Adkins Arboretum is pleased to announce a $20,000 award from the Caroline Foundation to support Building a Healthier Community through Nature, an initiative that expands access to nature and strengthens connections between people, place, and well-being.
Through this grant, low-income Caroline County residents will receive complimentary household memberships to the Arboretum. These memberships grant free or discounted rates to the Arboretum’s year-round program offerings, which include guided walks, science and art classes, a book club, special events, and more. The complimentary memberships also offer discounts at both the Arboretum gift shop and twice yearly native plant sales.
In addition, the funding will support specialized training for staff and volunteers led by Jodie Schram, Certified Nature Therapy Coach and Guide.
Schram says, “The Caroline Foundation’s generous support means Adkins Arboretum staff and volunteers will be able to use evidence-based nature connection practices to help every visitor experience the beauty of this place and, more fully, nature’s power to restore.”
“Nature has an extraordinary ability to bring us together, offer respite, and nurture our sense of well-being,” said Suzy Moore, Director of Advancement at Adkins Arboretum. “This generous support from the Caroline Foundation allows us to approach community health in two meaningful ways: by welcoming more of our neighbors through our doors and by equipping our staff and volunteers with new ways to help visitors connect with nature. We are grateful for the opportunity to make these experiences more accessible and meaningful for our community.”
“Being in the room at the Caroline Foundations Annual Awards Breakfast alongside so many dedicated service organizations and grant recipients was deeply powerful,” Moore added. “It is inspiring to see our collective work recognized and to stand together in support and advocacy for the health, safety, nourishment, and well-being of Caroline County residents. We are so fortunate to have the Caroline Foundation leading the good work of Caroline County.”
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About Adkins Arboretum
Located at the headwaters of the Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County, Maryland, Adkins Arboretum is one of the few botanical institutions focused on conserving and promoting the flora of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain. The Arboretum’s collection comprises 400 acres of native plant communities in cultivated gardens and successional patterns of meadows, old fields, pine plantations, young hardwood forests, mature bottomland forests and wetlands. The Arboretum strives to inspire environmental stewardship, provide respite and healing and celebrate natural and cultural diversity through the joy and wonder of the natural world. Learn more at adkinsarboretum.org.
Adkins Arboretum is a 400-acre native garden and preserve located in Ridgely, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore.
