It's all things green at Preservation Foundation's Palm Beach dinner

Shannon Donnelly
·2 min read

It might have been only a coincidence that the Preservation Foundation titled its Phipps Park dinner "Revealing Nature," seeing as how there was so much to tell about the return-to-nature project.

And it might also have been a coincidence that the two experts discussing the the importance of native plants and restoring ecosystems are named Jungles and Forrest.

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But with guests named Woody and Flowers? It must be some kind of cosmic botanical nexus.

The Revealing Nature dinner took place Nov. 28 event at Club Colette and featured a conversation about restoring coastal biodiversity featuring Raymond Jungles, the landscape architect for the Phipps Ocean Park project, and Todd Forrest, vice president for horticulture and living collections at The New York Botanical Garden.

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Dan Ponton and Lynne Wheat — members foundation’s executive committee — served as chairman and chairwoman for the evening, which began with cocktails in the courtyard before moving to the dining room for remarks.

Wheat noted that ''the foundation’s project at Phipps Ocean Park will add to the organization’s legacy of caring for town treasures and making improvements that benefit all of us” before introducing foundation chairwoman Betsy Shiverick.

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Shiverick announced the project’s $30 million dollar ''Extraordinary Spaces at Phipps Ocean Park'' capital campaign goal and introduced Amanda Skier, president and chief executive officer of the foundation, to give details. Skier outlined the ambitious plan for the park and then introduced the evening’s speakers to discuss the significance of the project.

The conversation between Jungles and Forrest — oh, ha, ha, ha — placed the restoration and redesign of Phipps Ocean Park within the context of the horticultural goals of the New York Botanical Garden.

The campaign has already raised $21 million during its private phase and is entering the public phase for the remaining $9 million. Completion is expected in mid-2024.

More than 100 people attended.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: It's all things green at Preservation Foundation's Phipps Park dinner