Brookgreen U

Discover "Brookgreen U", our comprehensive continuing education initiative designed to enrich both the community and our visitors. Featuring an array of classes and interactive experiences, Brookgreen U fosters lifelong learning and exploration.

Beginning in January of each year, our program offers a curated selection of lectures, demonstrations, and workshops. With four classes per month, participants can delve into the realms of our four mission areas: Art, Horticulture, Wildlife, and History.

“Brookgreen U: Intensives” allows visitors to engage in hands-on activities and classes, where learning extends beyond the standard one hour timeframe. Electives provide ongoing educational opportunities within the surroundings of Brookgreen Gardens.

Join us in unlocking the doors to knowledge and exploration at Brookgreen U.

Brookgreen U Certificates:

Showcase your commitment to personal enrichment with a Brookgreen U certificate. Certificates are awarded quarterly to individuals who have participated in four or more Brookgreen U classes. For the maximum Brookgreen U experience, students are encouraged to take one class in each mission area per quarter. Certificates include a 20% discount on a purchase at Keepsakes, the Brookgreen museum shop.

Brookgreen U Quarters:

Winter (Jan.–Mar.), Spring (Apr.–June), & Fall (Sept.–Nov.).

Registration is required. Walk-ins are subject to availability.

Commit yourself to lifelong learning. The most valuable asset you will ever have is your mind and what you put into it. – Albert Einstein

Wed, Sep 16 2026, 1 - 2pm
Wed, Sep 2 2026, Wed, Sep 16 2026
Education
Author, Emmy-nominated Performing Artist, and Cultural Interpreter Ron Daise presents readings that focus on the Seasons, or the production stages of Carolina Gold Rice; Secrets of family and community members; and Signs, or cultural markers, that are revealed through dreams and prayers. Excerpts are from his historical novel, Raptors in the Ricelands, which is set in the twenty-first century...
Thu, Oct 1 2026, 10:30 - 11:30am
Thu, Oct 1 2026
Join Horticulturist Kerry Rapp for a tour of Brookgreen Gardens’ greenhouse and nursery complex. Kerry will discuss how staff and volunteers manage the production of over 40,000 plants each year, including the warm/cool season annuals for the Garden, the fall and spring plant sales, and poinsettias for Nights of a Thousand Candles. About the Speaker: Kerry Rapp is the Director of Greenhouse and...
Tue, Oct 6 2026, 10:30 - 11:30am
Tue, Oct 6 2026
From the mountains to the coast, South Carolina is home to an extraordinary diversity of landscapes, habitats, plants, and wildlife. These natural places are not only beautiful, but essential to the health of our communities, waterways, and ecosystems. Join Dale Threatt-Taylor, Executive Director of The Nature Conservancy’s South Carolina Chapter, for a closer look at why conservation here in...
Wed, Oct 7 2026, 1 - 2pm
Wed, Oct 7 2026, Wed, Oct 21 2026
Author, Emmy-nominated Performing Artist, and Cultural Interpreter Ron Daise discusses Gullah Geechee culture and history, and the spirituality of Gullah Geechee people as depicted through characters and scenes in Raptors in the Ricelands, his first historical novel. Set in a twenty-first century fictional community within Georgetown, SC, a story unfolds, revealing family secrets and conflicts...
Wed, Oct 7 2026, 6 - 7pm
Wed, Oct 7 2026
Experience one of the most beloved works in the classical repertoire in the extraordinary setting of Brookgreen Gardens. Clarinetist Eric Schultz returns to Mozart’s timeless Clarinet Concerto, performing on the rare basset clarinet for which Mozart originally conceived the work. Collaborative pianist Muriel Bennett Balzer will perform on Brookgreen’s 1914 Mason & Hamlin piano, once owned by Anna...
Thu, Oct 8 2026, 10:30 - 11:30am
Thu, Oct 8 2026
Discover how a landscape at Brookgreen Gardens is being transformed into a thriving South Carolina native plant field. Surrounding Sandy Scott’s American Icon, this evolving space is designed as an immersive walking experience that celebrates the beauty, resilience, and ecological importance of native plants throughout the seasons. Join horticulturist Jason Flynn as he shares the vision behind the...
Tue, Oct 13 2026, 10:30 - 11:30am
Tue, Oct 13 2026
Botanical Gardens
From seaside cottages to charming inns, Pawleys Island has long mastered the art of welcoming guests. Discover how early homeowners turned spare rooms into hospitality hotspots, especially after Highway 17 opened the door to growing tourism. Enjoy stories straight from innkeepers and guests, along with historic photographs that bring these beloved inns to life from the 1880s to the present. About...
Wed, Oct 21 2026, 1 - 2pm
Wed, Oct 7 2026, Wed, Oct 21 2026
Author, Emmy-nominated Performing Artist, and Cultural Interpreter Ron Daise discusses Gullah Geechee culture and history, and the spirituality of Gullah Geechee people as depicted through characters and scenes in Raptors in the Ricelands, his first historical novel. Set in a twenty-first century fictional community within Georgetown, SC, a story unfolds, revealing family secrets and conflicts...
Thu, Oct 22 2026, 10am - 2pm
Thu, Oct 22 2026
This plein air workshop focuses on developing a confident, efficient approach to painting outdoors. While the instructor primarily works in oil paint, participants are welcome to work in other media. Guidance and feedback will be offered across materials, with an emphasis on composition, color relationships, and seeing the landscape clearly and simply. What You’ll Learn The workshop begins with a...
Fri, Oct 23 2026, 10am - 3pm
Fri, Oct 23 2026
Textile artist Kathleen Lang with be at Brookgreen Gardens to facilitate a workshop highlighting the magic of Eco printing. Eco printing is a sustainable natural dyeing technique for capturing botanical prints using no chemicals. Students will collect, prior to the workshop, botanicals such as leaves and other natural dye materials from nature, flatten them and have them ready on the day of the...

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