Standing in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s rainforest conservatory, Julie Mangiameli is surrounded by some of the plants she documents in the herbarium’s database.
Whether she’s tending to the Japanese Garden or working in the library at the Botanical Research Institute of Texas to the north side of the garden center, Mangiameli finds herself volunteering five days a week.
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At the end of the year, these rarely recognized heroes will gather for a luncheon where the Report will announce one honoree to represent Tarrant County at the Jefferson Awards in Washington, D.C.
Since 2006, Mangiameli has helped garden staff to fulfill its mission of plant conservation and supported its dedication to enhancing the center for the enjoyment of visitors. Her volunteership earned her recognition in 52 Faces of Community, the Fort Worth Report’s weekly series spotlighting Tarrant County’s unsung heroes.
Ryan Kough, garden director of engagement, applauded Mangiameli for volunteering 980 hours in 2024.
“Having somebody who’s willing to give our organization almost 1,000 hours in a year is a huge indicator of how successfully we’re reaching certain audiences and gaining support from members of our community,” Kough said.
Mangiameli first tapped into her love for plants and the environment in 2006 when she took a landscaping design class at Tarrant County College. A fellow classmate and gardener encouraged her to volunteer at the botanic garden.
“I didn’t know I had a passion for plants until I got into the class,” Mangiameli said.
Now, she spends most of her time at the garden working on the BRIT library’s Carlquist collection of archived plants.
The archive is named for botanist Sherwin Carlquist, a plant expert who conducted 30 years of research on plant species, expanding the field of biodiversity as well as plant physiology and evolution.
Since 2021, the garden has been tasked with documenting 160,000 archival objects collected by Carlquist, including field notebooks and images of animals and plants.
She’s just a very genuine person. She brings her absolute best to us. And she does it nicely.
Ryan Kough, Fort Worth Botanic Garden director of engagement
The collection acts as a database that the public and experts from all over the world can access for plant research purposes.
“It’s important to know what a plant looked like, where it was growing at what time because, in the future, the environment may not have the ability to grow that plant,” Mangiameli said. “It’s important to have that biological history.”
When Mangiameli isn’t helping in the library, she’s happy to get her hands dirty and help staff take care of the several acres that make up the garden.
That includes weeding, raking and cleaning up leaves to help staff prune growth throughout the garden.
The garden has been especially busy in the past few years after it merged with BRIT in 2020. Garden leaders forecast major growth, mostly through expansion projects such as the Baker Martin Family Garden.
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Among all the work at the garden, Mangiameli is a prime example of the volunteers that make the garden’s services possible.
“She’s just a very genuine person,” Kough said. “She brings her absolute best to us. And she does it nicely.”
The feeling is mutual with Mangiameli: the garden’s staff encourage her to put her best foot forward for a cause she’s passionate about.
“The thing that brought me to the garden, of course, was my love of plants and plant science. But the other thing that keeps me here is the staff,” said Mangiameli. “They’re wonderful. … You learn a lot from them, and they also make you feel valued.”
Nicole Lopez is the environment reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact her at nicole.lopez@fortworthreport.org.
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