Holden Arboretum

See schedule othe Holden Arboretum is a 3,500-acre outdoor museum of trees and woody plants that promotes The beauty and importance of trees and woody plants to create sustainable and healthy communities in The great lakes region. In addition, The Arboretum has approximately 1,700 acres in conservation easements. Also, The Arboretum's operations include The leach research station in madison, oh. Along with cleveland botanical garden, The Arboretum is accredited by The american alliance of museums as Holden Forests & Gardens. The Holden Arboretum is integrated with The cleveland botanical garden under The Holden Forests & Gardens brand. The cleveland botanical garden is an urban botanical garden located 25 miles from Holden Arboretum in The city of cleveland. Together, The two institutions represent The 14th largest public garden in The country. The mission of The combined organization is to connect people with The wonder, beauty, and value of trees and plants, to inspire action for healthy communities. The Holden Arboretum fulfils this mission through core programming that focuses on science and conservation, education, horticulture, and guest experience and engagement. In fiscal year 2020 (fy20), Holden Forests & Gardens and The Holden Arboretum were significantly limited by The covid-19 pandemic. The Arboretum was closed for 10 weeks from march 18 to may 28. However, The pandemic proved The importance of The organization's mission to connect people to The natural world, and delivery of key programs continued while shifting to new programs and systems. Science & conservation: The research staff published (17) peer-reviewed papers in industry journals. Ongoing research projects include studies on beech leaf disease; beech bark disease; hemlock wooly adelgid; rhododendrons; soil ecology; forest ecology; and genetics. 500 trees were planted at The Arboretum in a collaborative effort between research and conservation to explore The role of soil amendment within forest restoration. Two new staff positions added in fy20 helped further collaborative work in forest health and community engagement. Through The usfs, a forest health coordinator was embedded with The conservation team to establish a forest health collaborative for The great lakes region at Holden Arboretum. A natural areas biologist was also hired to lead The development of a woodland steward program, which is a new management approach to The Arboretum's natural areas that involves training volunteers to be stewards and support conservation activities including invasive species control, restoration planting, and urban forestry. The community forestry program assessed and redesigned tree corps, an arboriculture apprenticeship and development program, in fy20. The reimagined and expanded tree corps offerings will be introduced in fy21. The science and conservation department also led Holden Forests & Gardens' enrollment in The phipps climate toolkit, committing to "aggressively address climate change in [its] operations." In fy20, The organization completed two of The 14 goals pledged as part of The climate toolkit. Horticulture & collections: The horticulture & collections staff maintain, cultivate, and care for over 16,000 accessioned plants in The living collection at The Holden Arboretum. In collaboration with The research staff, they manage another 3,100 preserved research specimens and associated data, and nearly 5,700 trees and plants in temporary research collections. The horticulture team maintains The 233 acres of developed grounds in The "core" visitor area of The Arboretum, ensuring that guests enjoy a sense of wonder and beauty every time they visit. In fy20, Holden Forests & Gardens hired a vice president of horticulture & collections to oversee The work at both campuses, with an emphasis on sharing The deep expertise of The staff and leveraging their skills to immerse guests in a multi-layered experience. The horticulture team works closely with The exhibits & experiences and guest services staffs to develop interpretation opportunities that support informal education as well as collaborate on special exhibits and experiences. In support of this goal and to guide staff work, The horticulture and collections team worked with members of The research team to complete a comprehensive collections management policy, with a rhododendron collections plan in development. The horticulture team also worked closely with The exhibits & experiences team to produce two online plant sales, which together grossed $40k, more than The single in-person plant show previously averaged. Guest experience: The exhibits & experiences program invested in stickwork, an outdoor sculpture by renowned artist patrick dougherty in august 2020. Originally planned to be installed at The cleveland botanical garden earlier in The year when The campus was closed due to covid-19, The sculpture was constructed on site at The Arboretum instead, made completely from willow. It opened august 22, 2020, and will remain until it naturally deteriorates, at least one year. The exhibits & experiences program also created The fairy doors experience at The Arboretum, during which 30 handcrafted fairy doors created by local artists were on display throughout The grounds (july 23 to august 27). Together, The stickwork and fairy doors experiences drove attendance throughout The pandemic as The Arboretum continued to operate with limited capacity and timed tickets based on federal and state guidance. Together with The Arboretum's signature murch canopy walk and kalberer emergent tower experiences, these public events are designed to provide a variety of opportunities to enjoy The Arboretum in fun, accessible, and educational ways to nurture an appreciation for The outdoors while also sustaining The Arboretum. The Arboretum hosted 101,477 general admission visitors and 142,544 total visitors in fy20 and was selected The best place for families (neo parent) and The best place to social distance in Ohio (marketwatch).education: The Arboretum provides a series of educational opportunities for those who are interested in digging even deeper, from youth and classroom-based programs to adult and continuing education. In fy20, The education team successfully pivoted to online learning opportunities beginning in spring/summer, including camps. In fy20, Holden Forests & Gardens served 17,316 total participants in nature-based school programs, including limited on-site and offsite programming, adult classes, and online learning across education, research, and conservation. Virtual classes reached participants in 10 states and 2 other countries.