Help Shape the Future of the YAA – Become a Board Member Today!
Arboretum Friends, The Yakima Area Arboretum is a valued part of our community. Outdoor spaces, trails, parks, and public gardens are essential to our well-being and quality of life. Hundreds of people visit the Arboretum each week to connect with nature and to find...
Arboretum Programs Inspire Past President
“2010, planning meeting at the Arboretum in consideration of building a nature center.” This was right up my alley! Since the 1990’s I had been involved in the development of the Seward Park Audubon Center (AC) in Seattle through my membership on the board of Audubon...
Your annual gift helps sustain a community treasure for future generations.
Dear Arboretum Friends, As we have all navigated these crazy and challenging times we have come to realize what is truly important to each of us and it is not just the obvious things like essential workers, PPE, and toilet paper, but it is also the refuge provided by...
2020 Luminaria Candle-lit Walk Cancelled
Dear Arboretum Friends, With our most heartfelt apologies, we announce that this year’s annual Luminaria candle-lit walk has been canceled. We have hosted this event for more than 30 years and have come to enjoy it almost as much as our visitors. But after many...
Beautiful Green Spaces Strengthen Our Communities
Dear Arboretum Friends, If you are like me and believe that communities are stronger and happier when we have beautiful parks and public gardens to relax and recreate in then I invite you to join me in financially supporting the Yakima Area Arboretum. My name is...
Nicky Bocek, “Please Support this Community Asset”
"The Arboretum is a wonderful asset for our community. This was never more apparent than during the Covid-19 shutdown this spring, when so many of us were quarantined, and community children could not attend school. The Arboretum became a haven for families and...
Diana Wilkinson Shares Why She Loves the Arboretum
I HAVE BEEN A VOLUNTEER AT THE ARBORETUM FOR FIVE YEARS; INVOLVED WITH THE ANNUAL ARBOR FEST ACTIVITIES, HOSTING GARDEN TOURS, LIGHTING CANDLES AT THE LUMINARIA, ON THE AUTUMN BOUNTY PLANNING COMMITTEE AND EVENTUALLY SERVING ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS. THE ARBORETUM IS...
Greetings from our Executive Director
Hello Arboretum Friends, Look out! So much is happening at the Arboretum this September. First, our traditional fall fundraiser Autumn Bounty, has been re-envisioned for 2020. No big tent, no live auction, and no partying on the courtyard. Instead you'll find...
Forest Disturbance and Succession – A Look at the Pattern of Forest Dynamics
What if I told you that the forests you see in our mountains and across our landscape now may be wildly different in the next 100 years? Ok sure, 100 years is a long time, but some of our trees can live longer than 300+ years. So why would forests change in 100...
The Arboretum’s Japanese Pagoda Tree (Sophora japonica or Styphnolobium japonicum) Aids WSU Research
Regents Professor Norman Lewis, and fellow researcher and spouse Laurence Davis, shown in the photo above, are holding cuttings from the Arboretum's Japanese pagoda tree (Sophora japonica or Styphnolobium japonicum planted in 1988) on Friday, June 26, 2020 at the...