The Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek, Michigan is a treasure of the City.
An Arboretum is defined by Wikipedia as: "A place where many varieties of trees are grown for research, educational, and ornamental purposes". Another definition I found on the web describes it as: "a protected park-like environment where trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are studied for their capacities to thrive in the ecological zone where the arboretum is located; more recently, to that function has been added the role of helping to sustain the genetic diversity of the various species". In either definition, the Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek, Michigan is a treasure of the City.
The Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek, Michigan dates back to 1922 when Leila Post Montgomery, widow of cereal magnate C.W. Post, donated 72 acres of land to the city of Battle Creek that had formerly been the site of the Battle Creek Country Club. She envisioned a center for culture amid the beauty of nature. 
In 1924, landscape architect T. Clifton Shepherd created an impressive design, but harsh realities of the Great Depression overshadowed the development of his masterpiece in progress. The Leila Arboretum plans languished for more than fifty years, and the site became overgrown and somewhat neglected.
In the autumn of 1981, determined to reclaim the arboretum's former beauty from overgrown brush, a group of citizens with a vision for what could be formed Leila Arboretum Society (LAS). The LAS began as a hard-working collection of volunteers willing to get their hands and knees dirty to restore the Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek.
The LAS remains intact as an organization, and is just as dedicated today. With membership and volunteers numbering in the hundreds, the Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek has been reborn, and the love for natural spaces and gardening places has translated into friendships. The group has expanded its efforts to the downtown, with plants and trees keeping the area beautiful.
The LAS has drawn national attention also with their neighborhood landscaping projects, city gateway plantings, classes that lead to master gardener certification. Nothing, however, surpasses the sheer enthusiasm and enjoyment the volunteers experience from being involved.
Next door to the Leila Arboretum, the nonprofit organization built a one-acre Children's Garden that has enticed representatives from cities throughout the country, as well as a few from Australia, to see how it was done! The grounds also include the popular Kingman Museum.
The Leila Arboretum in Battle Creek, Michigan and the Leila Arboretum Society depends on the people who love it. They depend on the support of the Community to continue their work. There are many ways people can show support. Walk in the Leila Arboretum and stay fit, maybe picking up some trash along the way if you see it, taking part in a class or donating to the Leila Arboretum Society, a Non-Profit Organization.
