FAQ – Admissions Policy
The Jacksonville Arboretum & Botanical Gardens (JA&BG) begin charging guests for admission in 2022.
The JA&BG board’s overriding purpose of establishing this policy is to create a reliable revenue source to ensure the economic viability of the JA&BG, incentivize frequent guests to purchase memberships and effectively maximize the full potential of the JA&BG.
Approved Fees
Regular Admission: $3 per person
Children 3 years and under: Free
Membership Incentive
Guests who purchase a membership can visit the venue anytime at no additional cost (with the exception of special events/sponsored events that charge an event admission fee).
Questions & Answers
Why is the JA&BG charging for admission now?
Since the nonprofit agency was opened to the public in 2010, JA&BG has relied on only the donations from residents and event sponsorships (for one or two events per year) to sustain the 120-acre facility and, up until 2019, relied only on volunteers and donated in-kind services to keep the gardens maintained.
The JA&BG is not part of the City of Jacksonville Parks Department. The land is leased to the JA&BG, a 501(c)3 nonprofit agency, under a 20-year lease from the city. The agency also does not receive any reoccurring annual city, state or federal funding to sustain it.
In 2019, the JA&BG Board hired a full-time executive director to conduct fundraising (grants and donors/capital campaigns/event sponsorships) and oversee and manage programming, membership programs, operations and event management. The same year, the JA&BG hired a part-time horticulturist to maintain the existing gardens (managing the site and volunteers) and provide oversite for volunteers maintaining the three-mile trail system.
These funded positions were needed so JA&BG could operate and maintain the property at the level required to serve a rise in attendance, including more maintenance (garden/trail/parking lot), trash collection, etc. We have also experienced a rash of vandalism in the last year, which requires us to increase security.