Many people are familiar with the history of the Jensen‐Olsen Arboretum – how Caroline Jensen and her husband moved “out the road” and cultivated the property in the mid‐1960s. Over the years, Caroline worked hard to transform a portion of the property into a fine flower and vegetable garden. Many also know that Caroline wished for her gardens to benefit Juneau long after she was gone and that this is why she gifted the property to the City and Borough of Juneau in 1998.
What many locals may not realize, however, is that Caroline simultaneously worked with the Southeast Alaska Land Trust to place a conservation easement on her property. A conservation easement is a legal document that effectively preserves Caroline’s gardens for the public in perpetuity. The Jensen‐Olson Arboretum was the first property to be conserved by the Southeast Alaska Land Trust.
The Southeast Alaska Land Trust was a new organization at that time, incorporated in 1995 to conserve vitally important properties with landowners just like Caroline. In Caroline’s own words, the conservation easement enabled the arboretum to be maintained for the public to enjoy, and as an educational center for learning about gardening, horticulture, and landscaping. When Caroline passed away in 2006, the city assumed management of the property and established the Jensen‐Olson Arboretum.
Today, the Southeast Alaska Land Trust tends to Caroline’s vibrant legacy with bi‐annual stewardship visits and by thoughtfully interpreting the conservation easement as time passes and the arboretum evolves. We work closely with the City and Borough of Juneau, with the arboretum manager, and with Friends of the Arboretum, to ensure that Caroline’s vision is maintained as she would have wanted – for the community, forever.
You can read more about the Jensen-Olson Arboretum at this link.
*This article originally appeared in the March 2022 TWIGS – the Friends of the Jensen-Olson Arboretum newsletter.