The staff at Mississippi State University’s Crosby Arboretum in Picayune are always searching for ways to promote the beauty that lies within the nature preserve.
Now, with the help of a $15,000 grant from Visit Mississippi and the Mississippi Development Authority, they are another step closer to attracting more visitors to the native plant sanctuary.
According to an MSU release, the arboretum was donated to MSU in 1997 by the arboretum foundation and is an entity of the MSU Extension Service. The arboretum preserves and displays native plants of the Pearl River Drainage Basin ecosystem on the 104-acre site. There are also 700 more acres of natural areas off-site, which serve as destinations for field trips and botanical research, the release states.
“This is the first time we’ve received this grant,” Crosby Arboretum Director Patricia Drackett said. “It’s a wonderful thing and we’re excited. With these funds we can purchase more promotional material.”
This year, nearly 8,000 visitors stopped in at the arboretum, which is the most visitors they’ve had in 12 years, Drackett said. Arboretum membership now stands at 400, which is also the highest it has been in 10 years.
According to the release, this grant has funded banner stands for arboretum events displaying artwork by a graphic design class at the MSU Center for the Advancement of Service Learning Excellence, the Audubon Nature Institute’s Bugmobile exhibit at Bugfest and a dance performance at the Piney Woods Heritage Festival by the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
The grant also provided the opportunity for Coastal Research and Extension Center web developer Andy Collins to place Facebook ads for larger events, which has boosted the arboretum’s reach on social media, the release states.
The Crosby Arboretum is located at 370 Ridge Road. For more information, contact office staff at 601-799-2311, visit www.crosbyarboretum.msstate.edu and Facebook at The Crosby Arboretum/Mississippi State University Extension Service.