News published: 10 September 2025

Botanic Gardens Conservation International-U.S. (BGCI-US) and the United States Botanic Garden (USBG) are proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 awards supporting the conservation of North American Fruit and Nut Tree Crop Wild Relatives (NAFANT CWR). These awards recognize innovative projects that advance plant exploration and collections, ex situ preservation, in situ management, and research for priority taxa critical to future food security and biodiversity.

The 2025 award recipients are:

• Atlanta Botanical Garden: Safeguarding Crop Wild Relatives Juglans jamaicensis and Prunus angustifolia Through Ex Situ Collections
• Holden Forests & Gardens: Conserving Our Native Harvest: A Multi-Institutional Strategy for Stewarding Crop Wild Relatives in the Great Lakes Basin
• Naples Botanical Garden: Prunus myrtifolia (West Indian Cherry) Metacollection Development
• Lauritzen Gardens: Conservation of the Newly Discovered Butternut (Juglans cinerea L.) in Nebraska

Together, these four projects received a total of US$19,000 in support, made possible through funding from the United States Botanic Garden and BGCI-US, with administration by BGCI. The awardees will conduct field collection activities and complete their conservation projects by early 2027.