Heritage Center Arboretum Master Plan Approved
The Heritage Center Arboretum now has a master plan to guide its continued improvement through the next few years.
The Anderson Township Heritage Center, a historic home site and township event venue at the corner of Eight Mile and Forest roads, was designated as a Level I Arboretum in late 2020. It became one of only 527 ArbNet accredited arboreta globally.
At the time of designation, a collection of 38 species of trees and shrubs had been identified and labeled with signs. The goal was to create a setting that was not just beautiful but also offered an enjoyable self-guided educational opportunity for visitors, according to Tim Kloppenborg, head of the arboretum subcommittee under the township’s volunteer Tree Committee.
Since 2020, the arboretum has grown to 60 species in the official arboretum plant collection. Most of these additional trees were donated by Tree Committee volunteers and Little Miami Landscape.
A dedicated website may be found by clicking
HERE. A story map now details each species in the collection and can be accessed through the QR codes on the site’s identification signs, by clicking
HERE.
"The expertise and dedication of the Tree (citizen) Committee is incredible, and this master plan is a testament to that," said Trustee Lexi Lausten. "What is very exciting is that the plan will allow for appropriate expansion as well as additional educational opportunities to continue to engage and enhance the community."
Additional plantings to enhance the beauty and educational value of the site are part of the master plan. An arboretum site map will be added so visitors can more easily find locations and names of the plants in the official collection. Joe Willging, a Tree Committee member who is also a professional planner and landscape architect, produced and donated the map.