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What We Do
The Delaware Center for Horticulture inspires individuals and communities through the power of plants. Since 1977, we have cultivated a greener community by creating and maintaining the first Urban Farm in the city of Wilmington, beautifying public landscapes, planting and advising on the placement of urban trees, mobilizing volunteers, and hosting community events and educational programs, including our Branches to Chances Return to Work program, our Neighborhood Tree Steward Program, and our Gardening Program at Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution. Because much of our work occurs in low income neighborhoods with higher rates of disease, environmental contamination, and poor access to healthy foods, our educational efforts also emphasize the personal health and sustainability benefits of gardening.
DCH is the only nonprofit membership organization in Delaware that mobilizes and inspires community greening statewide in urban and suburban environments. By inspiring an appreciation for improving our environment through horticulture, education, and conservation, we have become a leader in improving and beautifying communities by harnessing the power of our members, volunteers, and staff to go out and make a difference.
Our members come from Delaware and the surrounding region and bring with them a passion for plants only matched by that of our staff members.
With more than 600 active and dedicated volunteers annually, we have a tremendous amount of community support, which allows us to accomplish the impossible.
Why It Matters
The work of DCH strengthens the social fabric and builds more livable towns and cities by enhancing the environmental, economic, and aesthetic qualities of our cities and state. Working together, we create neighborhoods that are healthier, more attractive, and more ecologically sustainable. Simply put, DCH is about people and plants.
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Public Policy and Partnerships
Partnerships and collaborations are cornerstones of DCH’s work to achieve collective impact. As a regional leader in public greening, DCH is a dedicated advocate for creating healthier communities through the power of plants and bringing partners together to address multi-faceted issues in a comprehensive manner. Our partners are diverse and far-reaching and reflect the various aspects of our organization. We work with governments, private corporations, local schools, city residents, and civic organizations to grow a stronger, more beautiful city, county, and state. In each instance, our goal is to creatively connect people to solve ecological problems through the broad world of public horticulture.
- American Horticultural Society
- American Public Gardens Association
- Alliance for Community Trees (ACTrees)
- Delaware Alliance for Nonprofit Advancement (DANA)
- Delaware Community Foundation (DCF)
- Delaware Council on Farm and Food Policy
- Delaware Department of Agriculture (DDA)
- Delaware Department of Justice (DOJ)
- Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC)
- Delaware Forest Service (DFS)
- Delaware Grounds Maintenance Association (DGMA)
- Delaware Nursery & Landscape Association (DNLA)
- Delaware Urban Farm and Food Coalition (DEUFFC)
- Green Wilmington*
- SEED Your Future*
- Wilmington Neighborhood Conservancy Land Bank*
*Denotes organizations where DCH staff has official capacity on board or governing body.
To join our movement or to get more information on how you or your organization can get involved with DCH, contact Vikram Krishnamurthy, DCH’s Executive Director, at (302) 658-6262 ext. 101.
Job Opportunities
We recognize the advantages of a diverse workforce through the commitment to equal employment opportunity. DCH is dedicated to principles of equal opportunity employment without regard to race, religion, color, age, disability, sexual orientation, or national origin.
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The Delaware Center for Horticulture, together with Goodstay Gardens, and Marian Coffin Gardens at Gibraltar (all in Wilmington, DE) are offering a unique opportunity to learn and practice professional horticulture within the context of three different historic, urban, and public garden settings. Individual workdays will be split each week among the three gardens. Duties include daily tasks such as: weeding, watering, pruning, mulching, planting, integrated pest management, and occasional work with volunteers, garden guides, and garden club/ tours (as COVID parameters permit). Opportunity to experience public horticulture first-hand, nonprofit operations and to participate in a variety of projects. School credit is available. 40 hours/week with 12 week minimum, flexible start and end dates negotiated at time of acceptance – possibility for longer term internship if schedule permits.