Our Mission

Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum is a transformative force for social and ecological resilience through the waters and lands we steward. We turn this commitment into action by:

Positioning

Positioning humans as active participants within the natural world and compelling the university community and our publics to negotiate the full complexity that entails

Advancing

Advancing partnerships, programs, and all that we steward to catalyze access and impact in a radically changing world

Emerging

Emerging as University of Michigan’s premier partner for research, teaching, and public impact in sustainability, climate-forward practices, and biocultural diversity

Promoting

Promoting healthier communities, cultures, and ecosystems through active care and cultivation of the gardens, fields, natural habitats, and dynamic systems that sustain our world

The Reader Center at the arb

About us

Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum (MBGNA) brings together gardens, natural areas, and living landscapes at the University of Michigan, stewarding more than 840 acres of land and water across Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Nichols Arboretum, Mud Lake Bog, and Horner-McLaughlin Woods. Welcoming more than 75,000 visitors each year, MBGNA connects people with nature, learning, and one another.

Sustainability is central to MBGNA’s work. Across its gardens, natural areas, and the Campus Farm, MBGNA provides spaces for research and teaching, conservation, recreation, public programs, and hands-on learning. Its landscapes support work in biodiversity, ecosystem restoration, sustainable food systems, climate resilience, and human health and well-being, while giving visitors opportunities to experience and engage with these ideas firsthand.

Through partnerships across the University of Michigan and the broader community, MBGNA connects research, education, and public engagement with the lands and waters we steward, working toward greater social and ecological resilience.


History

MBGNA’s roots date to 1907, when the University of Michigan established a Botanical Garden and Arboretum on approximately 80 acres between Geddes Road and the Huron River. That land became what is now Nichols Arboretum.

The organization continued to grow over the following decades. The Botanical Gardens moved to its current location on Dixboro Road in the 1960s, while Nichols Arboretum remained an important landscape for conservation, research, teaching, and public use.

Over time, MBGNA’s stewardship expanded to include additional lands and programs, including the Campus Farm, Mud Lake Bog, and Horner-McLaughlin Woods. Today, these places encompass more than 840 acres and support a wide range of university and community activities, from research and education to conservation, sustainable food systems, recreation, and public engagement.

More than a century after its beginnings, MBGNA continues to evolve while carrying forward a long history of connecting people, plants, and place at the University of Michigan.