Business, government and community support credited for saving treasured asset.
A maze of meadows and hillsides of colorful wildflowers in late summer bloom, the sound of live music floating on the warm August air and Flagstaff residents wondering about the Ponderosa pine forest, discovering and enjoying nature on full display against a backdrop of the majestic San Francisco Peaks. Such was the scene at The Arboretum at Flagstaff’s annual Summer Garden Party on Saturday, Aug. 24.
“It was the most successful fundraising event The Arboretum has had in years, as far as I know,” said The Arboretum’s Board President Dennis Kruse. “The event sold out early, which was our goal, and has not happened before.”
Executive Director Nate O’Meara credits much of the event’s success to the popularity of Keynote Speaker and New York Times Bestselling Author Kevin Fedarko, whose latest book, “A Walk in the Park,” features his journey in the Grand Canyon.
“Having Kevin as the keynote certainly was a huge draw and also the format of the event – the gardens at their best, the food, the silent auction – and a lot of new engagement from the community and local businesses, which has been building momentum for The Arboretum in general,” said O’Meara.
And that’s important, he explains, because behind the gentle beauty of this botanical mountain haven is a not-so-pretty financial struggle. “In 2019, the finances had gotten so bad that the Board of Directors considered having to close The Arboretum,” he said. “And then, the pandemic hit.”
Navigating The Arboretum’s Rocky Road
During that time, The Arb’s leadership streamlined the nonprofit organization, cutting staff, deferring maintenance and decreasing the operating budget. Original property owner, the late Frances McAllister, had been The Arb’s primary benefactor since she donated the property – including the home she built there – and started The Transition Zone Horticultural Institute, as it was known, in 1981. McAllister also established a sizeable endowment for the operations of The Arboretum at the time. Her passing in 2008 ended a long history of philanthropy for the facility.
Over time, the endowment grew significantly and also declined significantly because of financial market changes and operating costs of The Arb. By 2019, it became evident to management and the board that The Arb could not keep up with expenses under its current business model, said O’Meara, the only full-time salaried employee at The Arboretum.
“Inflation and expenses overall have continued to rise. Fire insurance is up 88% since 2023 alone, the Flagstaff minimum wage is also a factor and maintenance costs are very high for such a large facility. In addition, the winter of 2022-23, ripped the horticultural building apart. We’ve worked with insurance companies, donors and local contractors to rebuild it. In the larger sense, we are rebuilding at The Arboretum, but we can’t keep paying out more money than we are making,” he said, “or the asset could go away.”
When O’Meara began as executive director in 2022, he arrived from Bend, Oregon with an extraordinary background and a mission to rebuild the 200-acre facility on a new financial foundation.
“We were very fortunate to find Nate O’Meara,” said Board President Dennis Kruse. “He brought an incredible portfolio of skills so needed at The Arboretum. He attended both the UofA and NAU and has a solid academic background in ethnoecology, anthropology and horticulture, along with boots-on-the-ground experience in garden management and community work. He was the operations manager at a large private landscape company in Bend, the curator of horticulture at the Tucson Botanical Gardens and had worked at the Center for Sustainable Environments at NAU, plus he has a real passion for plants. He’s what we needed to quickly change the financial and operational tide.”
O’Meara says The Arb team is working on rebuilding theMcAllister endowment, which hasn’t been used since 2019. “We have come into a new operating model that seems to be working. All of our income is coming from plant sales, business sponsorships, donations, admission fees, special events like the Summer Garden Party, programs such as our summer camps for kids, grants and membership revenue streams. The issue,though, is our income is highly circumstantial and has to be generated each year, which will continue to put The Arb on rocky ground for the foreseeable future,” he said.
“Nate has been instrumental in keeping The Arboretum running,” said Kruse. “His ability to build relationships with major businesses and utilities, the City of Flagstaff, Coconino County and the Forest Service has been extraordinary. Nate also has secured a $260,000 grant for road grading and resurfacing through the Forest Service. That is huge. We’ve never received that much money for road maintenance before. Also, he is working with the county and the Forest Service to move the responsibility of maintenance on Woody Mountain Road to the county.”
Kruse and O’Meara specifically credit support from the business sector including Warners Nursery, APS, UniSource, Loven Contracting, the Findlay Auto Group and longtime members, donors and other friends of The Arboretum for their generous donations.
The Arb has between 300 and 400 official members each year. Annual memberships range from $45 to $1,000 depending on benefits, including access to more than 300 gardens nationwide, discounts and donations. Individual memberships are $45 for adults, $75 for couples and $100 for families. “Dogs are included,” said O’Meara.
Mountain Melodies Play On
The final concert of the outdoor 2024 Mountain Melodies Summer Concert Series, featuring local musician Adam Bruce, starts at 5 p.m., Sunday Sept. 15, with gates opening at 4:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 for members, $25 for non-members and $10 for youth.
“We’ll have food trucks and Dark Sky Brewing Company will be offering a special craft beer with proceeds benefiting The Arboretum,” said O’Meara. “Guests are welcome to bring their own picnic, too.”
The annual family-friendly Pumpkin Walk is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 26, with several hundred carved pumpkins placed throughout The Arb’s grounds. Sunday, Oct. 27, will be the last day The Arb is open to the public before it closes for the winter. Its public season runs from the first week in May to the end of October, Wednesdays through Sundays.
“I explored working here back in 2003 and have been in and out of the Flagstaff community for over 20 years now,” said O’Meara, who moved back to Flagstaff with his wife from Oregon more than two-and-half years ago. “My brother and sister live here, my mom and other brother are in Phoenix and the rest of my family is in Tucson. The circumstances have been intense at times at The Arb, but it’s been fun. This is a dream job in a great community!” FBN
By Bonnie Stevens, FBN
Courtesy Photo: The Arboretum at Flagstaff depends on events such as the Summer Garden Party, nature walks, summer camps for kids, plant sales, memberships, grants and business sponsorships to cover its operational costs.