Restoration at the intersection of science and outreach—The Working Woods Learning Forest

Botanical gardens and arboreta have enormous (if often under-realized) potential to increase understanding of restoration as a predictive science while simultaneously serving as platforms promoting large-scale restoration by public and private stakeholders. Public gardens often have deep histories of both research and outreach and, increasingly, engagement in restoration efforts. As a team of researchers and practitioners, we share our experiences using a forest management manipulation at the Holden Arboretum for both research and outreach. Forest management is a key tool for enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem services in young forests. Known as the Working Woods Learning Forest, this restoration simultaneously serves as a series of forest management demonstration plots, a living laboratory and an outdoor classroom. Research is focused on characterising forest responses, including responses of canopy structure, biodiversity, productivity and ultimately resilience to future threats, to forest management such as canopy thinning and non-native shrub removal. Professionals and the general public are invited into these demonstration plots to see the impacts of restoration. Practical implication: The natural areas of public gardens are uniquely visible, and restoration actions in such spaces should be harnessed to maximize and integrate research and outreach opportunities. We encourage innovative and collaborative approaches using public garden-based restoration efforts to both improve our understanding of restoration ecology and to encourage and optimize restoration at regional scales through outreach and education.