Adkins Arboretum
Encyclopedia
Adkins Arboretum is a native garden
and arboretum
located within Tuckahoe State Park
at 12610 Eveland Road, Ridgely, Maryland
. It is open daily except major holidays; an admission fee is charged.
A unique aspect of the project will be an environmentally sustainable building that will meet te criteria for a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating. The new Arboretum Center will use nontoxic, recycled, and local materials, an innovative heating and cooling system, and other sustainable building methods.
. It first opened in the 1980s as a result of a major donation from Leon Andrus, a native of Queen Anne's County. The arboretum derives its name from the Adkins family, an Eastern Shore family of conservationists that was friends with Andrus. When Andrus died in 1989, he left a bequest to the arboretum's endowment.
Its original mission was to display all of Maryland
's forest types; however in the 1990s, its mission was revised to emphasize the display and study of the Delmarva Peninsula
's indigenous plant communities. In 1998, its operations were converted to a public/private partnership, with Maryland granting a 50-year lease to the Friends of Adkins Arboretum. Today, the arboretum is self-supporting with grants and donations.
Adkins Arboretum features over 600 species of native shrubs, trees, wildflowers and grasses, and contains more than four miles (6 km) of paths through meadows and native plant gardens on the Eastern Shore of Maryland
.
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
and arboretum
Arboretum
An arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
located within Tuckahoe State Park
Tuckahoe State Park
Tuckahoe State Park is a state park along Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The park features hiking, biking, and equestrian trails as well as picnicking, camping, cabins, flat-water canoeing, hunting, a disc golf course, and a recycled-tire playground for children.The...
at 12610 Eveland Road, Ridgely, Maryland
Ridgely, Maryland
Ridgely is a town in Caroline County, Maryland, United States. The population was 1,352 at the 2000 census. Its main ZIP code is 21660, but is assigned eight other "216" zip codes due to its status as a home to fulfillment companies that receive and ship mail-in offers. The primary phone exchange...
. It is open daily except major holidays; an admission fee is charged.
Mission
The mission of Adkins Arboretum is to promote the appreciation and conservation of the native plants of the Delmarva Peninsula. The arboretum’s diverse setting of woodlands, meadows, wetlands, streams, and gardens serves as a model for land management and ecological restoration. Through its educational, research, cultural, and recreational programs, the arboretum strives to inspire its community to adopt land stewardship practices for a healthier and more beautiful world.The Campaign to Build a Green Legacy
Adkins Arboretum has announced a $5 million Capital Campaign, "The Campaign to Build a Green Legacy." This project will build a new "green" Arboretum Center, create an ecologically sensitive entry and parking area, and provide endowment funds that will help sustain the expansion and support new programs. Upon its completion, the Arboretum wil be able to broaden its educational offerings and research inintiatives to accommodate a growing visitorship.A unique aspect of the project will be an environmentally sustainable building that will meet te criteria for a Gold LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating. The new Arboretum Center will use nontoxic, recycled, and local materials, an innovative heating and cooling system, and other sustainable building methods.
History
The arboretum was originally established in 1972 to be the Maryland state arboretum on the grounds of Tuckahoe State ParkTuckahoe State Park
Tuckahoe State Park is a state park along Tuckahoe Creek in Caroline County on Maryland's Eastern Shore. The park features hiking, biking, and equestrian trails as well as picnicking, camping, cabins, flat-water canoeing, hunting, a disc golf course, and a recycled-tire playground for children.The...
. It first opened in the 1980s as a result of a major donation from Leon Andrus, a native of Queen Anne's County. The arboretum derives its name from the Adkins family, an Eastern Shore family of conservationists that was friends with Andrus. When Andrus died in 1989, he left a bequest to the arboretum's endowment.
Its original mission was to display all of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
's forest types; however in the 1990s, its mission was revised to emphasize the display and study of the Delmarva Peninsula
Delmarva Peninsula
The Delmarva Peninsula is a large peninsula on the East Coast of the United States, occupied by most of Delaware and portions of Maryland and Virginia...
's indigenous plant communities. In 1998, its operations were converted to a public/private partnership, with Maryland granting a 50-year lease to the Friends of Adkins Arboretum. Today, the arboretum is self-supporting with grants and donations.
Adkins Arboretum features over 600 species of native shrubs, trees, wildflowers and grasses, and contains more than four miles (6 km) of paths through meadows and native plant gardens on the Eastern Shore of Maryland
Eastern Shore of Maryland
The Eastern Shore of Maryland is a territorial part of the U.S. state of Maryland that lies predominately on the east side of the Chesapeake Bay and consists of nine counties. The origin of term Eastern Shore was derived to distinguish a territorial part of the State of Maryland from the Western...
.