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Conifer Collection Tour

Arnold Arboretum

The conifer collection at the Arnold Arboretum is a magical place to visit at any time of the year, as it is especially rich in history and diversity. Docent Cristina Squeff will lead participants through this collection explaining key identification features and sharing relevant stories about individual trees.

Olmsted and the Arnold Arboretum

Bussey Street Gate

Frederick Law Olmsted, considered the father of landscape architecture, designed some 500 public spaces in North America. The Arnold Arboretum is the only arboretum he designed, a National Historic Landmark, and a model for others around the world. Docent Bill Beizer, will identify the elements of the Arboretum that best reflect Olmsted’s philosophy and approach to landscape design.

Accessibility: This program will take place entirely on paved roads.

Audience: This program is geared towards adults.

Inclement weather policy: Tours will be canceled in cases of the following weather conditions: severe wind, snow, ice, thunder or lightning events; temperatures over 90 degrees; and temperatures below 20 degrees. Tours may be canceled due to other weather events at the discretion of Arboretum staff. In the case of cancelation, you will be contacted by Arboretum staff no later than 2 hours before the start of the event. If you have questions about the status of a program, please email publicprograms@arnarb.harvard.edu or call the Visitor Center desk between 10:00am and 4:00pm at (617) 384-5209.

Global Change at the Arboretum

Hunnewell Visitor Center

A warming climate and increasing environmental pathogens pose an existential threat to the Arboretum’s collection of some 16,000 woody plants, trees and shrubs that are able to survive in our climate. This one hour walk will highlight the impact of climate change and increasing pathogens on key species in the Arboretum’s collection, describe some of the research initiatives underway to mitigate the effects of global warming and new pathogens, and identify the challenges and opportunities we face in improving our urban canopy.