By Hannah Hunt
Nestled among the hills of central Kentucky, just twenty minutes south of Louisville, lies Bernheim Forest and Arboretum, a 16,000-acre protected forest. Dedicated in 1929 as a gift to the people of Kentucky from Bourbon maker and philanthropist Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, the forest comprises natural protected forest and a 600-acre arboretum, featuring over 3,600 specimens representing 1,800 taxa.
While the focus of the Arboretum has historically been on ornamental horticulture, the tide has shifted towards sustainability and conservation. We are evaluating our core collections to determine areas where we can focus on preserving wild-collected genetic material. One such opportunity was identified in our Magnolia Collection. One of our most popular collections, the Magnolia Collection consists of 161 total accessions representing 81 taxa. The original Collection was planted in the 1960s and continued to expand through the 1990s, with many prominent plantspeople throughout the region contributing. Many cultivars are represented, but few wild-collected specimens. Thus, we identified a gap that needed to be filled.
The accreditation of our Magnolia Collection reflects our intention to conserve both ex-situ and in-situ Magnolia populations, with an emphasis on the five Magnolia species native to the region— Magnolia fraseri, M. acuminata, M. macrophylla, M. tripetala, and M. virginiana. We plan to expand native Magnolia plantings in both the Arboretum and into the surrounding natural areas to bolster populations. We have revitalized and expanded our Nursery operations, and plan to propagate Magnolia to disseminate throughout our protected forest as well as to partner organizations. The accreditation application process allowed us to focus on the strengths and opportunities of our current collection and contemplate its future direction. Before beginning the application process, we crafted an updated Plant Records Policy and reactivated our Plant Collections Committee, allowing us to shape the future of horticulture at Bernheim Arboretum, and reaffirming our commitment to the preservation of biodiversity. We also shifted our plant records from an outdated format to IrisBG which allowed us to share our plant records with the public.
The first step when considering joining the multisite collection was to benchmark our holdings against the multisite holdings to determine gaps we might fill. Creating the development plan focused our attention on specific goals for the Collection that lay out a clear path to success in bridging those gaps. The site review was the final piece; having an outside evaluation provided invaluable input for our goals. The process of accreditation garnered increased attention from staff, administration, and volunteers alike: it led to a reciprocal volunteer workday where volunteers from two neighboring botanic institutions helped add fresh mulch to the collection ahead of our site review.
In addition to preserving plant material in the Arboretum, plans are underway to increase visitor attendance and interpretation of the Collection. In spring 2025 we will launch a walk-and-talk program geared toward explaining the importance of biodiversity, preservation, and the role of Arboreta in the world of genetic conservation.
We are thrilled to be the newest addition to the multisite collection and hope to contribute to the collection, not only with our specimens but also with our outreach and conservation programming aimed at increasing the public’s knowledge. With a mission of connecting people with nature and a goal of demonstrating leadership in ecological stewardship, Bernheim is uniquely poised to promote the appreciation and protection of our region’s biodiversity through land stewardship as well as education, interpretation, and outreach programs that reach over 350,000 visitors annually.
This article was originally published in the February 2025 issue of American Public Garden Association’s Public Garden magazine.
