Botanic gardens and arboreta are amongst our most loved public spaces. There are over 2500 botanic gardens and arboreta across the world visited by an estimated half a billion people each year (see: https://www.bgci.org/about/botanic-gardens-and-plant-conservation/), providing in many cases a much-needed connection to nature and plants for people living in urban environments.
Introduction to the Partnership Programme
In late 2022, ArbNet was excited to launch a new position, ArbNet Leader, to help grow the interactive community of arboreta into its second decade. Dr. Andrea Brennan joined the team as the first in that position. Now that she has several months at ArbNet “under her belt”, we asked her some questions about her interest and background in trees and her perspectives on ArbNet:
How did you become interested in trees?
June, 2022
ArbNet was honored with the 2022 American Public Gardens Association (APGA) Program Excellence Award. The award celebrates an original and pioneering public horticulture program. In the over ten years since The Morton Arboretum established ArbNet, we've made great strides in tree planting and care, facilitating collaboration among gardens and arboreta, and providing opportunities for the botanical community to grow. The program has accredited more than 500 arboreta globally.
By Gerard Donnelly
(Citation: Arnoldia, Spring 2022, arnoldia.arboretum.harvard.edu.)
In collaboration with ArbNet, Dr. Jill Hamilton, assistant professor at North Dakota State University, and colleagues at Virginia Tech, University of Vermont and University of Maryland have recruited 18 universities and arboreta nationwide to plant ‘mini’ common garden experiments of black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa), balsam poplar (P. balsamifera), and their hybrids as part of a new garden-based research network, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Plant Genome Research program.
By Sue Paist and Christopher Luley
Arborist News
What IS an Arboretum and Why You Need to Know
College Planning & Managment - February 2018
