We are delighted to welcome Megan Buland to our Arboretum team. She will serve as our new Curator. Megan has long been engaged with The Arboretum. She completed her undergraduate studies at UK in Forestry and Natural Resources. Following a few years of field and academic experience, including an M.S. in Forestry and Natural Resources from the University of Georgia, she returned to pursue a doctoral degree in Forestry here; that is nearing completion. Megan has a very appropriate mix of experience and expertise for this role, including as a naturalist, an arborist and an ecological and botanical researcher, with a particular focus on forest health and ecological restoration. 

Megan’s curatorial role will include documenting and maintaining a record of the source and identity of all Arboretum plantings, while providing leadership for sustaining and building our outstanding native plants collection. She is exploring multiple opportunities to grow the use of this collection for ecological and conservation studies at The Arboretum, through collaboration with UK scientists and others. 

Curator responsibility for education and outreach program development and delivery has been expanded, in comparison to past job descriptions. In just a few weeks, Megan has made an outstanding start in this area. Watch for her new community naturalist series and multiple other activities and events already getting started.