A PATH FOR ALL, REEVES-REED ARBORETUM, SUMMIT, NJ
- Jennifer Jewell
- 3 hours ago
- 4 min read
What does accessibility mean in the garden? In a public garden?
Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit NJ, an historic estate and garden, has been considering these questions intensely. How to increase accessibility for visitors and yet maintain the equally important sense of being in and with nature. One result of their thoughtful deliberations is their Path For All, which opened in May of 2026. Three members of their team join Jennifer Jewell this week to share more about their 130-plus-year history as a garden, and their 50+ year history increasing accessibility for all to loving, living with, and learning from wild and cultivated landscapes.
In 1974 in Summit, NJ, a longtime estate home and garden known as
The Clearing opened to the public, free of charge, marking an enormous
shift in accessibility to the more than 13 acres of gardens and woodland
for the community. A unique collective of Summit Citizens and the City
of Summit coalesced around the idea of preserving this land and space for future generations, and in the past 50 plus years, the non-profit Arboretum and Gardens has been dedicated to the idea of engaging, educating, and enriching its visitors so they become better stewards of nature and the environment.
Over the past several years, the administrative and horticultural team have been considering the idea of accessibility even more deeply, in order to make this incredible space, wild and cultivated, even more accessible to even more people – regardless of age or physical capability. The result is their thoughtful and impactful Path For all, which opened earlier this year.
Joining Cultivating Place this week to share more about the history and the future of this community treasure are Jennifer Cornforth, member of the board of directors, Horticultural Director, John Beirne, and Executive Director, Jackie Condell.
Listen in!
Follow Reeves-Reed Arboretum online:
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All photos courtesy of Reeves-Reed Arboretum, all rights reserved.
Path for All photos marked FISK required credit to be given to Fisk Foto LLC.
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Thinking out loud this week...
Hey, it's Jennifer—
Accessibility – it’s a well used word, perhaps an overused word, so when we
hear it, I think it rolls right over us, our brains default to the simplest definition
and understanding of what we think we’re supposed to think it means.
But sometimes we need to short-circuit our brains so that we can really hear
or absorb the full meaning of a word, or the full importance of a question.
What does accessibility mean in a garden? In nature? How do we nurture it
physically, emotionally, economically, existentially? Part of this is about feeling
welcome and SAFE in a space, a talent or knowledge base, a learning curve.
I loved how John shared his work in mental health and when we come back, he and talk about how working in a public garden space is also about mental health. All of this meta-level thinking is at the heart of the field of Horticultural Therapy. What it means, how it is manifested, for whom, by whom, based on what evidence. And, I am so honored to share with you that I am the keynote speaker for this year’s annual conference of the American Horticultural Therapy Association, this year back in San Francisco in October. As this critically important field continues to professionalize and grow, this could not be a more important time to come together around it.
The early bird pricing for the conference ends soon. I can’t wait to meet some of you there! Because bringing the gifts of the garden to the greatest number of people– well, that’s worth growing for.
WAYS TO SUPPORT CULTIVATING PLACE
Cultivating Place is a co-production of North State Public Radio, licensed to Chico State Enterprises. Cultivating Place is made possible in part listeners just like you through the support button at the top right-hand corner of every page at Cultivating Place.org
The CP team includes producer and engineer Matt Fidler, with weekly tech and web support from Angel Huracha, weekly communications support by Sheila Stern and Carley Bruckner, and regular hosting by Founder, Jennifer Jewell, as well as Abra Lee in Atlanta, Georgia, and Ben Futa in South Bend, Indiana. We’re based on the traditional and present homelands of the Mechoopda Indian Tribe of the Chico Rancheria. Original theme music is by Ma Muse..
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