Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest

Congratulations! Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest has won the Gold Nautilus Book Award for best Animals/Nature book of 2011
 

By Sharon A. Receveur and Tavia P. Cathcart • Hardcover • 10 x 11 • 280 pages • Contains over 500 full-color photographs!

Over a century ago, Isaac Wolfe Bernheim, a German immigrant, lived the American dream. He worked hard, married the woman he loved, made a fortune in his Kentucky-based whiskey business, and became an esteemed philanthropist. His most enduring legacy is the 14,500-acre Arboretum and Research Forest in Clermont, Kentucky that bears his name.

When Bernheim purchased the majority of the property in 1929, all that remained of the virgin timberland were logged-out hills and subsistence farms. Although his vision for the transformation of these acres of knob land had many detractors, Isaac W. Bernheim's dream of creating a place to "gladden the soul and please the sight" is now — 80 years later — a reality. Honored as Kentucky's official arboretum, Bernheim annually hosts thousands of visitors who find inspiration in its miles of trails, formal gardens, lakes and streams, rolling hills, scenic forests and grasslands.

This 80th anniversary commemorative volume, co-authored by archivist Sharon Receveur and naturalist Tavia Cathcart, is the first to tell the remarkable story of Isaac W. Bernheim, the benefactor, and Bernheim, the place — presented alongside 500 breathtaking photographs of the gardens, award-winning Visitor Center, events, programs, and all facets of the forested wild lands.

The story of the man and the land he donated to the people of Kentucky is quintessentially American. It is also the story of the evolution of Bernheim's sustainable land-use philosophy that endures as guests connect with nature, become better stewards of the earth, and cultivate new adventures and dreams of their own.