Arboretum’s Bloom Box program receives national award

The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum’s Bloom Box program has received the 2021 Program Excellence Award from the American Public Gardens Association.

The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, a network supported by the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, established Bloom Box in 2016 to get ready-to-plant pollinator plants to homes, schools, parks and other private and public lands. Its purpose is to educate about how to plant habitat for pollinators; distribute personally curated groups of plants for landscapes of varying sizes and conditions; and make gardening more accessible and doable for people who want to help the environment.

Through the program:

• 852 water-wise, pollinator-friendly gardens have been planted
• 25,299 native plants have been distributed
• 153 communities and 57 schools have planted landscapes designed with pollinators in mind
• more than 82,000 square feet of land have been devoted to more sustainable, pollinator-friendly landscaping

“The Bloom Box program has been enthusiastically embraced by Nebraska gardeners since its beginning in 2016,” said Mark Brohman, executive director of the Nebraska Environmental Trust, a beneficiary of the Nebraska Lottery, which helped fund the program. “Receiving this award confirms its value as a model for increasing pollinator habitat nationwide.”

The award was granted by the American Public Gardens Association for innovative programs modeling education, conservation, sustainability and outreach.

Learn more about the Bloom Box program.