Orchids: A diverse family of plants and people

lesser-known champions of orchids. eir stories are as diverse as the orchid family itself.

Guest Column

Nick Snakenberg

The orchid family (Orchidaceae) is one of the largest and most diverse plant families on the planet. is diversity extends to the people who study, admire and grow these fascinating plant treasures.

Charles Darwin, Carl Linnaeus and William Cattley are names you may recognize, but the history of orchid research and cultivation is far richer than these more familiar names. is year’s Orchid Showcase at the Denver Botanic Gardens shines a spotlight on some

· e Great Migration from 1910-20s brought Black residents from southern states to Denver. Our response was not a welcoming one, with the rise of the Ku Klux Klan among Denver’s political leadership.

· Many Japanese Americans were forced from their West Coast homes into internment camps — more than 2,000 — then relocated to Denver from 1942-1944.

· Racially restrictive covenants meant that more than 75% of Denver’s Black residents lived in Five Points by 1929, the World-War II era brought another wave of newcomers and Five Points’ Black population doubled by 1950 with former servicemembers and others.

Housing crunch? Denver had one in the post-war era, too. Concerns about language barriers and cultural di erences? Europeans didn’t speak English when they came to build railroads or work in meat packing plants. City resources? Denver’s funds are not unlimited, but surely the city’s economic success of recent years puts us in one of the strongest positions we’ve ever been in. What about jobs and our economy? Today, we have a relatively low unemployment rate, and employers in construction, restaurants and other elds are still looking to

Rebecca Tyson Northern, who lived from 1910-2004, was an orchid advocate with a Colorado connection. She was a trained biologist with an M.A. from Mt. Holyoke College and along with her husband — a plant physiologist professor at the University of Wyoming — were members of the Denver Orchid Society who also traveled Central and South America studying orchids. Rebecca was also the author of numerous books on growing orchids. At a time when orchids were ll positions. And every person who works in our community also buys goods and services, stimulating more economic activity that grows the pie, pays sales taxes on those purchases and funds infrastructure and services in our community. widely considered a hobby of the elite, her approachable writing style welcomed a new demographic to the orchid hobby. Decades after they were written, many of her books remain the go-to resource for beginner orchid growers.

While many may be passing through to other destinations, we can and should prioritize continuing to welcome and support those who stay. ey will become a part of our city’s fabric just as those who’ve come before. is will require even more creativity on housing, legal support, job connections and community integration than we’ve brought to bear to support Ukrainian and Afghan refugees, but we are Denver and we can.

But Denver shouldn’t act alone. e United States House of Representatives passed a federal immigration reform bill that would have created a path for individuals to apply for residency, work visas and a more orderly system at the border. It. Does. Not. Have. To. Be. is. Way. e Senate failed to act. But those with their backs against the wall and no options don’t give up hope. So we can’t give up the ght for comprehensive immigration reform either.

In 2012, I had the pleasure of traveling to Peru and meeting Carmen Soto. Carmen attended Cusco National San Antonio Abad University and quickly put her biology degree to work protecting and conserving Andean ora and fauna in her native home. She was the chief biologist for Inkaterra Asociacion at Machu Picchu where she created an extensive native orchid garden that has become a major tourist attraction and is a model for similar gardens around the world. With her passion for orchids, she mentored and inspired young biologists as well as tens of thousands of visitors to Inkaterra. e Dracula Youth Reserve — named for an orchid genus growing within its borders — in Ecuador is a 244acre protected area of cloud forest and is in one of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world. reatened by mining, the reserve is part of the larger 5,300 acres managed by partners EcoMinga, Rainforest Trust and Orchid

Conservation Alliance. e reserve is home to hundreds of orchid species — many new to science. e Dracula Youth Reserve is the rst entirely youth-funded nature reserve in the world with all funds generated by people 26 years of age or younger. You can learn more about the diverse people who have shaped the study and cultivation through history when you visit the Orchid Showcase at Denver Botanic Gardens. e exhibit is included in general admission and runs through Feb. 20.

Nick Snakenberg is the curator of Tropical Collections at the Denver Botanic Gardens