Atlanta Beltline Arboretum Educates Public and Amplifies Sustainability Across the City

When you step onto the Atlanta Beltline, you are walking on so much more than the paved trails that Atlantans have grown to love: you are entering a linear botanical garden anchored in sustainability and education. 

From the Beltline’s inception, we have partnered with Trees Atlanta to meet our commitment to fostering a balanced and healthier ecosystem. Planning for tree removal and replacement is crucial in every project, but the partnership extends far beyond this.

“Not only does it provide greater opportunity to do the work that we do all across the board–planting work, conservation work, and education… it touches a lot more of the city than any one particular other partnership we might have,” said Brian Williams, Trees Atlanta’s Conservation Director.

Trees Atlanta currently manages 50 acres of linear greenspace along 11 miles of the Atlanta Beltline corridor, known as the Atlanta Beltline Arboretum. An arboretum is a botanical garden focused on trees, which are grown for research, education, and display.

Meghan Injaychock, the Atlanta Beltline’s Senior Landscape Architect, spoke on the importance of the design and construction team’s relationship with Trees Atlanta. 

“They are who I pass the baton to,” she said. “Once we're done, we walk away, and it’s nice to know that they step up and continue making the Beltline better.”

This relationship prioritizes long-term sustainability. Judy Yi, Director of Marketing and Outreach for Trees Atlanta, discussed the power of the trees and plants they maintain to improve soil quality, lower heat, control stormwater, and increase people’s health.

“It really is for the health and wellbeing of everyone that lives in Atlanta, especially the 45 communities that are connected by the Beltline, and the millions of visitors that enjoy the Beltline experience each year.”

Grace Manning, the Beltline’s Arboretum Manager, explained how native plants are intentionally chosen because they are used to our climate. This saves water, emissions and gas fumes that long-term maintenance would require.

Injaychock also described the arboretum’s overall function as a defense mechanism:

“Planting a ton of different types of trees is also a way to sustainably defend against invasive insects or pests.”

The Arboretum currently has 9,000 accessioned trees and shrubs in its collection representing 369 unique species and cultivars. Tens of thousands of native plants and grasses have also been planted in the meadows that also fill the Arboretum with seasonal interests. Trees Atlanta has also funded and installed several educational spaces that provide Beltline users an experience not typically found in an urban trail. Some current and upcoming projects are:

• The Stumpery, located on the Eastside trail near Reynoldstown, shows that trees continue to enhance the community around them long after they live. Dead trees provide habitats for plants and animals on multiple ladders of the food chain.

• The Longleaf Pine Savanna and Bog transforms an area prone to collect water into an advantage. Using bioswales, it allows botanists and other visitors to enjoy many species of flowers and trees, such as a unique collection of pitcher plants native to Georgia.

• A Pinetum, a collection of coniferous trees native to the South, is found along the Westside trail.

• A butterfly garden, which will be a concentration of plants for pollinators, particularly butterflies, found all in one spot for educational purposes.

  

A public garden with nearly 2 million trail users each year, the Beltline’s arboretum presents a rare opportunity to educate the public and demonstrate how visitors can be conscious of sustainability in their own planting practices.

Trees Atlanta gives free guided tours of the arboretum on the Eastside, Westside, Southwest, and Northeast trails. To view a calendar of events, volunteer opportunities, and other information, visit treesatlanta.org.