Collaboration Opportunities

These opportunities connect arboreta with partners to share expertise, support joint projects, and advance tree-focused work together.

Botanic Gardens Conservation International/ArbNet Partnership Programme: An international partnership-building funding initiative that aims to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, skills, and resources within the botanic garden and arboretum community

Botanic Gardens Conservation International Global Conservation Consortia: Aims to mobilize a coordinated network of institutions and experts to collaboratively develop and implement comprehensive conservation strategies for priority threatened plant groups Subscribe to the Global Conservation Consortium for Oak newsletter

Plant Collections Network: A continent-wide approach to plant germplasm preservation, and promotes excellence in plant collections management (by the American Public Gardens Association)

Public Gardens as Sentinels Against Invasive Plants: Using botanic garden and arboreta expertise to help prevent problematic plants from becoming invasive across North America (by The Morton Arboretum and Midwest Invasive Plant Network)

Professional Networks

Professional networks connect arboreta with peers and partners to exchange knowledge, collaborate on tree-focused work, and grow their impact together. 

APGA—American Public Gardens Association is advancing public gardens as a force for positive change in their communities through leadership, innovation, and advocacy, and envisions a world where public gardens are indispensable.

AZA—Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a non-profit organization dedicated to the advancement of zoos and aquariums in the area of conservation, education, science, and recreation. These institutions meet the highest standards in animal care and provide a fun, safe, and educational family experience.

AZE—Alliance for Zero Extinction is a joint initiative of biodiversity conservation organizations from around the world working to prevent extinctions by promoting the identification and ensuring the safeguard and effective conservation of key sites that are the last remaining refuges of one or more Endangered or Critically Endangered species.

AZH—Association for Zoological Horticulture is dedicated to the advancement of horticulture in zoos, zoological parks, botanic gardens, and aquariums. AZH works to highlight the importance of plants within zoos and aquariums, and seeks to support the horticulturists and gardens who work in a zoological setting. 

BGANZ—Botanic Gardens Australia and New Zealand represents the interests of botanic gardens in Australia and New Zealand, promoting their interests and generally enhancing the state of botanic gardens for the benefit of the community.

BGCI—Botanic Gardens Conservation International is an international organization that exists to ensure the world-wide conservation of threatened plants, the continued existence of which are intrinsically linked to global issues including poverty, human well-being, and climate change.

BSA—Botanical Society of America is a nonprofit membership society whose mission is to promote biology. BSA’s objectives are to sustain and provide improved education about plants, encourage basic plant research, provide expertise, direction, and position statements concerning plants and ecosystems, and foster communication within the botanical community, and between botanists and the rest of humankind. 

CCABG—Climate Change Alliance of Botanic Gardens is an international information-sharing network which brings together botanic organizations and networks to take action to adapt our botanical landscapes to climate change.

CCABGN—Caribbean and Central American Botanical Gardens Network aims to foster collaboration among botanical gardens, botanic garden enthusiasts, and research centers interested in the Caribbean and Central American region.

CPC—Center for Plant Conservation is dedicated to preventing the extinction of U.S. native plants. CPC is a network of more than 40 leading botanic institutions and operates the only coordinated national program for ex situ conservation of rare plant material. 

CSS: Trees—Center for Species Survival: Trees, is a hub for coordinated action to conserve tree species around the world, established by The Morton Arboretum through a partnership with the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

CT—Climate Toolkit is a collaborative opportunity for museums, gardens, zoos, science centers, nature centers, field stations, and related institutions who want to learn how to aggressively address climate change within their own organizations and inspire the communities they serve to follow their lead.

ENSCONET—European Seed Conservation Network, coordinated by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, has been transforming the way that the seeds of Europe’s wild plant species are conserved. It exists as a community where data, expertise, problem solving, and facilities for wild species seed banks can be shared. 

ERA—Ecological Restoration Alliance is an association of botanic gardens actively engaged in ecological restoration, with approximately 18,000 members throughout the world. ERA members passionately devote their energies and expertise to a wide array of projects in their communities.

FFI—Flora & Fauna International works together with conservation partners around the world on projects that aim to save nature.

GCC—Global Conservation Consortia aims to mobilize a coordinated network of institutions and experts to collaboratively develop and implement comprehensive conservation strategies for priority threatened plant groups.

GPPC—Global Partnership for Plant Conservation brings together organizations in order to contribute to the implementation of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC), which sets targets in plant conservation to be achieved by 2020. 

GTSG—Global Tree Specialist Group brings together international, regional, and national organizations in order to contribute to the implementation of the Global Strategy for Plant Conservation (GSPC).

IDS—The International Dendrology Society is an international society with members from all over the world and a program of events, tours, and study days. Its aims are to promote the study and enjoyment of trees and other woody plants, to bring together dendrologists from all round the world, and to protect and conserve rare and endangered plant species worldwide.

IPEN—International Plant Exchange Network is an instrument of botanic gardens to fulfill the Access and Benefit Sharing regulations of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CPD).

IPPS—International Plant Production Society is a global association of plant production professionals, including those in horticultural research and education.

ISA—International Society of Arboriculture promotes the professional practice of arboriculture through research, technology, and education, and fosters a greater worldwide awareness of the benefits of trees. 

ISPN—International Sentinel Plant Network was developed to facilitate collaboration among institutes around the world, with a focus on linking botanic gardens and arboreta, National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs), and plant health scientists.

IUCN—International Union for Conservation of Nature’s mission is to influence, encourage, and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature, and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.

LCC—Landscape Conservation Cooperative is a forum for the entire conservation community to define, design, and enable partners to deliver landscapes that can sustain natural and cultural resources at levels desired by society.

MIPN—Midwest Invasive Plant Network’s mission is to reduce the impact of invasive plant species in the Midwest U.S.

NACPEC—North America-China Plant Exploration Consortium is a group of botanical institutions with the objective of increasing ex situ conservation from China. The group explores the temperate zones of China for plant species that are compatible with the environment of the north eastern U.S. 

PCA—Plant Conservation Alliance is a collaborative partnership among 12 U.S. federal agency members and over 300 non-federal cooperators. PCA members and cooperators work collaboratively to solve the problems of native plant conservation and native habitat restoration, ensuring the sustainability of ecosystems.

RNGR—The Reforestation, Nurseries, and Genetics Program was developed in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service. The goals of the program are to provide people and organizations that work in reforestation and conservation with relevant resources, the very latest technical information, and links to other organizations and individuals with similar interests. 

SITES™—Sustainable Sites Initiative is a program based on the understanding that land is a crucial component of the built environment and can be planned, designed, developed, and maintained to protect and enhance the benefits we derive from healthy functioning landscapes.

SOS—Seeds of Success is the national native seed collection program, led by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in partnership with a variety of federal agencies and non-federal organizations.

SOS—Save our Species is a global coalition initiated by the three founding partners IUCN, GEF, and World Bank to build the biggest species conservation fund, supporting on-the-ground field conservation projects all over the world.

SSC—Species Survival Commission is a science-based network of more than 7,500 volunteer experts from almost every country of the world, working together towards achieving the vision of a world that values and conserves present levels of biodiversity.

Public Databases

Online databases provide reliable tools for verifying plant names, managing collections data, and supporting conservation and research using accurate, standardized information.

GBIF—Global Biodiversity Information Facility is an international network and data infrastructure funded by the world’s governments, and aimed at providing anyone, anywhere, open access to data about all types of life on Earth.

IPNI—International Plant Names Index is a nomenclatural index of names of vascular plants published under the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants.

PGSIP—Public Gardens as Sentinels against Invasive Plants uses botanic garden and arboreta expertise to help prevent problematic plants from becoming invasive across North America (by The Morton Arboretum and Midwest Invasive Plant Network).

POWO —Plants of the World Online. Browse 1,423,000 global plant names, 200,300 detailed descriptions, and 374,900 images.

WFO—The World Flora Online, an online flora of all known plants.

Contact ArbNet

For questions, or to contribute a resource, contact the ArbNet staff at arbnet@mortonarb.org.