Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden

The Cincinnati Zoo is a Botanical Garden too!

In fact, our Botanical Garden recently received the highest level award from The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum, and we are the only Zoo to achieve this Level IV accreditation. The Gardens make our Zoo a beautiful, inviting place for our visitors, as well as a healthy place for our animals—roles that we, as a public garden at one of the best zoos in America, take very seriously. However, our gardens are more than just beautiful spaces. Integrated into nearly every gardening project at the Zoo—habitats, new projects, community projects, landscaping—we trial new plants and collect data that provides essential information on plants that perform best in our region, especially native plants and plants that attract pollinators.

We also have a robust plant nursery program where we propagate all types of trees, shrubs, perennials, grasses, vines, and annuals for use in the Zoo and in community projects. Over the last two decades, we have built strong partnerships with organizations in surrounding urban communities, resulting in collaborative projects that revitalize greenspaces and grow urban learning gardens in local schools so that children and families have a place to relax, learn, and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Your support of our Botanical Garden will ensure that we can continue to lead our community in the benefits plants provide, which includes the health and wellness of our communities.