2024: A year growth, cultural connection, and student engagement

The 2024 fiscal year ended with Cornell Botanic Gardens achieving advances in conservation, sustainability, climate adaptation, student engagement, and more. We safeguarded rare plants, protected trees threatened by invasive insects, showcased culturally significant plants, and expanded our student engagement program. Thanks to a strengthened budget, we replaced long-unfilled staff positions, empowering us to implement more mission-critical work and to create landscapes and garden spaces both beautiful and adaptive to climate change.

We continued to connect with ever-more diverse audiences, with spaces and plant installations that welcome people of all cultures, backgrounds, and identities. In 2025, we will focus on understanding, appreciating, and celebrating plants of significance to North American indigenous nations, with collaborations that further acknowledge the indigenous land on which Cornell Botanic Gardens resides and foster bonds of shared community.

The accomplishments of 2024 and those of coming years rely on the financial support of donors. Cornell Botanic Gardens remains the natural centerpiece of Cornell University, enriching the academic enterprise, and offering the respite among its plant collections, arboretum, and natural areas. With you, we harness the power of plants and the richness of human cultures to create a world of beauty, diversity, and hope.