A brief history

In March of 2013, the City of Bexley was accredited as an arboretum by the Morton Register of Arboreta, making it the first City in the United States to successfully obtain arboretum accreditation. In fact, trees have always been an important piece of Bexley’s community. For 35 years now the City of Bexley has been a participant in the Tree City USA program. Year over year great care and attention goes into maintaining over 14,000 trees  within the City's right-of-ways and public parks. This commitmentment to trees is what makes Bexley Arboretum possible.

How did we become an official arboretum?

In 2013 we made history and became the country's first ever municipal arboretum registered by Morton Register of Arboreta. The entire city of Bexley is classified as an Arboretum. From our residential neighborhoods and schools to the commercial district and parks, each respective area reveres trees and contributes to our collective mission in unique ways. In order to qualify as an arboretum, The City of Bexley had to meet many requirements:

  1. Develop a strategic master plan for our arboretum

  2. A governing board or authority that is dedicated to the arboretum plan

  3. Showcase a minimum of 100 species of trees/ woody plants with signage that  identifies them taxonomically

  4. A team of employees and volunteers dedicated to maintaining the arboretum

  5. An arboretums collections policy 

  6. Enhanced educational programing for the public

At that time, our forestry department was already managing our local flora in such a way that the city only had to make a few adjustments to meet all the criteria to achieve Level II status.