Wednesday, June 27, 2007
News Beltline could become world's longest arboretum
Posted by Mara Shalhoup on Wed, Jun 27, 2007 at 10:04 PM
Add to the list of things the Beltline hopes to accomplish — including a loop of light rail, a new system of parks and trails, and a ring of responsible development — yet another perk: a living, breathing museum of indigenous plants and trees.
For over a year, local nonprofit Trees Atlanta has pitched the concept of an arboretum to officials overseeing the city's multibillion-dollar Beltline project. At a meeting this week, Beltline and city officials expressed enthusiasm for the arboretum.
Trees Atlanta plans to finish a concept plan for the 22-mile arboretum within a couple of months and, hopefully, will go to work immediately on what could become the world's longest arboretum.
Arboretums — land dedicated to plants and trees, both for beauty and for study — are common in large cities. There's the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia and the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. But Atlanta — a city with a particularly lush display of trees — doesn't have one. According to Greg Levine, program director for Trees Atlanta, it should.
"We want it to be an attraction for the city, like the Georgia Aquarium or the High Museum," Levine says, "while educating the citizens and making them proud of what Atlanta’s known for, which is its trees."
He says the addition of an arboretum to the Beltline project, particularly in the project's early years, could help foster more environmentally friendly development along the Beltline's path. An arboretum also would present an opportunity to study the growth of trees and plants in a more challenging, urban setting.
"A 22-mile park would be fantastic in itself," Levine says. "But a 22-mile arboretum is going to bring another layer to the cake."
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