The NC Arboretum Launches New Web Site

Welcome to one of the most beautiful places on earth! You’ve entered the Web and social media portal of The North Carolina Arboretum, located in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest of the Pisgah National Forest. We’re pleased you’re here.

Whether you are a prospective visitor to our mountains, a student, a business person, regional resident, or member, you will find this avenue to Arboretum information designed to serve your curiosity, interests and needs. We hope that we can provide exemplary service to you, whether here or through a personal visit to the Arboretum.

As an affiliate of the 17-campus University of North Carolina system, the Arboretum offers an array of programs ranging from kid’s camps and formal education classes to major plant shows and 435 acres of exhibits, landscape features and natural areas. It’s a great place to simply reconnect with nature, spend time outdoors, and celebrate the views, water and majesty of our natural world in the Southern Appalachians.

We’re also focused on sustainable economic development pursuits that capitalize on our unique regional assets – extraordinary biodiversity and the national repository of weather data. The Arboretum is home to the Bent Creek Institute, a young organization that focuses on natural biotechnology and integrative medicine – bringing scientific validation to our mountain folk remedies and responding to a burgeoning market for high quality research in nutraseuticals and botanical medicines.

The Arboretum joins with many community and other partners in making Asheville a national center for climate change information and business development. Our interest, of course, at the Arboretum is the impact of climate change on our plants and ecology.

It’s all here – from enjoying nature to building business; from sunning to science. In a wide variety of ways, The North Carolina Arboretum is growing the future.

George Briggs

Executive Director

The NC Arboretum is Open and Enjoying Spring!

Hello:

The Arboretum is not closing, despite recent reports circulating in emails, blogs and the press that may state otherwise.

The Arboretum is an affiliate of the University System of North Carolina. No doubt, all state entities, just like many businesses and non-profit organizations, are facing unprecedented and historical budget pressures due to the current international economic crisis. The Arboretum has already cut its budget 7 percent this year, reducing programs and positions.

Despite these cuts, the Arboretum staff is working very hard to avoid any negative impact to the public’s access to the Arboretum this spring and we will continue to do so in our new fiscal year, which begins July 1. We are continuing to watch the economic front and our revenue performance very closely from week to week. We are getting great support from the NC university system and from our local legislative delegation as the General Assembly meets to deal with the state budget and many other issues.

The Arboretum is looking forward to a great spring ahead and we hope that you will continue to visit and support the Arboretum. Here is a list of how you can support the Arboretum and a list of activities coming up within the next few weeks:

Support The Arboretum:

• Make sure everyone on your social network is aware of this correct information

• Visit the Arboretum often and enjoy what it has to offer

• Consider making a contribution in the box at the entrance to the Education Center next time you’re there

• Consider becoming a member of the Arboretum For an affordable rate, you receive unlimited visiting opportunities, discounts on programs, discounts at the café and gift shop, discounts at other gardens and arboreta throughout the US, and opportunities to participate in special member events and social functions.

• Become a volunteer. A variety of skills are needed, from gardening and working in the greenhouse to data entry and other office work. See the list and obtain an application at www.ncarboretum.org. Contact Lynne Garrison, Volunteer Coordinator.

• Enjoy spring with us! Natural beauty comes in a kaleidoscope of colors this spring at The North Carolina Arboretum – a beautiful bargain at only $6 per vehicle. Vibrant spring colors bloom amid the Arboretum’s 434 acres. With 65 acres of cultivated gardens and 10 miles of hiking and biking trails, there are ample opportunities to explore how nature delights the senses at the Arboretum. Visitors can also explore a state-of-the-art production greenhouse, one of the finest, most unique bonsai collections in the United States, and the popular indoor exhibit, “Masters of the Night: The True Story of Bats,” through May 10.

Beginning With Roots

History Comes to Life

The North Carolina Arboretum began in 1986, but our roots go back to the late 1800s and a dream by the “Father of Landscape Architecture,” Frederick Law Olmsted. Olmsted was an internationally recognized landscape architect who brought his unique vision to life throughout the world. He died in 1898 after completing his last major project at the Biltmore Estate but before he could see his dream of establishing an arboretum on estate property realized.

His dream became the foundation for The North Carolina Arboretum. In the early 1980s The Western North Carolina Development Association supported the establishment of an arboretum to serve the mountain area, and The North Carolina Arboretum was established in 1984.

In 1986 The NC General Assembly established The Arboretum’s governance structure as an affiliated facility of the 16-campus University of North Carolina system. A site selection committee approved The Arboretum’s current location in the Bent Creek Experimental Forest of the Pisgah National Forest – comprised of land once owned by the Biltmore Estate. Olmsted’s dream was realized within a century of his passing and on the very land he dreamed about.

Since that time The NC Arboretum has enjoyed its popularity, growth, and expanded audience as evidenced by the more than 240,000 guests who explore our gardens, trails, and exhibits each year.

What can people do and see at The NC Arboretum?
The NC Arboretum invites guests to discover and enjoy the natural world, and:

• Visit The Baker Exhibit Center, where we welcome guests and host high-quality traveling exhibits year-round;
• Discover natural beauty through 65 acres of cultivated gardens, including one of the finest bonsai collections in Southeastern United States;
• Explore 10 miles of forested hiking and biking trails;
• Take a guided or self-guided garden tour, a self-guided Art Walk of garden sculpture, or enjoy a free Nature Discovery Day Pack for children;
• Glide through nature via Segway on a guided tour;
• Enjoy frequent plant shows and art exhibits throughout the year;
• Take an adult or youth program or class with our expert educators;
• Enjoy homemade soups, salads, sandwiches and desserts at the Savory Thyme Café;
• Find keepsakes and unique gifts for your loved ones or yourself at our gift shops;
• Return often; every season is beautiful!

For more information, visit www.ncarboretum.org.

Next Up

This entry serves as the beginning of an exciting year on the horizon for The NC Arboretum. Key staff will begin to contribute to this blog, providing fun and engaging insights and resource information about The NC Arboretum experience. Stay tuned in early 2009!