Celebrating Dave Barnett
2021 is a bittersweet year for all of us at Mount Auburn as we look ahead to the retirement of President & CEO Dave Barnett in September. Over the past 28 years since he first arrived as Director of Horticulture, his impact has been profound – both as an advocate and innovator for horticulture throughout our landscape and as a leader who has inspired and mentored a passionate, talented staff working together to bring Mount Auburn to new levels of excellence.
Rethinking Mount Auburn’s Landscape
Dave arrived at a pivotal turning point in Mount Auburn’s recent history, and has played a crucial role its evolution since then. When Dave was hired in 1993, the Cemetery had recently completed a master plan to tackle concerns that it would run out of burial space within a decade if it didn’t change its operations – a predicament that had to be balanced with preserving the nationally significant landscape. After several years of studying the site and working closely with Trustees and staff, a consulting team from Halvorson Design recommended a set of strategies for Mount Auburn to approach its future more creatively, with new models for incorporating burial space while simultaneously enhancing the historic landscape and recapturing its early design principles and founding values.
One recommendation that quickly got implemented was to restructure the horticulture program to reimagine the landscape and already-strong collection of plants and trees. This was what brought Dave here as the Cemetery’s first Director of Horticulture, inspired by the opportunity to bring an already beautiful place to new levels. “What drew me was the trees and landscape when I first came in the gate – it was phenomenal,” Dave recalls. “I was here in the middle of May that year, and just saw the sheer beauty of the place, and I was excited about the possibilities of building on that landscape and making it even better.”
That visit inspired Dave to take a closer look at the master plan, which confirmed for him that Mount Auburn was moving forward in a direction he wanted to be part of. And he has been implementing these strategies ever since, managing a growing number of landscape redesign projects over the years. In the process, Mount Auburn became what we see today – widely regarded as a leader in horticulture, and sustainable, habitat-friendly landscape design, and predicted to remain an active cemetery with burial space well into the future.
“In all my years of working with institutions and public agencies on preserving and developing cultural landscapes throughout the Boston metropolitan area and beyond, Dave stands out. Whenever he spoke about projects and plans for the Cemetery, he would quote from the Master Plan. It didn’t just sit on his shelf…It has stood the test of time not just because of what was in it but because of Dave’s commitment to honoring the principles that Mount Auburn was founded on and how they were manifested in the landscape to comfort and inspire.”
Liz Vizza, Former Senior Associate at Halvorson Design, now President of the Friends of the Public Garden
Highlights of Dave’s Tenure
Dave is the first to admit that he never could have predicted he would spend the rest of his career at Mount Auburn (or any cemetery), let alone become President & CEO. “But what I did know, and had long been sure of, was that I wanted a career in public horticulture. And that’s what I’m still doing – it just happens to have the very important cemetery side of it as well. I should also say that the cemetery side was something I had to get used to, but as it turns out, it’s probably the most compelling and satisfying part.”
“Dave doesn’t just work at Mount Auburn, he lives Mount Auburn. He epitomizes the values that we came up with during the Vision and Values process. The Statement of Vision and Values talks about welcome, compassion, dignity, stewardship, sustainability, and integrity: all of which Dave stands for as a person.”
Pat Jacoby, Chair of Mount Auburn Cemetery Board of Trustees
Reflecting on his tenure, certain highlights stand out for Dave today. One of the first major projects inspired by the master plan that he helped implement was restoring the natural woodland habitat around Consecration Dell in the heart of the Cemetery – an ambitious initiative that began in 1997 and has continued in stages ever since. And more recently, the 2018 renovation of Asa Gray Garden was the culmination of years of planning, to elevate one of our most-visited areas near our main entrance into both a horticultural showpiece and a tranquil space that better serves anyone in need of respite.
“Consecration Dell and Asa Gray Garden are both spectacular in many ways, but they’re very different. One is a restoration of a natural woodland. And the other is an ornamental, four-season, colorful garden. But I think what they both relate to, in different ways, is the importance what Mount Auburn is for so many people: an inspiring, tranquil, beautiful place. They each do that in a very different way, but both projects were absolutely transformative.”
Dave Barnett
Leadership and Innovation
Central to Dave’s leadership style is a deep respect and eagerness to support and encourage the staff he has worked with over the years. During his many years both in our Horticulture Department and as President & CEO, Dave has both fostered a strong sense of community among the staff and pushed Mount Auburn to new levels of innovation.
“I think what pulls us all together is the recognition of the value of what we do, and the importance of Mount Auburn as a place of beauty and comfort,” Dave reflects. “There’s a real pride that everybody gets after they come here. It’s something about Mount Auburn that makes people want to work intently to make it even better. And that’s only happened because of the people here. There’s been a lot of long-standing, ongoing relationships that have kept this place going to the next level.”
“Dave has not only played a major role in making Mount Auburn what it is today: he has also played a major role in making the people of Mount Auburn who they are today. With gratitude, we thank him, and promise to carry on his vision and above all his compassion for all of those who make up the community of Mount Auburn.”
Regina Harrison, Sales Manager
More:
Watch recordings of DAVE ON TAP: Reflections on Mount Auburn with President & CEO Dave Barnett, a three-part series of moderated discussions on horticulture, ecology, and preservation.
Listen to Lessons In Ecology from Mount Auburn Cemetery, with David Barnett on the “A Way To Garden with Margaret Roach” podcast.
The David P. Barnett Fund for Horticulture & Urban Ecology
To honor Dave’s career, Mount Auburn has established the David P. Barnett Fund for Horticulture & Urban Ecology, which will support emerging professionals in both fields. The fund has been inspired by Dave’s profound impact on the Cemetery’s landscape – showcasing our horticultural excellence and creating a more sustainable habitat – and his strong belief in mentoring and giving hands-on training to young people. Providing opportunities for emerging professionals as they embark on careers in the fields he loves is a fitting tribute to his legacy.
“We need to keep encouraging young future leaders, and professionals at every level. It’s important to me to have a fund that will provide mentorship and training opportunities. These individuals will be the future of protecting our world and maintaining places like Mount Auburn, whether it’s Mount Auburn or so many other gardens or wildlife sanctuaries where they might end up working.”
Please help us honor Dave by donating to the Barnett Fund today!
Dave’s Career at Mount Auburn
Citizen Science Training 2021
The mission of the Citizen Science Naturalist Program is to create a community of well-trained volunteers to support biodiversity research at Mount Auburn, as well as at other sites. The volunteers will receive training from a diverse group of local experts that will enable each volunteer to become a capable research assistant and informal educator to the public.
The Naturalist Training Program will include nine sessions covering flora and fauna, as well as field note taking, nature photography, informal educator training and the use of apps for crowd-sourced science. These sessions will establish a foundation on which biodiversity study can be built. Additional learning opportunities will be provided throughout the year, including tutorial walks and field trainings for the implementation of research projects. All current Covid-19 protocols will be enforced during field visits.
All classroom trainings will be held virtually via zoom in 2021. Zoom Invites will be sent out one week before each virtual classroom training. Contact Paul Kwiatkowski, Director of Urban Ecology & Sustainability: pkwiatkowski@mountauburn.org to get on the email list. (more…)
A.J. & M.D. Ruggiero Memorial Trust Grant for Indian Ridge Phase 2
We are pleased to announce that the A. J. & M. D. Ruggiero Memorial Trust has awarded an $88,800 grant to the Friends of Mount Auburn Cemetery to support Phase 2 of our ongoing Indian Ridge Habitat Restoration.
The Ruggiero Memorial Trust has been a key supporter of Mount Auburn since its establishment in 1998, with over a million dollars in grants to the Friends for habitat enhancement initiatives. A year ago, their 2019 grant for Phase 1 of our work on Indian Ridge (replanting the steep slopes overlooking Halcyon Lake) provided the initial funding we needed to start the project. Thanks to an enthusiastic response from our supporters, we successfully completed that area and moved on to planning for work on more of the Ridge – which will once again be made possible by the continued generosity of the Ruggiero Memorial Trust.
Our second phase in 2021 will focus on the area atop the Ridge: replanting alongside the path and parts of the western side overlooking Auburn Lake. This will include creating two green roofs on the Auburn Lake Crypts, transforming the plain gravel roofs into an integral part of the improved landscape with habitat benefits of their own. Once complete, this redesigned landscape will feature native plants almost exclusively, transforming Indian Ridge into a showcase of the New England plant palette rarely found anywhere else.
Thank you to the Ruggiero Memorial Trust and all of our generous supporters for making this ambitious habitat project possible! If you would like to help support our work as well, please visit https://mountauburn.org/give/special-projects/ and select “Indian Ridge Habitat Restoration.”
Read more and watch our “Restoring Indian Ridge” video series at https://mountauburn.org/indian-ridge-habitat-restoration/.
Dave Barnett Announces Retirement
To all in our Mount Auburn Cemetery Community,
At the October 1, 2020 meeting of the Mount Auburn Cemetery Board of Trustees, President & CEO David Barnett announced his plan to retire from the Cemetery in September 2021. The Board is grateful for Dave’s many contributions to Mount Auburn since he became head of horticulture twenty-seven years ago and for his dynamic leadership of the Cemetery during the last twelve years.
As Mount Auburn approaches its two-hundredth anniversary in 2031, Dave leaves the Cemetery with a strong staff dedicated to perpetuating Mount Auburn’s distinguished history and to maintaining its reputation as a place that commemorates the dead, comforts the bereaved and inspires all who visit its landscape of exceptional beauty.
Over the next months, in consultation with Mount Auburn’s staff and its larger community of friends and supporters, the Board will engage an executive search firm to begin the process of recruiting a new President and CEO. In the meantime, The Board looks forward to celebrating Dave’s long and dedicated service and his substantial legacy.
Respectfully,
Patricia B. Jacoby
Chair, Board of Trustees
See More:
Mount Auburn Cemetery’s Board of Trustees launch the search for Mount Auburn’s next President & CEO. Learn More >>>