Dokmai Tropical Botanical Garden

Our visit to the Dokmai botanical garden serves as the launch pad to our Ecology and Conservation week.

With over 1000 species of flowers in addition to birds, fish, butterflies, and mushrooms, Dokmai Garden allows us to preview many of the species we will find during our jungle treks in addition to those species that we will not see in the jungle, largely due to illegal deforestation and orchid theft.

The Orchid Ark

The international orchid community has determined that the over 1100 orchid species found in Thailand are not safe in the Thai national parks due to orchid theft and other forms of illegal deforestation.

In an effort to preserve the endangered orchids of Southeast Asia, Dokmai Garden has initiated an Orchid Ark project; the first of it’s kind in Thailand. Essentially, the aim is to preserve orchids in a controlled but natural habitat until the Thai national parks are safe and outplanting can begin.

The collection is up to 196 species. While at Dokmai Gardens, we work with Eric Danell, Biologist and Director of Dokmai Gardens, to hand pollinate the orchids and learn about orchid biology.

We also sample many of the fruits found at local produce markets throughout Thailand.

Organically grown mango, star fruit, and banana trees abound in the orchard and there’s nothing like just picking your favorite fruit from the tree and eating it as you stroll through the garden.

Students interested in the work being done at Dokmai Garden are encouraged to incorporate it into their conservation project and return during project week for continued research.