ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — The University of North Carolina Asheville has extended its lease with the Asheville Botanical Garden, a 14-acre community nature preserve located at the university, through 2072.

The community plant garden is free to the public and has served as a research and recreation area for UNC Asheville students since the 1960s.

For example, through programs like the Izard Scholarship, undergraduate students have been able to pursue months-long stewardship projects in the Asheville Botanical Garden. Access is not limited to botany students. All UNC Asheville pupils are free to mosey down to the garden, open from sunrise to sunset every day, straight from the nearby campus.

The previous lease, which was signed in 2022, was set to expire in 2032. The extension was approved by the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees on Aug. 19, 2026, and the University of North Carolina Board of Governors on Sept. 17, 2026.

“This agreement marks an exciting new chapter in the Garden’s relationship with UNC Asheville,” said Matthew B. Sprouse, president of the Asheville Botanical Garden Board. “It gives us the predictability we need to make decisions that will benefit the Garden and the community for generations to come.”

The nonprofit relies on grants and donors to maintain its grounds, which include trails, bridges and picnic space, in addition to its signature native flora.

“We have more than 850 native plant species here, including rare or endangered plants such as Virginia meadowsweet, Ruth’s golden aster and Virginia round-leaf birch,” said Kaita Collier, executive director of Asheville Botanical Garden. “This diversity reflects more than six decades of people caring for the region’s native flora.”

Now, that diversity has the opportunity to grow by five decades more.

For more information about the Asheville Botanical Garden, visit www.ashevillebotanicalgarden.org, or the Visitor Center, open daily from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at 151 W.T. Weaver Blvd., Asheville, N.C.