Join three experienced birders for a 90-minute walk suitable for beginners and experienced birders alike. Meet at the Peters Hill Gate for this walk in the landscape to see Arboretum birds. Space is limited to 30 and the group will be divided into three sections. COVID-19 guidelines of masks and social distancing will be required. Bring binoculars if you have them.
Beech leaf disease (BLD) affects and kills both native and ornamental beech tree species. It is associated with a nematode, Litylenchus crenatae mccannii. This disease has only been discovered in recent years and much about it, including the full cause and how it spreads, is still unknown. Experts from The Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, Drs. James LaMondia and Robert Marra, will share what is known of this recently discovered disease and discuss ongoing research to control spread of BLD. This free Zoom webinar is co-hosted by Bartlett Arboretum & Gardens and the Arnold...
This is the third lecture in the Arnold Arboretum's 2021 Director's Lecture Series. Tiya Miles takes up the pecan tree as inspiration for exploring the meaning of trees in the lives of enslaved African Americans. Using a family heirloom, slave narratives, oral histories, and missionary records, her talk underscores the importance of trees in the Black experience of captivity and resistance, ultimately revealing the centrality of the natural world to Black, and indeed human, survival.
At the time of its founding in 1872, the land on which the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University is sighted was a patchwork of farmland and forest. As the Arboretum was planted, pathways were developed to lead people through the picturesque landscape. As the landscape developed, economies shifted, wars took place, and directors changed. Each of these factors subtly influenced shifts in the park’s path system. Join the Arnold Arboretum on Zoom with Jared Rubinstein as he reveals the layers of change in this beloved landscape.
Participate in the Arnold Arboretum’s 2021 Tournament of Trees! Get to know this year’s Sweet Sixteen contenders (March 3–9) and cast your votes in this fun bracket style tournament. Let the March Tree Madness games begin.
Shed the winter blues and head outdoors for a new season of exploration and nature noticing. EverydayNature Tasks, a calendar with daily activities to try outdoors, resumes its offerings on March 1. Do something natural every day! Free and open to all.
A plant that generates heat and attracts pollinators with its stink? Learn more about skunk cabbage in the Arnold Arboretum’s newest winter Wonder Spot, at the Arboretum meadow’s edge or online. Free and open to all.
Dana Greenhouse Classroom, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Grafting is the technique of joining parts of separate plants in such a manner that they unite and continue their growth as one. Learn basic principles of grafting with an overview of different types of dormant-season grafts. Arnold Arboretum propagator Sean Halloran will provide step-by-step instructions so that you can practice both cleft and side veneer grafts using apple root stock. Simple after-care will be required until planting out in springtime. Registrants will need to sign an Assumption of Risk and Release in order to participate in this class.
Bussey St. Gate, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Docent Robbie Apfel leads this winter walk in an exploration of the Arboretum's conifer collection. Beginning from the Bussey Street Gate, you will be introduced to the Arboretum's grand gymnosperms, learn the botany of conifers, and hear about Hemlock Hill's evolving ecosystem. This tour will also introduce you to native and non-native conifers in the winter landscape.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Great scenery and exercise, who could want more? Take a brisk walk this winter and stay healthy and connected to the Arboretum at a time when the landscape is pared down to its beautiful bones. This walk emphasizes fitness, with a healthy dose of information on seasonal highlights. Winter tours are geared to adults and led by trained Arboretum docents.
After your tour, stay on for a warm drink and more conversation with your guide and staff in the Visitor Center.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Put down the hedge shears! Through both classroom instruction and hands-on field training, this class will include what’s, why's, and how’s of proper pruning approaches and techniques. Andrew Gapinski will focus on small ornamental trees, young shade trees, and shrubs with general approaches towards maintaining a plant’s natural form and encouraging health and vigor.
Note: Pruning for fruit production will not be covered in this offering. Dress for indoor and outdoor learning.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Winter is the barest of times in the Arboretum; however, there is much to see and much happening in the landscape. Join a docent for a walk on the bare side—notice shapes, textures, even the personalities of plants that are often missed when the land is heavy with green. You will see buds already forming and the dried seeds that are more visible when leaves are gone.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Families need nature at all times of the year! Meet inside the main gate at the Visitor Center. We’ll learn how Arboretum animals get ready for winter. Go on a StoryWalk, get a tattoo, and make a winter home for your favorite animal!
Free and open to all, this event is most suitable for children ages four through ten.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Fall is one of the most beautiful times of the year to visit the Arboretum. Explore the less-traveled paths of the Arboretum on informative walks designed for enjoyment, health, and learning about this special landscape. Pause to hear about interesting plants and unique collections. Please dress appropriately and bring water.
Dana Greenhouse Classroom, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Enhance your garden! Join Manager of Plant Production Tiffany Enzenbacher to learn how to propagate woody plants from fall cuttings. Students will collect and stick cuttings of several taxa (Ilex and Rhododendron to name a few), and will take their propagules home. After rooting, small plants may be ready to transplant as early as next year. Post-class nurturing will be required.
Fee for all materials is included in the cost of the class. Students should bring their own pruners to class.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Chris Morgan is fascinated by the patterns and textures in nature, the shapes of trees, and the movements of birds. He captures these beautifully in his photographs, which were on display at the Arnold Arboretum in the winter of 2019.
In this program, Chris will discuss his photographic interests and methods in the classroom and then move outdoors to demonstrate his techniques. Class participants will be able to learn alongside Chris, evaluating views, debating camera angles, and considering focal points in order to shoot better images. Participants should bring their...
Weld Hill Building and Landscape, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Horticulturist Conor Guidarelli manages the Arnold Arboretum’s organic materials recycling area and has recently improved the production and quality of the resulting compost. Conor will discuss the components of compost and the nutrients that can be returned to a site when compost is applied. He will explain the mix of brown to green materials, moisture, and aeration. Class participants will start in the classroom and then travel to the Arboretum’s materials yard to see compost in various stages of development.
Bradley Rosaceous Collection, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join the Arnold Arboretum for tours, family activities, and festivities inviting you to discover the diversity of the rose family (Rosaceae) which includes more than four thousand species. Many of the rose family taxa are of great importance to humans and the agricultural economy, and are vulnerable to extreme weather that is becoming the new norm. Come learn more about the many fruits of the rose family, a welcome buffet for our local wildlife.
Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
Join the Arboretum's exhibiting artist, Steffanie Schwam, in this hands-on workshop. You will make your own unique monoprint on paper or fabric, using leaves from the Arboretum's collections, paint, printmaking tools, recycled materials, and the inspiration of the surrounding landscape.
Note: This workshop is appropriate for ages 8 and up. An adult must accompany anyone between ages 8–12.
Bussey St. Gate, Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway, Boston
This slow-paced guided therapeutic experience promotes wellness through a series of gentle sensory-opening invitations that welcome us to notice more of our natural surroundings. By deepening our connection with the natural world and each other, we open ourselves up to the healing medicine of the forest. Forest Bathing is part of a global effort to tend to the stressful conditions of living in modern industrialized civilization.