Fifty years in bloom
The North Carolina Botanical Garden's first paid employee continues to serve the gardens nearly five decades later.
The North Carolina Botanical Garden's first paid employee continues to serve the gardens nearly five decades later.
When he was a graduate student in 1968, Ken Moore was approached by botany professor Ritchie Bell, who was looking for someone to help out around the then brand new North Carolina Botanical GardenOpens in new window for the summer.
The next day, Moore was using garden tools, items salvaged from the dump and a few work-study students to construct a public nature trail—on a shoestring budget.
Moore ultimately went on to become the garden’s first paid employee. And nearly 50 years later, he continues to serve the garden by teaching plant identification courses for the Botanical Studies Certificate Program and leading trips to the Mason Farm Biological Reserve.
