Have you visited Danville’s Wilderness Trail Native Plant Arboretum and Nature Center? We have. But only in our best dreams.

Jennie Rogers school property lies just a block east of the Wilderness Road portal to Danville. Isn’t that a fitting location for a new educational endeavor — to develop a native plant arboretum and interpretive center? Don’t all aspiring cities plant arboretums for their citizens and visitors to pause in?

Structure the arboretum around native trees of Kentucky that can thrive locally. Add native shrubs, vines and wildflowers. Design interpretive trails winding throughout. Develop educational programs for students of all ages. Make the arboretum a tourist attraction where visitors can hug trees and bask in the restorative environment, and even carry home ideas and plants for their own homes.

Additionally, link the arboretum to other local park areas and trails, featuring more native tree treasures throughout the county.

Help local residents grow their own pocket parks such as pollinator patches for butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

Nurture our native trees to preserve biodiversity and to enhance stewardship of our environment.

Create living arks of seed banks with native plant stock on the landscape. Study how plants live; learn how to grow them from seed.

Document the lives of individual plants, maybe giving trees their own web pages. Build a healthier community by supporting our native trees. Earn the status of a great tree haven.

Thank you for the opportunity to plant a seed idea here.

Gloria and Jim Maender

Danville