A two-decade partnership between Atlanta Beltline and Trees Atlanta marks a major milestone, as leaders, residents and volunteers gathered March 12 along the city’s Southwest Trail to recognize the continued growth of the Atlanta Beltline Arboretum.
The press conference, held at Trees Atlanta’s headquarters along the Beltline corridor, brought together Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta Beltline Inc., and Greg Levine, executive director of Trees Atlanta, to highlight the arboretum’s expansion and its role as a shared civic space shaped by and for Atlanta communities.
The Atlanta Beltline Arboretum is the world’s longest linear arboretum, stretching about 12.44 miles along the trail. Managed by Trees Atlanta, the urban forest includes more than 600 species of trees, shrubs and cultivators and is planned to expand alongside the full 22-mile Beltline loop by 2030, ultimately connecting 45 neighborhoods.
Speakers centered their remarks on how the corridor functions in daily life, describing a shift from a once-overlooked rail line into a space where residents move through their neighborhoods, gather with friends and interact with nature as part of their routines.
“This is not just a trail,” Higgs said. “It’s a living, breathing space that connects people to each other and to nature across more than 45 neighborhoods.”
Higgs also framed the arboretum as part of a broader vision for the city’s future, particularly as Atlanta prepares to host matches during the FIFA World Cup 2026.
“As we celebrate our 20th year and prepare to welcome visitors, the arboretum highlights how urban redevelopment can showcase biodiversity and ecosystem restoration while catalyzing economic development and future mobility,” Higgs said.
That connectivity is central to the project’s purpose. What was once overgrown with invasive plants and debris has been transformed into a continuous public garden with hundreds of species of woody plants, along with dozens of native grasses and wildflowers.
But beyond environmental restoration, organizers repeatedly framed the arboretum as a community resource shaped through local participation.
Volunteers, neighborhood groups and nonprofit partners have played a significant role in planting, maintaining and programming the space. Trees Atlanta alone has planted hundreds of thousands of plants along the corridor, helping to build what Levine described as a “unique botanical garden” within the city.
“Trees are iconic to Atlanta’s identity,” Levine said. “This arboretum is free and accessible to millions of people and brings attention to the benefits of trees for the health and well-being of people, wildlife and the natural environment.”
Levine also reflected on how the partnership began, describing it as a natural extension of early conversations around the Beltline’s potential.
“The way we got involved originally was asking what we could do to be part of this great project,” Levine said. “The arboretum idea came from that… and when we brought it to Beltline leadership and the community, it just made sense.”
Levine emphasized that the arboretum is designed not just to be observed but experienced and replicated. Residents can learn about native species, attend guided walks or bring lessons back to their own neighborhoods.
“We want people to see something here and take it home,” Levine said. “Whether that’s planting a tree, supporting pollinators or just understanding how ecosystems work.”
Free guided walking tours of the arboretum are offered regularly through Trees Atlanta, along with volunteer opportunities and educational programming that allow residents to engage directly with the landscape.
The initiative also reflects a broader shift in how cities approach development. Higgs pointed to the growing role of green space in economic strategy, noting that companies increasingly seek locations that offer access to nature for employees.
Still, organizers stressed that the arboretum’s value should be measured not only in economic terms but in public health and quality of life.
Speakers cited benefits including improved air quality, reduced urban heat, stormwater management and mental health support, particularly in neighborhoods that have historically lacked access to green space.
The arboretum’s design also reflects long-term planning considerations. Meadow areas along the corridor have been intentionally preserved to accommodate future transit while minimizing environmental disruption, and many of those spaces are planted with native species to support biodiversity.
Maintenance remains an ongoing challenge, with leaders acknowledging the need for sustained investment to preserve the arboretum’s ecological and community benefits over time.
For many residents, organizers said, the Beltline has become part of daily routines, not just a destination but a neighborhood space used for commuting, recreation and connection.
That sentiment aligns with the project’s broader framing as “the people’s project,” a term Higgs used to describe the Beltline’s evolution over the past 20 years.
“This is something people can access for free, every day,” Higgs said. “It belongs to the community.”
It’s unfortunate Beltline officials have given in to having the world’s largest linear arboretum instead of transit. It’s is a humorous, kitschy side of the road spectacle like worlds largest boiled peanut.
Atlantans are smart enough to know that city leadership is promoting this faux accomplishment instead of building real transit.
This is no “faux accomplishment.” The Beltline is not only a treasured linear arboretum that has breathed life though our city, but also is a well-used transit corridor for thousands of Atlantans, who already use the Beltline daily for transit to work, school, grocery shopping, and entertainment. Bicycles, E-bikes (with benches for kids!) and e-scooters have changed the equation since the Beltline was first envisioned—we do not need to add rail—just use that saved rail space for a separate “Path for Wheels.” This IS transit, my friend!
This is a very lazy and transparent attempt to greenwash the monied and nimby movement to kill rail on the Beltline. We can still have an arboretum AND transit, there is space for both and the side of the walking trail opposite rail path already provides that in addition to the elevated areas that the rail obviously doesn’t touch.
People ride a plant to the other side of the city without adding to pollution, so cut the bull and the “this connects neighborhoods. People are not going to walk or bike 11 mile loops to commute regularly at a volume that would be viable for the walking my path. Cut all these shady contracts and pilot projects for Beep autonomous vehicles (whose VP is now coincidentally on the board of the Beltline) and build the rail that we VOTED and TAXES ARE PAYING FOR.