The Bark Ark – The Role of Botanic Gardens in Tree Conservation

Botanic gardens and arboreta play a critical role in conserving threatened tree species through their living collections and field work. In this presentation, Tony Aiello will provide examples of conservation efforts for both cultivated and wild species. From his range of experiences, Tony will show examples of how public gardens are involved in conserving rare and endangered species. Drawing on his domestic and international travels, he will present some familiar and some uncommon tree species “hiding in plain sight” in botanic and private gardens.

This lecture will be run virtually as a webinar. Registration is free but required. Participants must have Zoom downloaded on their computer and be comfortable using it. The webinar link will be included in the confirmation email received after registering online.

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Anthony Aiello is Associate Director of Research, Conservation, and Plant Breeding at Longwood Gardens, where he participates in plant exploration, plant conservation, and curation. For the previous 20+ years, he served as The Gayle E. Maloney Director of Horticulture and Curator at the Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania, where he managed their historic gardens and living collections. These positions allow him to travel throughout the US, Europe, Japan, and China to find novel plants suitable for growing in the Delaware Valley. He has a B.S. from Cornell University and M.S. from Purdue University and for many years chaired the North America-China Plant Exploration Consortium (NACPEC). A native Philadelphian (and long-suffering Philly sports fan), he has written extensively about his travels, a variety of trees and shrubs, and the history of horticulture.