News

ATLANTA, GA, August 29, 2016 – The Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum has been awarded a Level II Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum, for achieving particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens. The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta at various levels of development, capacity, and professionalism. The Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum, being planted and maintained by Trees Atlanta, is also now recognized as an accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world’s arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants. An arboretum is a botanical garden focused on woody plants, which are grown for research, education and display.

Trees Atlanta has been working in partnership with the Atlanta BeltLine since 2006 to evolve the Arboretum into a 22-mile long horticultural collection. The Atlanta BeltLine is an influential transportation and sustainability project creating a network of rail transit, public parks and multi-use trails in the City of Atlanta. The Atlanta BeltLine reclaims disused historic railroad corridors that circle downtown and connect 45 neighborhoods around the city. The Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum showcases specific tree and plant collections and highlights the unique natural characteristics within each community.

“The Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum is a great way for the community to get involved with the Atlanta BeltLine project and reconnected to Atlanta’s trees and urban ecosystem,” according to Trees Atlanta’s Co-Executive Director, Greg Levine. “Ten years ago, the vision of an arboretum along the 22-mile long transit corridor was conceived. We regard the accreditation of the Arboretum as a significant milestone in its growth and development.”

“We are thrilled that the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum has been awarded Level II Accreditation,” said Paul Morris, President and CEO of Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. “Trees Atlanta has worked hard to help us make the Atlanta BeltLine an environment that showcases Atlanta’s urban canopy and greenspace potential.”

To learn more about the Arboretum, register for Trees Atlanta’s first annual Atlanta Canopy Conference on Friday, September 23, 2016 from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Trees Atlanta Kendeda Center located at 225 Chester Avenue SE, Atlanta, GA 30316. The conference is for professionals, community leaders, and residents to take the lessons learned from the creation of the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum and apply them to their own projects while protecting our urban canopy. More information at www.treesatlanta.org/canopyconference.

If you cannot attend the conference, a walking tour is another great way to see the progress of the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum. During the tour, attendees can enjoy city views and learn about the design, history, champion trees and the horticultural collections of the Atlanta BeltLine Arboretum. You may register for a free tour with an expertly-trained Trees Atlanta docent at www.treesatlanta.org/arboretum.

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About ArbNet

ArbNet is an interactive, collaborative, international community of arboreta. ArbNet facilitates the sharing of knowledge, experience, and other resources to help arboreta meet their institutional goals and works to raise professional standards through the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program. The accreditation program, sponsored and coordinated by The Morton Arboretum in Lisle, Illinois in cooperation with American Public Gardens Association and Botanic Gardens Conservation International, is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta based on a set of professional standards. The program offers four levels of accreditation, recognizing arboreta of various degrees of development, capacity and professionalism. Standards include planning, governance, public access, programming and tree science, planting and conservation. More information is available at www.arbnet.org.

About the Atlanta BeltLine

The Atlanta BeltLine is the most comprehensive transportation and economic development effort ever undertaken in the City of Atlanta and among the largest, most wide-ranging urban redevelopment programs currently underway in the United States. The Atlanta BeltLine is a sustainable redevelopment project that will provide a network of public parks, multi-use trails and transit along a historic 22-mile railroad corridor circling downtown and connecting many neighborhoods directly to each other. Atlanta BeltLine, Inc. (ABI) is the entity tasked with planning and executing the implementation of the Atlanta BeltLine in partnership with other public and private organizations, including City of Atlanta departments. For more information on the Atlanta BeltLine, please visit www.BeltLine.org.

About Trees Atlanta

Trees Atlanta is a nationally-recognized nonprofit citizens’ group that protects and improves Atlanta’s urban forest by planting, conserving and educating. Since 1985, Trees Atlanta has planted and maintained more than 113,000 trees. For more information about Trees Atlanta, call 404-522-4097 or visit www.treesatlanta.org.