make way for the Global Flora Conservatory. In 2011, The Edible Ecosystem Teaching Garden (EETG) was established. Located on the slope below the Whitin Observatory, this designed plant community mimics the properties of a natural ecosystem but produces food and other products useful to humans with a minimum of maintenance. Community planting workdays are held twice a year, in spring and early fall. The overall design concept is a "bowl of fruit," with taller tree species fringing the swamp and dwarf trees planted closer to the observatory. This design allows for unrestricted sight lines from the telescopes even as the garden matures. Among the specific habitats are a nut grove, fruit woodland, and a fruit thicket. During the Wellesley College Science Center construction project, which ended in 2021, the Global Flora Conservatory was temporarily closed. The Global Flora Conservatory has since been reopened to members of the Wellesley College community. References WCBG website "Wellesley College Botanic Gardens: Alexandra Botanic Garden and H. H. Hunnewell Arboretum"; undated pamphlet from the gardens, May 2018. "Wellesley College Botanic Gardens: Margaret C. Ferguson Greenhouses"; undated pamphlet from the gardens, January 2016. Global Flora - LafargeHolcim Foundation External links Wellesley College Botanic Gardens website American Public Gardens Association - Wellesley College American Conifer Society - Wellesley College Botanic Gardens Botanic Gardens Botanical gardens in Massachusetts Greenhouses in Massachusetts Parks in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1906 1906 establishments in Massachusetts Wellesley, Massachusetts