Quick Facts
Biography
Shane Smith was the director and a founder of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, author, and lecturer.
Education
Smith attended Colorado State University, was a Loeb Fellow at Harvard, and is a registered horticultural therapist with the American Horticultural Therapy Association.
Career
Smith retired from the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens in March 2018. He continues to serve as the Executive Director of the non-profit Friends of the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens.
Besides ongoing work for the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens, Smith lectures and consults on greenhouses, gardening, horticultural therapy, and other gardening and landscaping topics. He writes articles for garden periodicals such as Mother Earth News and is the occasionally hosts the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens weekly garden radio program on KFBC in Cheyenne that Smith began airing in 1979.
Writing
Smith is author of the book Greenhouse Gardener's Companion, Revised: Growing Food & Flowers in Your Greenhouse or Sunspace. In 1982, he wrote The Frost Free Greenhouse, the first book written on the subject of farming in large unheated greenhouses (now commonly called "high tunnels"). It was published by "Western Sun," a Department of Energy contractor. Smith's first book, published in 1982 and now out of print, was The Bountiful Solar Greenhouse. It was the first gardening book written on the subject that addressed the special needs of growing in a 100% solar heated greenhouse. He maintains a blog and website that is related to his "Greenhouse Gardener's Companion" book for home greenhouse gardening enthusiasts.
Awards
While Shane Smith was director, the Cheyenne Botanic Gardens received recognition awards from Presidents Reagan, Bush, and the American Entrepreneurial Leadership Award from Partners for Livable Communities. Individually, he is the recipient of the "Community Hero" award from Wyoming Governor Geringer, the Wyoming Farmers' Marketing Association's "Award of Excellence" for starting the State of Wyoming's first modern farmer's market, the 2011 American Public Garden Association's "Award of Merit", the 2012 American Horticultural Society's "Great American Gardeners Professional Award", and the 2012 National Garden Clubs' "Award of Excellence."