Mission

Conserve and restore Arboretum lands, advance restoration ecology, and foster the land ethic.

Vision

The Arboretum is a global source of knowledge of and a model for restoring ecologically sustainable relationships between people and the land through integrative, innovative, and collaborative approaches in science, stewardship, education, and public engagement.

2021 Strategic Plan

The strategic plan was created and approved by Arboretum staff in consultation with the Arboretum Committee and the UW–Madison Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Graduate Education (OVCRGE). While the Arboretum’s mission remains unchanged—conserve and restore Arboretum lands, advance restoration ecology, and foster the land ethic—this plan focuses on identifying our desired impact in the world and laying out the strategic path we must follow to enable and arrive at that impact. Download the Arboretum strategic plan»

UW–Madison Land Acknowledgement

The University of Wisconsin–Madison, including the Arboretum, occupies ancestral Ho-Chunk land, a place their nation has called Teejop (day-JOPE) since time immemorial.

In an 1832 treaty, the Ho-Chunk were forced to cede this territory.

Decades of ethnic cleansing followed when both the federal and state government repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, sought to forcibly remove the Ho-Chunk from Wisconsin.

This history of colonization informs our shared future of collaboration and innovation.

Today, UW–Madison respects the inherent sovereignty of the Ho-Chunk Nation, along with the eleven other First Nations of Wisconsin.

Learn more at Our Shared Future»