Campus as a Living Lab

Some learning is simply better gained through experience – by doing – and often outside the classroom. Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum is committed to offering opportunities that go beyond the screen and textbook; UM students aren’t just learning about environmental science, they're out in the Campus Farm fields participating in the local food system, in wetlands and collections conducting new research, or hands deep in the earth pulling invasive species like honeysuckle and garlic mustard. 

Experiential learning is how MBGNA not only educates but also shapes future leaders who are prepared to make informed, impactful decisions. To gain the experience - to do the real thing -  teaches students the true costs and impacts of sustainable practices and provides them with tangible knowledge and workforce preparation to enter sustainability fields. One day, one of these students may sit as a state senator, faced with decisions on budget allocations in Michigan. They’ll remember their time at the University of Michigan pulling honeysuckle. And when that moment comes, they will advocate for policy anchored in both study and experience - it’s part of the Michigan difference. 

Intentionally integrated into UM’s sustainability curricula, programs, and student experience, Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum provides unique Campus as Lab contexts:

• 3200+ UM students annually in formal curricular and co-curricular experiential learning

• MBGNA’s robust place-based programs

  • Campus Farm

  • Internship Program

  • MBGNA Fellows Program and Technicians

  • Caretakers and Embedded Student Life Partnerships

• Integrated Student Health and Wellbeing

• 20,000+ youth and family learners through Education and Nature Play programs

Your support sustains and expands our educational programs and partnerships. By donating, you’ll propel hands-on learning opportunities, prepare students for careers in sustainability, and foster future leaders committed to environmental stewardship. Join us in fostering and educating generations to come.

Funding Goal: $4,750,000