The future of one of Seattle’s most popular and vital urban green spaces brightened recently with the Arboretum Foundation’s and University of Washington’s announcement that they will combine the operations of the Foundation and the University of Washington Botanic Gardens under a single nonprofit organization managed by the Board of Directors of the Foundation and to be known following the consolidation as “Seattle Botanic Gardens.” Along with the City of Seattle, the two organizations have for 90 years operated the historic Washington Park Arboretum on the shores of Lake Washington, the botanic and Japanese gardens where visitors marvel at the seasonal growth cycles of thousands of plants from around the world, and University of Washington students and faculty learn and conduct significant environmental and conservation research.
By combining their operations in a unified nonprofit organization, the Arboretum Foundation and University of Washington Botanic Gardens have strengthened the structure responsible for maintaining and growing this beloved resource, which will also now will include the Center for Urban Horticulture and Union Bay Natural Area.
As longtime counsel to the Arboretum Foundation, Pacifica attorney Gerry Johnson worked with UW attorneys general to craft a bespoke Services Agreement between the Foundation and the UW that will govern Seattle Botanic Gardens’ management responsibilities under the new arrangement. A multi-month transition period during which the Foundation will gradually take up its new responsibilities for the affected UW assets is already underway.
For decades the City, the UW and, more recently, the Arboretum Foundation have worked closely together, with the Foundation gradually assuming greater responsibilities, specifically including fundraising to enhance stewardship of the publicly owned assets.
Together, they now look forward to reincorporating the “Arboretum Peninsula” into the Arboretum with the completion of the Washington State Department of Transportation’s SR 520 project. The combination of the operations and services of the Arboretum Foundation and UW Botanic Gardens within the rebranded Seattle Botanic Gardens ensures that the new organization will continue to evolve and grow as a resource for the general public, the City and the UW, with expanded educational programming, continued free public access to the Arboretum and gardens, and future investment in improved and expanded facilities and amenities.
The Arboretum Foundation Board of Directors and University of Washington Board of Regents approved the Services Agreement forming Seattle Botanic Gardens in early January. A national search for a new CEO to lead the organization is underway.
Pacifica is proud to have supported the Foundation in advancing this important project.
