2023 has brought on many new challenges and new achievements. At The Dawes Arboretum, we strive every day to put our best foot forward in serving the community with the ability to enrich lives through the conservation of trees, nature and history. Below are a few highlights that have aided in the continuing of our mission!
Learning & Engagement:
- 240+ Programs hosted
- 6950+ Attendees served
- 3400+ Teachers and students hosted for field trips, summer groups and professional development
- 120+ Pounds of vegetables grown in the Learning Garden donated to Licking County food pantries
- 350 Winter & spring camp boxes were distributed to underprivileged children in Licking County through partnership with Ohio Valley Education Service Center
- 4000+ Guests viewed the history exhibit & toured the Daweswood House Museum
- 5500+ Guests participated in our engagement opportunities, over 190 opportunities offered
Volunteers, Memberships & Visitation:
- 5850 Total volunteer hours
- 1,800+ New memberships joined the membership program
- 700+ Guests converted their admission tickets to memberships
- 800+ Library passes were used to get free admission to the arboretum
- 105,000+ Guests visited The Arboretum
Science & Conservation:
- 320 pounds of native seed collected valued at over $100,000
- 30+ Monarch butterflies tagged and reared
- 750+ Trees planted in over 100 taxa
- 380+ New accessions registered for the Living Collections, Display, and Research and Reforestation in 2023
- 600+ native trees planted within a 6-acre habitat restoration project
- 120+ counted salamanders as part of The Arboretum’s wildlife monitoring of these sensitive species
- Monitored tree survival and ground cover composition in 7 reforestation plots to understand forest health and improve management methods
- 14 acres cleared infested with woody invasives (about half the area of Chicago's Millennium Park) with use of a forestry mulcher for conversion to functional prairie habitat to host sensitive wildlife that depend upon grasslands
- 44 species of seed offered to other institutions through our Index Seminum, ultimately sending seed to 15 countries
This year has been a record-breaking year and we are so thankful for your support! Here’s to 2024 and a year filled with passion for learning, educating and conserving the great outdoors.
These numbers represent our fiscal year, from October 2022 through September 2023.