The North Carolina Botanical Garden (NCBG), part of the University of North Carolina, is an 1,100-acre assemblage of display gardens and natural areas in and around Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The Garden celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2016 and is nationally known as a center for the study, display, interpretation, and conservation of southeastern native plants. Through its educational, recreational, therapeutic horticulture, and research programs, it extends opportunities for connection with nature to people of all abilities and backgrounds. From the preservation of local biodiversity to sustainable gardening and event management practices, NCBG incorporates a conservation ethic into all parts of its operations. The Garden's primary office, the James & Delight Allen Education Center, is the first LEED Platinum certified state-owned building or public museum in North Carolina. In addition to the main display gardens around the Allen Education Center, which include an extensive southeastern native carnivorous plant collection and habitat gardens that mimic the natural plant communities of North Carolina, NCBG also manages Battle Park and Coker Arboretum on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, the Piedmont Nature Trail system behind the display gardens, Mason Farm Biological Reserve, and the UNC Herbarium, a collection of over 800,000 plant specimens. The North Carolina Botanical Garden is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Tuesday - Saturday and from 1-5 p.m. on Sunday; the Garden is closed on Mondays and University holidays.