SAN DIEGO (June 5, 2025) – San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has been named the recipient of the prestigious Garden Excellence Award presented by the American Public Gardens Association (APGA). The Garden Excellence Award is given to an APGA Institutional Member who demonstrates the highest standards of achievement in horticulture, conservation, education and sustainability. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance is an accredited botanic garden and level IV arboretum comprised of two campuses in San Diego County—the San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park—covering an estimated 1,900 acres. For decades, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance has been known as a botanical destination and a “must see” for plant lovers in Southern California and beyond. 

“We’re incredibly honored to receive this high recognition from APGA,” said Adam Graves, director of horticulture at the San Diego Zoo. “It’s a testament to the dynamic talents of the entire plant team at San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and our commitment to safeguarding biodiversity.”

San Diego County is a biodiversity hotspot. Its temperate climate makes it possible to grow an array of plants and create highly diverse landscapes that reflect ecosystems from around the world. The 100-acre San Diego Zoo is home to more than 700,000 individual plants, including a prominent assemblage of close to 13,000 specimens representing 3,100 species. The 1,800-acre Safari Park features more than 1.3 million plants representing 3,700 species. These evocative spaces are crucial in educating visitors about biodiversity and the importance of habitat preservation. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance also manages two conservation locations including the Biodiversity Reserve and Samataguma Ranch comprising over 1,550 acres of protected space.

The organization’s team members have established themselves as among the best in the world. The wide variety of extraordinary plants in their care are meticulously curated for greatest conservation impact and are expertly propagated for wildlife habitats and diets nationwide. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance’s plant conservation efforts are international in scope, working with partners around the world to help save some of the most endangered plants including orchids in Palau, cycads in South Africa, and oaks in California and Mexico. The team works extensively with the rarest pine tree in the world and a San Diego icon: the nearly extinct Torrey Pines. The San Diego Zoo and the San Diego Zoo Safari Park also serve as rescue centers for rare and endangered plants, and those confiscated from illegal trafficking.

"The Awards Committee felt that the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance exemplified garden excellence in its commitment to biodiversity conservation and demonstrating regionally appropriate gardening practices through inspirational horticulture displays," said APGA Awards 2025 Committee Chair Tracy Qiu. 

San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, in collaboration with the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission and the Animal Biobanking for Conservation Specialist Group, established the Center for Species Survival Biodiversity Banking. As part of this effort, the organization maintains a Native Plant Gene Bank, home to extensive long-term collections of preserved seeds from all over the world, and a plant micropropagation and cryopreservation program focused on the best methods for gene banking orchids and oaks. The organization also partners with the Center for Plant Conservation, a consortium of botanical gardens that collaborate on plant conservation initiatives. 

“When guests visit, they’re transported to wild natural landscapes from across the planet — from dense jungles to dry deserts,” said Raj Brown, director of horticulture at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. “We hope they leave with a deeper appreciation for plant life and its essential role in healthy ecosystems.”

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