Pritzlaff Conservation Center Gallery on Friday, June 14 and runs through December 7.

Lichens – those intricate, often unnoticed organisms found on rocks, trees, and soil – are neither plants nor animals, but a complex alliance of fungi, algae, and microorganisms that thrive through symbiosis, surviving in places where few others can. At Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, the study and collection of lichens is helping better understand community ecology, land-use change, and the impacts of climate change.

“I was driven to share some of the behind-the-scenes work happening in the Garden’s Lichenarium. Lichens invite us to notice the small, often overlooked details that make ecosystems thrive,” said Kevin Spracher, the Garden’s interpretation and exhibitions curator. “By blending science with art, this exhibition invites visitors to slow down, share curiosity, and celebrate these remarkable organisms. Because getting people to notice and be excited about nature is the first step in getting them to protect it.”

In this new exhibition, members of the Garden’s Conservation and Research Department turn their research and experiences as naturalists into art and narratives offering visitors of all ages a chance to explore how lichens shape ecosystems and spark scientific curiosity. In addition, a curated selection of specimens from the Garden’s 55,000-specimen Lichenarium  — one of California’s largest — is also on display for the first time, showcasing the role of lichens in understanding biodiversity, land use, and climate change.

Visitors are invited to get hands-on in the gallery’s interactive printmaking and zine-making station or settle into a cozy reading nook filled with lichen-inspired zines. Highlights of the exhibition include:

• A Glimpse Inside the Lichenarium: Specimens from the Garden’s research collection – typically not open to the public – are on display, illustrating the lifecycle of a scientific specimen from field to archive.
  
  
• Zines by Scientists: Mini-magazines created by Garden staff in collaboration with Santa Barbara’s Bird in Hand Press, translating scientific insight into personal, illustrated narratives.
  
  
• Interactive Art Station: Visitors can make their own zines or layered prints inspired by the collaborative nature of lichens.
  
  

“Join the Enlichenment” is free with the cost of admission to the Garden. Reservations are required, please click here: https://sbbotanicgarden.org/visit/hours-reservations/