An Outdoor Museum of Trees
During the Pan-American Exposition of 1901, Buffalo was celebrated not only as the City of Light, but also as the City of Trees. Much of that legacy comes from Frederick Law Olmsted, the father of American landscape architecture, whose visionary design established the nation’s first urban park system right here in Buffalo, New York.
Among his most ambitious ideas was an arboretum, or an outdoor museum of trees, woven into the landscape of South Park. Spanning 156 acres and featuring a serene lake, a tree-studded meadow, and winding carriage and pedestrian paths, the original South Park Arboretum offered visitors a rare opportunity to connect with nature while deepening their understanding of trees, shrubs, and aquatic collections.
Today, arboretums remain vital community resources. They support education, scientific research, and environmental conservation; they welcome families, students, and tourists; and they play an essential role in strengthening water, soil, and air quality while supporting wildlife and pollinators. Together, these benefits enrich public health, quality of life, and local economies.
The South Park Arboretum Restoration Project aims to restore this remarkable Buffalo asset and ensure its vitality for generations to come.
Your gift to the South Park Arboretum Restoration Project enables the Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy to bring Frederick Law Olmsted’s original vision to life by restoring and sustaining a landscape that will enrich Buffalo for generations. To learn more, please contact Tori Claflin, Director of Development, at tori@bfloparks.org or (716) 838 – 1249 ext. 22
South Park Arboretum has secured Level One Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum.
The accreditation is awarded for achieving standards of professional practice deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens. The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program is the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta at various levels of development, capacity, and professionalism. Buffalo Olmsted’s South Park Arboretum is also now recognized as an accredited arboretum in the Morton Register of Arboreta, a database of the world’s arboreta and gardens dedicated to woody plants!
