It’s a beautiful Saturday afternoon in December as I sit by the koi pond at the arboretum and write this bit of a reflection of the year 2024. We are the NC Cooperative Extension – New Hanover County Center and Arboretum. Our amazing team of employees and volunteers does good work, and I find it rewarding to look back and share.
Last winter, TreeFest tree giveaway operated for its 26th year, and provided a few thousand bare-root trees for families to enhance our community’s tree canopy. Save the date: This effort is planned again for Jan. 17-18 at Independence Mall.
This spring provided a horticulture educational opportunity through the annual Spring Extension Master Gardener Volunteer Association plant sale to our community, offering a curated selection of plants well-suited to our region.
During summer solstice, we hosted the sixth annual Sustainability Fashion Show, inspiring the audience with thrifted and repurposed fashion and raised awareness of the environmentally harmful fast-fashion industry.
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The fall provided the ninth annual Native Plant Festival, a collaborative event highlighting education about native plants suited for use in our ornamental landscapes (and sending folks to local nurseries to buy them). A similar group promoted a community read of Doug Tallamy’s “Nature’s Best Hope” with a free book giveaway and sold-out lecture by the author.
This fall, following Halloween and Thanksgiving, we hosted a recurring annual pumpkin collection for animal feed and compost, successfully diverting a couple of tons of organic/biodegradable waste from the landfill.
Some garden enhancements supported by the Friends of the Arboretum this year includes additional grounds lighting for evening organization’s event rentals.
Our community development work moves forward with the vision for a Nature Park on Eagles Island gaining worthy local and state attention and support. The Therapeutic Horticulture program continues to serve the underserved of our community with efforts like Nature Rx and trauma recovery. Our Extension Master Gardener Volunteers staff our plant clinic 250 days a year, helped hundreds of citizens and processed 2,439 soil samples.
The Family and Consumer Science program worked with New Hanover Division of Health and Human Services to provide for young people in/aging out of the foster care with cooking and nutrition experience. Also, the agent supported the work of Cape Fear Food Council, Farm to School programs, the local Farmers Market and the Disaster Coalition.
4-H/Youth Development grew with robust afterschool programming, embryology, multiple summer camps, “kids voting!” experience and Environmental Field Days. Natural Resources work brought innovative stormwater management and education to the field.
Educating on managing natural resources, youth development, worthy horticulture practices, food systems work, and community development throughout, our work is supported by New Hanover County, N.C. State University and our affiliated nonprofit organizations. Here’s to a great 2025 – may the good work continue.
Lloyd Singleton serves as the county extension director. He can be reached at [email protected] or 910-798-7660. The gardens, located at 6206 Oleander Drive in Wilmington are free and open daily from 8 a.m.-5 p.m.
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