Our Mission
The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University discovers and disseminates knowledge of the plant kingdom to foster greater understanding, appreciation, and stewardship of the Earth’s botanical diversity and its essential value to humankind.
This is accomplished through three areas of activity:
Research
The Arnold Arboretum promotes research by its scientific staff and other scientists to increase our knowledge of the biology and evolutionary history of plants.
Horticulture
The Arboretum is committed to attaining a leadership role in the management and presentation of botanical collections and landscapes.
Education
Education programs are based on the unique resources of the Arnold Arboretum. They utilize the living collections and the cultural landscape, as well as the information resources and expertise of the staff to educate in the life sciences, plant biology, horticulture, and related disciplines.
In addition to these primary activities that fulfill our mission, the Arboretum maintains library, archival, herbarium and web resources to provide information, materials and support for Arboretum scientists and visiting researchers, as well as students and the interested public. These resources hold significant value as historical and/or biological records, and are managed and conserved utilizing the best available preservation practices. Information technology is critical both to the management of these resources and to the services that facilitate and promote their active use.
More about our mission.