Polly Hill Arboretum has a new curator and assistant director in Emily Ellingson, who started working with the arboretum as a curatorial intern in 2013, according to a press release.
“Eight years ago, I was drawn to Polly Hill Arboretum because of its unique story, passionate staff, and amazing plants, and those same things attracted me to this position,” Ellingson said in the release. “In a lot of ways, interning at PHA is what inspired me to become a curator, and it’s very special that I get to return in that role.”
While serving as curator, Ellingson is also responsible for overseeing maintenance and development of the arboretum’s living plant collection, the upkeep of plant records, propagation, and production. She will also work on planning for new horticultural developments and will participate in conservation-related fieldwork.
For the last four years, Ellingson was the native plants curator and collection manager at the Arboretum State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, where she managed the maintenance, development, and interpretation of a large native plant collection and remnant woodland.
Ellingson said in the release that she looks forward to working in plant conservation and research, historic preservation, and public education.
Arboretum executive director Tim Boland adds in the release, “We are so pleased to have Emily join our staff. As the world gets more challenging for plants, we look forward to her leadership in collections advocacy and plant conservation.”