In 1882, ten years after the founding of the Arnold Arboretum, Founding Director Charles Sprague Sargent and pioneering landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted brokered a partnership between Harvard and the City of Boston to safeguard this unique landscape for research use and public enjoyment for 1,000 years (through the year 2882), with an option to renew for an additional 1,000 years (3882). As an organization designed to inform and inspire humankind for centuries to come, the Arnold Arboretum has created a new award to recognize contributions and achievements that have an enduring impact on our mission now and well into the future.
Granted solely by discretion of the director of the Arnold Arboretum, the 3882 Award was created in 2025 to give public recognition to bold actions, trailblazing scholarship, transformational philanthropy, or other significant accomplishments that single out the recipient as a transformative steward of the Arboretum and its institutional values. The award is to be given during the Arboretum’s annual Autumn Dinner or at another appropriate time by mutual agreement between the director and the recipient. The inaugural 3882 Award was presented to RoAnn Costin in recognition of her emphatic embrace of the Arnold Arboretum’s vision for the 21st century and her philanthropic leadership to launch the Arboretum’s Entrance Improvement Project with the catalytic restoration of the Poplar Gate entrance.
The 3882 Award will be presented at this year’s Autumn Dinner to Peter Del Tredici in recognition of his nearly fifty years of transformative association with the Arboretum. Serving numerous key roles including Director of Living Collections, Editor of Arnoldia, Curator of the Larz Anderson Bonsai Collection, and Senior Research Scientist, Peter has shaped the Arboretum’s living collections and scholarly profile, advancing our understanding of plants while inspiring generations to engage with the Arboretum as a vital public resource.
To support the granting of this 3882 Award, please consider sponsorship of Magical Meanderings 2026, the Arnold Arboretum’s Autumn Dinner.