DNN – A Walk Under the Trees
Featuring Larry Figart
April 29
10:00 am
Take a walk with arborist, Larry Figart. Larry has a wonderful way of teaching people about different types of trees, how to identify them and much, much more. Spend a morning with us to celebrate Arbor Day Weekend. Join us!
A Brush with Nature and Brunch!
May 13, 14
9 am – 5 pm
The Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (JA&BG) and the First Coast Plein Air Painters will host the 13th annual A Brush with Nature, a plein air painting event.
Guests can watch local artists create and sell their work on-site with a portion of proceeds benefitting the JA&BG.
This event is fun for all ages with children’s art activities, food trucks, live music and more. A Brunch With Nature features a picnic with elegant, individually prepared meals, mingling with the artists and live music.
The Brush with Nature Brunch
Sunday, May 14
11 am – 2 pm
$25 per person
What to Expect
Original art for sale
Artist demonstrations each day
Art activities for children
Live entertainment
Food trucks on site from 11 am to close
How to Get Involved
The event always attracts an excited list of sponsors who love the combination of art and the outdoors. This year’s event sponsors include Driscoll, Earth Works, bestbet, JM Family, Robb & Pam Mitchell, Marcia Mederos, & PRI Productions.
Volunteer! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C094BADA62FA6F5C16-abrush
Any person or business interested in sponsoring “A Brush with Nature” should contact Susan Smith by emailing susans@jacksonvillearboretum.org.
Artists who would like to participate should contact First Coast Plein Air Painters President Stephen Dunn at stephendunnart@att.net.
About the “Plein Air” Tradition
The “plein air” tradition, or “en plein air,” is a French term meaning “in the open air.” Since the mid-19th Century and the advent of portable painting supplies like the paint tube and box easels, artists have taken to the outdoors. The plein air movement brought artists out of their studios and into the natural light.
Volunteer for an Event
Visit our volunteer page for more information and get started today!
Volunteer Workdays and Conservation Corps
Are you interested in volunteering with the Arboretum? Here’s the dirt on how you can help.
Volunteer Workdays at the Arboretum are an opportunity to meet new folks with similar interests and work as part of a group with a focused long-term plan.
2nd Saturday: Garden Volunteer Workday
Garden Volunteers are the heart and soul of the Arboretum. You will find them on Wednesdays and the second Saturday weeding and mulching gardens already planted, maintaining hardscaping and benches in the Lake Loop area, and clearing and planting new gardens under the guidance of Shayan Khatibi, the Arboretum’s horticulturist. To the casual visitor, the gardens are more and more beautiful each month. To the careful botanist, they are a constant source of new and interesting species focused on people’s uses of plants for food, shelter, medicine, clothing or any number of other things. Choose to join the team and you might find yourself repairing and painting picnic tables, crawling under camellias pulling dollar weed, replacing rotted posts or erosion control boards, building planters, raking trip hazards from gravel paths, or installing several flats of donated annuals in the pollinator garden.
Workday Wednesday:
If you can join us during the week, our hardworking volunteers also come out on Wednesday mornings. Grace Stallone, Volunteer & Marketing Coordinator, will be leading the team!
For Both Groups:
Meet our group in the picnic area at 8 a.m. We usually work until 11 a.m.
The Conservation Corps
This group maintains the natural area and its woodland trail system usually the third Saturday of the month. Guided by a detailed resource management plan, the team is charged with keeping the ArcGIS community and trail map current; removing invasive species from existing communities; planning, creating, and maintaining small restoration areas; flagging, clearing, and care of trails; and research, design, and installing and keeping up educational and informational signage. Come to a workday and you might find yourself knee deep in mud digging Peruvian primrose willow or rag in hand cleaning plant identification signs, lugging 30-pound sections of tallow tree trunk out of sight of the trail or recording coordinates for the ethnobotanical signage; crashing through the dense undergrowth of the sand ridge flagging a new trail or on your knees pulling weeds that are choking out longleaf pine or persimmon planted the previous fall. Volunteers generally leave filthy and drenched but with a huge smile and a promise to return. Please fill out the form on our website to be added to our RSVP list for this special group. These workdays are a real workout and not for the faint of heart!
For all of our workdays, bring garden gloves if you have them, wear comfortable clothes and shoes (that you don’t mind getting dirty). You may want to pack a snack and plenty of water.
To get on our email lists to RSVP to workdays please fill out the form here.
Nature Walk
Join us for an amazing nature walk on our trails the fourth Saturday of every month lead by Master Naturalists!
Yoga On Your Own
You can do yoga on your own. If you have a mobile phone with a QR scanner, you can access suggestions for yoga poses located at various cyber stations around the Lake Loop Trail. The poses are demonstrated by Olympic gold-medal-winner Shannon Miller.
Yoga Program
This class is taught by Farah and her team at Harmony Mind Body & Spirit. Please check their Facebook page for updated events! You will enjoy this experience completely!
Enjoy relaxing stress free morning in nature 🌿 quieting the mind, engaging the body and restoring the spirit. This class will focus on the NEW YEAR and bring in new positive vibrations into 2020. Setting mindful goals for the future year. Letting go of the past. Great for the whole family.
This is kid friendly family👨👩👧👧 event. Refreshments 💧and snacks 🍊🍌will be provided. No mat? No problem b/c they have plenty. Just bring yourself and a smile! 😁
RSVP here for this donation based activity:
https://www.harmonymbswellness.org
or to see more details:
https://www.facebook.com/harmonymbswellness
Healthy Trails
Studies have shown that walking 10,000 steps a day will lead to sustainable weight control and improved cardiovascular health. It’s easy and fun to count your steps at the Arboretum because we’ve already done it for you. Simply enjoy your walk and take in the natural wonders of the Arboretum. Trails at the Arboretum have been measured for the number of steps an adult or child will take to complete them. You won’t even realize that you are getting exercise!