Events

Rodney Eason, Director of Horticulture and Landscape of the Arnold Arboretum at Harvard University, has invited MELNA members for a private tour on Thursday, October 15, 2026. You may recall that Rodney was our Keynote Speaker at our Grow Maine Green Expo this past January.

The Arnold Arboretum is Harvard University’s museum of trees and a key Boston City Park within the Olmsted designed Emerald Necklace. Join Rodney Eason as he provides an overview of how a vision started 154 years ago has manifested into a beloved place for all people. He will also provide a glimpse at how the Arnold is preparing for the next 100 years with a goal of bringing more people closer to nature and illustrating the importance of plants and design within our world.

We are chartering a bus that will leave O’Donal’s Nursery in the Gorham area at 7:30 am, arriving at Harvard University roughly at 9:45 am. There will be a tour of Arnold Arboretum from 10 am until 3 pm, with a catered lunch on the patio at the site. The bus should return to O’Donal’s Nursery at about 5:30 pm. Riders should arrive at O’Donal’s Nursery by 7:10 am. They will be given a breakfast sandwich and beverage for the ride down.

The bus is a Custom Coach with reclining seats, Wi-Fi and charging ports for connectivity, and a bathroom on board.

This trip will also be a fundraiser, with profits split between the MELNA Scholarship Fund and paying down the deficit from the COVID-canceled Maine Flower Show.

The cost of the trip is $100 per person and includes breakfast, round trip travel, and lunch. You can sign up for the trip online or by downloading the form and mailing it with a check. Trip reservations are on a first come - first serve basis.

We are actively seeking sponsors for this trip to make it even more successful and help keep the trip affordable! Contact the MELNA Office at exdir@melna.org, if you would like to sponsor!!

We have a hard limit of 55 for this trip, due to bus capacity! Reserve seat(s) by October 9.