The International Forest of Friendship is an arboretum and memorial forest beside Lake Warnock in Atchison, Kansas. A life-size bronze statue of Amelia Earhart gazes over the International Forest of Friendship, which is a living, growing memorial to those who have been involved in aviation and space exploration. The forest was established as a bicentennial project by the City of Atchison and The Ninety-Nines Inc., an international organization of women pilots.
Each June, new honorees are inducted into the forest with plaques embedded in the walkway that winds through trees representing all 50 states and over 36 countries in which 1,500 forest honorees reside. Several special trees include the “Moon Tree,” which was grown from a seed taken to the moon aboard Apollo 14. It is encircled by the Astronaut’s Memorial, which honors ten astronauts who lost their lives in space exploration.
© Locally Atchison
