Events

    2024 Jan 16

    Hybrid Lecture: The Fascinating Feathers of the Sandgrouse

    6:30pm to 8:00pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    The birds that populate the Arnold Arboretum rarely have to go far to find water. In the deserts of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa, it's a different story, and the sandgrouse that lives in these arid environments has developed a fascinating adaptation to stay hydrated: these birds have a unique ability to absorb and hold water inside of their feathers. The chicks can't yet fly the long distance from their nests to the watering hole, so adult males make the long journey with the lifesaving water secreted away in their feathers. But how do their feathers hold water so efficiently? Dr...

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    2023 Oct 08

    Tree Mob: Oaks on Peters Hill

    1:15pm to 2:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Oaks are one of the most recognizable trees in New England, and one of the most ecologically important. Join Horticulturist Ryan Devlin for a Tree Mob on the Arboretum's oak collection on Peters Hill and get a closer look at this common but fascinating genus. Learn about oak reproduction, different oak species, mast years, and more through this short landscape talk.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Jun 16

    Biophilia and Topology: A Re-imagining of Landscape Architecture

    6:30pm to 7:30pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    At its best, landscape architecture merges ecology and design to create landscapes that work with the site, not against it. Dr. Anette Freytag, a professor of the history and theory of landscape architecture, argues that two concepts—biophilia and topology—can help society to better deal with our current environmental crisis and improve wellbeing for all.

    This event will also be livestreamed to YouTube. To sign up for the virtual livestream instead,...

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    2023 Jun 15

    Mobile Landscape Reading – American Wildflowers: A Literary Field Guide

    6:00pm to 7:30pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join editor Susan Barba for a mobile landscape reading of her new literary anthology, filled with classic and contemporary poems and essays inspired by wildflowers. What is a mobile landscape reading, you ask? Instead of sitting in a lecture hall, you will meander through the wildflowers of the Arboretum, stopping to hear beautiful poems and prose while surrounded by the wildflowers that inspired them.

    You can...

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    2023 Apr 23

    PoeTREE: An Afternoon of Tree-Themed Poetry Readings

    1:00pm to 2:00pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre St., Boston

    Join poets Jennifer Barber, Deborah Leipziger, and Charles Coe for an afternoon of tree-themed poetry readings and discussion. Each poet will read segments of their works, including the poetry anthology Tree Lines, interspersed with interactive dialogue with the audience. At the end of the event, audience members will be given prompts and encouraged to try their own hands at writing tree-inspired poetry.

    ...

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    2023 Apr 22

    Tour: Frederick Law Olmsted and the Arnold Arboretum

    10:30am to 11:45am

    Location: 

    Hunnewell Visitor Center, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Frederick Law Olmsted designed the Arnold Arboretum and played an important role in its genesis as a public park. Join docent Bill Beizer for a tour identifying the elements of the Arboretum that best reflect Olmsted's philosophy and design approach.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Mar 23

    Plant Exploration: Then and Now

    6:30pm to 8:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre Street, Boston

    The Arnold Arboretum has been collecting plants from around the world for 150 years, but plant exploration today looks very different than it did in the 1800s. From changes in collecting practices to an evolving relationship between the Arboretum and its international partners, a lot has changed in the last century. Join Head of the Library and Archives Lisa Pearson and Keeper of the Living Collections Michael Dosmann to learn what these trips were like in the days of yore, and what they are like now.

    ...

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    2023 Feb 18

    Tour: Witch-Hazel Walk

    1:00pm to 2:15pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join a docent tour through the Arboretum looking for the vibrant colors of the witch-hazel flowers. Learn about plants native to China and Japan, those from the Ozarks and Mississippi, and even one that was introduced right here at the Arnold Arboretum! Dress warmly and wear boots for a 75-minute tour on and off the paths.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Feb 14

    Tour : Witch-Hazel Walk

    1:00pm to 2:15pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Bring your Valentine on a docent -led tour through the Arboretum looking for the vibrant colors of the witch-hazel flowers. Learn about plants native to China and Japan, those from the Ozarks and Mississippi, and even one that was introduced right here at the Arnold Arboretum! Dress warmly and wear boots for a 75-minute tour on and off the paths.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Feb 03

    Tour: Witch-Hazels with Andrew Gapinski

    1:00pm to 2:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    In the Arnold Arboretum, there is something blooming every month of the year—including February! Join Andrew Gapinski, Director of Horticulture, to explore the beauty of the Arboretum’s witch-hazel family collection and its captivating history of development, evaluation, and scientific study here at the Arboretum.

    Learn more and RSVP.

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    2023 Jan 28

    The Overstory: A Participatory Read Aloud

    1:00pm to 4:00pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    Join a participatory, in-person read-aloud of excerpts from Richard Powers’ tree-inspired novel The Overstory hosted by the Arnold Arboretum.

    The read-aloud will take place on Saturday, January 28, between 1pm and 4pm, within the exhibition of artist Diane Samuels' 160-foot scroll, The Overstory by Richard Powers, which was inspired by and celebrates the Pulitzer-prize winning novel. This is the last chance to see the scroll first-hand before the exhibition closes. View the scroll, listen to the excerpts, maybe read a portion yourself. Samuels herself will be joining...

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    2023 Jan 22

    Walking Tour | Barking Up the Right Tree: A Tour of Bark Diversity at the Arboretum

    10:00am to 11:00am

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    What is there to see at the Arboretum after all of the leaves have fallen and before spring flowers start to bloom? Bark! Shaggy bark, mottled bark, striped bark: the Arboretum has it all. Join Horticulturist Rachel Lawlor to see some beautiful bark highlights, learn how to identify some trees by their bark alone, and learn why exactly that bark looks the way it does.

    This tour will involve walking over grassy slopes, paved roads, mulch paths, and quite possibly some snow. We will be outside the whole time so dress for the weather! The tour begins on Bussey Street near the...

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    2023 Jan 12

    Tree Mob: Sweet Birch

    2:00pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    It looks like a cherry tree, it smells like root beer, but it is, in fact, the beautiful and aromatic sweet birch. Join Horticulturist Brendan Keegan to learn about this fascinating tree and its role in ecological succession, its use by wildlife, and its importance to indigenous communities. You may even get a chance to smell the wintergreen scent yourself.

    Getting to this Tree Mob will involve walking up a moderately sloped gravel path.

    This event will also be presented virtually over Zoom. To sign up for the virtual event,...

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    2023 Jan 10

    How Birds Work: Bills

    6:30pm to 7:30pm

    Location: 

    Weld Hill Research Building, Arnold Arboretum, 1300 Centre St., Boston

    Bills come in all sorts of sizes and shapes, from the needle-like bills of swallows for picking insects out of the air, to hummingbirds' long and curved bills for probing into the base of a flower, to the robust bill of the evening grosbeak for cracking into seeds. Some even have special features, like pressure sensors that allow shorebirds to detect food without touching it. Join Dr. Lorna Gibson, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, to look at the great diversity of bird bills and how they are suited to each individual bird—and to that bird’s favorite meal!

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    2022 Dec 06

    Tree Equity in Boston: What It Is and How to Grow It

    6:30pm to 7:30pm

    Location: 

    Weld Hill Research Building, Arnold Arboretum, 1300 Centre St., Boston

    The City of Boston recently released a new Urban Forest Plan that aims to grow the city's urban forest equitably. In this talk, David Meshoulam, Executive Director of Speak for the Trees, Boston, will introduce the idea of tree equity and discuss its critical importance in a rapidly changing climate. The organization has been examining how the distribution of trees has been shaped by race, politics, and history. and works to grow the city's forest as a tool to build resilient communities.

    ...

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    2022 Nov 12

    Great Horned Owl Walk

    4:15pm to 5:15pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston

    November at dusk is a perfect time to listen and look for Great Horned Owls. This charismatic and formidable species is often heard calling throughout the Arboretum’s collections. Join staff from the Arboretum and Zoo New England to learn about Great Horned Owls, how to go owling ethically, and possibly hear and see a few owls as well.

    Learn more and register.

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    2022 Oct 25

    Obsessions: Fellow Organisms in the Arnold Arboretum

    7:00pm to 8:30pm

    Location: 

    Online or at Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre St., Boston

    Join the Arnold Arboretum’s Director William (Ned) Friedman for the annual Director’s Series! To celebrate the Arboretum’s sesquicentennial, this year’s series will explore the Magic and Meaning of a Garden of Trees. Over the course of four sessions, we will trace the Arnold’s significance in the landscape architecture movement, value for the people of Boston, and leadership in creating global connections between plants and people. This final session will feature a talk from Director Friedman on fellow organisms in the Arboretum.

    ...

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    2022 Oct 19

    Plant Life Book Talk

    7:00pm to 8:30pm

    Location: 

    Arnold Arboretum, Weld Hill Research Building, 1300 Centre St., Boston

    Rosetta S. Elkin reveals that planting a tree can either be one of the ultimate offerings to thriving on this planet, or one of the most extreme perversions of human agency over it. Plant Life exposes the relationship between human and plant life, revealing that afforestation is not an ecological act: rather, it is deliberately political and distressingly social.

    Rosetta S. Elkin is associate professor and academic director of landscape architecture at Pratt Institute, principal of Practice Landscape, and research associate at the Harvard Arnold Arboretum. She is author of...

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    2022 Oct 18

    On-site Landscape Talk | Tree Mob: Plant Inventory on Hemlock Hill

    2:00pm to 2:30pm

    Location: 

    Hemlock Hill Summit Road, Arnold Arboretum, Boston

    The Curatorial Staff have the Herculean task of mapping, labelling, and assessing all of the plants in the Arboretum. Join Kyle Port, Manager of Plant Records, to learn how this plant inventory work is being tackled on Hemlock Hill.

    You can also attend this event virtually.

    ...

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    2022 Oct 15

    Crabapple and Maple Festival at the Arnold Arboretum

    12:00pm to 3:00pm

    Location: 

    Maple Collection on Meadow Road & Crabapple Collection on Peters Hill, Arnold Arboretum, Boston

    Celebrate fall color at the Arboretum! Join the festivities for children’s activities, learn about the Crabapple and Maple Collections from staff and volunteers, and view our plants up close with our microscope station. Registration not required, but greatly appreciated.

    Learn more and register.

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