Enjoy family fun at the Arboretum with some cool upcoming events.
March
Cabin Fever Tour, Early Spring Blooming Flowers
Date: Saturday, March 26, 2022 from 10am-12pm
Cost: Free. Donations are always appreciated.
Description: Our Senior Horticulturist, Jesse Dahl, will lead you on a Cabin Fever Tour of early spring blooming flowers at The Arboretum. Jesse will guide you to early spring favorites in bloom at the time. We anticipate you will see eranthis, hellebores, forsythia, daffodils, witchhazel, and bloodroot. With our many acres of cultivated gardens and displays, you might miss one of these beauties when you visit. With Jesse’s guidance, you will have access to his insider’s knowledge of the gardens and plants.
Ages:13 and up
Registration: Pre-registration required as space is limited. To register, please contact us at Arboretum@uky.edu or (859) 257-6955 with the following information: the event you wish to join, your name, email address, and phone number.
April
Kentucky Children’s Garden 2022 Opening Day
Date: April 1, 2022 from 10:00am to 5:00pm (must purchase tickets before 4:00pm).
Cost: $3.00 ages 2 and up. Click here to view a list of our NEW 2022 KCG Appreciation Days
Description: Are you ready for the Kentucky Children’s Garden (KCG) to open?!? We’re preparing to open for the 2022 season on Thursday April 1st. We hope you are as ready as Dawn Bailey, our Education Coordinator and KCG Manager, is to once again welcome you for fun and educational programming, planting the raised beds, exploring the stream, catching tadpoles in the pond, watering flowers, watching Percy and Thomas, and playing in the log cabin.
Ages: Recommended for ages 2-8
Registration: No registration required
UKY Dance Performance
Date: April 15th and 16th, 2022 Time TBD
Cost: TBD
Description: TBD
Ages: TBD
Registration: TBD
One Day for UK
Date: April 21, 2022. Time TBD
Cost: TBD
Description: This spring, The Arboretum will once again be a featured area of need during One Day for UK. On this day we will bring together our supporters to share why they love The Arboretum and to pledge their support.
Ages: TBD
Registration: TBD
Chamber Music Recital
Date: April 22, 2022 at 1:00pm at The Arboretum’s Horticultural Gardens Gazebo
Cost: Free
Description: A group of local percussionists will be performing Michael Gordon’s “Timber” — a piece for 6 amplified wooden planks. The amplification of the complex timbral qualities of the wood creates an ethereal sonic experience and encourages a meditation in sound and rhythm. The group is comprised primarily of members from the University of Kentucky percussion program as well as independent artists from the southeastern region. This performance fulfills a chamber music requirement for the doctoral studies of Christian Swafford.
Facilitator / Instructor name and department: James Campbell is a Professor of Music Performance in the School of Music within the College of Fine Arts at the University of Kentucky.
Ages: All ages
Registration: None
May
Wild Ones City Nature Challenge
Date: May 1, 2022. Time TBD at The Arboretum
Cost: TBD
Description: Josie Miller will lead a group to participate in The City Nature Challenge: A New Way to Discover Lexington. This is the second year for The City Nature Challenge, a global 4-day community science project aimed at documenting nature in and around urban areas. Floracliff Nature Sanctuary is bringing the City Nature Challenge to Lexington, and Josie Miller, Stewardship Director at Floracliff, will lead this group to observe and document plants and animals with the I-Naturalist App. Those who are unfamiliar with the App, will learn how to use it, which is easy.
Ages: TBD
Registration: TBD
Protecting and Connecting Urban Tree Collections in a Changing Climate
Arboretum staff are collaborating with the Urban Forest Initiative (UFI) and others at UK to better understand the current and future effects of climate change, and how we can adapt our collection management policies to meet future needs. Claire Hilbrecht, UFI Lead Technician, is working on a multifaceted project involving The Arboretum, the UK Campus and the community of Lexington. Join us in this 3-part series to find out how you can make an impact.
Part 1: Protecting and Connecting Urban Tree Collections in a Challenging Climate Zoom Webinar
Date: Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 12:30pm via Zoom
Cost: TBD
Description: Claire has collected data from native trees in our Walk Across Kentucky Collection and our Horticultural Collection, in addition to trees on the UK Campus and in neighborhoods across Lexington, to develop baseline information. She will present Protecting and Connecting Urban Tree Collections in a Changing Climate on Wednesday May 11, 2022 at 12:30 p.m. via a Zoom webinar. The presentation will discuss how Kentucky plants are responding to climate change. Participants will learn how native trees will be affected by climate change and how community members can care for their local tree canopies amidst these changes. Participants will also learn about the work that is being done in Lexington and at The Arboretum to help prepare our tree canopies for a changing climate.
Ages: TBD
Registration: Pre-registration is required. For more information about the webinar, contact Claire at Claire.hillretch@uky.edu or arboretum@uky.edu.
Part 2: Tree Inventory Workshop
Date: Saturday, May 14, 2022 from 10:00am-12:00pm (in-person)
Cost: TBD
Description: This in-person workshop at The Arboretum will teach volunteers to identify common tree species, as well as how to measure and assess tree size and health. No prior tree ID experience is necessary, just a love of nature and a concern for the wellbeing of our shared tree canopy. Participants should bring a notebook and pencil, as well as a tape measure and charged smartphone if they have access to these items, though no materials are required.
Ages: TBD
Registration: To pre-register for the Tree Inventory Workshop at The Arboretum, send an email to arboretum@uky.edu
Part 3: Community Science Tree Inventories at 12 Lexington Parks
Date: TBD
Cost: TBD
Description: Now, put everything you have learned in the webinar and in the workshop to use! Volunteers are needed to inventory trees in 12 public parks in Lexington as a part of a community science initiative to help prepare our local tree canopies for climate change.
Ages: TBD
Registration: To participate in conducting tree inventories at Lexington parks, contact claire.hilbrecht@uky.edu
June
Birdhouse Display
Date: June 1-30, 2022
Cost: Free
Description: The Birdhouse Display in the Horticultural Gardens and Displays is coming back–in a new way! This year’s birdhouse entries will be displayed in the Horticultural Gardens for the entire month of June. All birdhouses that are entered will be displayed in the gardens. Due to limited space and ongoing COVID concerns, we will not be able to display any birdhouses in the Visitor Center, nor will we conduct an auction.
Ages: TBD
Registration: Pre-registration required. Please email us at Arboretum@uky.edu or call (859) 257-6955 to register.