The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum (NSA) is a network of arboreta, botanical gardens, parks, and other public landscapes across Nebraska. The NSA, headquartered at the University of NebraskaâÂÂLincoln, administers 110 sites across the state.
The arboretum was founded in 1978 as a partnership with the University of NebraskaâÂÂLincoln College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources and is an affiliate of the Center for Plant Conservation. It is supported by the arboretum office at the University of NebraskaâÂÂLincoln in Lincoln, Nebraska.
Along with the Nebraska Forest Service, the Nebraska State Arboretum works to reintroduce native plants to each region of the state. The NSA offers to reimburse fifty percent of the cost of projects designed to add native plants to a community.
In 2024, the NSA completed construction of the Native Plant Production Greenhouse, a greenhouse on NU's East Campus that more than doubled its available plant-growing space. Approximately thirty percent of the project was funded by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, with the rest coming from fundraising efforts and a $10-million United States Forest Service grant to care for tree planting, removal, and maintenance across Nebraska.
The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum administers 110 accredited sites across the state. Its larger collections include sites at Omaha's Metropolitan Community College at Fort Omaha, Joslyn Castle, Swanson Science Park, the Blair Community Arboretum (Steyer Park, Black Elk Park, and the Dana College campus), Gilman Park Arboretum in Pierce, the Joshua Turner Arboretum at Union Adventist University in Lincoln, and Clemmons Park Arboretum in Fremont.
The Nebraska Statewide Arboretum promotes and sells native plants as part of a goal to create environmentally sustainable landscapes across the state. The Spring Affair, hosted annually at the Lancaster Event Center as the first plant sale of the season, is the largest event of its kind in the region. As a nonprofit organization that receives limited state funding, the NSA uses its plant sales as a significant revenue generator.
The NSA hosts "garden walks" at its Lincoln and Omaha sites to educate patrons about horticulture and conservation efforts.