Dusk in November is a perfect time to look and listen for Great Horned Owls, often heard calling throughout the Arboretum’s collections. Join Horticulturist Brendan Keegan to hear about the owls' breeding and nesting behavior, learn how to go owling ethically, and possibly hear and see a few owls as well.
Make beautiful seasonal cards and prints using the alternative photography method known as Cyanotype. Participants will collect leaves and seeds in the landscape and arrange them on special paper to create a deep blue print with bright, ghost-white silhouettes. This historic photography method offers participants the ability to perform something that seems like magic.
What is a conifer, exactly? How is it different from an evergreen, or a gymnosperm? Join docent Paul Eldrenkamp as he leads us through the different types of conifers and how to identify them, the reasons behind their distinctive needle-like forms, and their rise and fall in evolutionary history.
Join us for a winter foraging walk to learn what wild plants can be foraged and brewed into tea. Visit some of the Arboretum's tastiest winter plants, from sweet birch and sweet fern to sassafras and spicebush. You may even get to taste some of the teas yourself!
Bring your enthusiasm for the natural world and leave with a creative nature journal, inspired by the trees of the Arnold Arboretum. Nature journaling is all about expressing your curiosity and wonder through sketching, calligraphy, writing, or other forms of art-making. Tap into your creativity and let yourself be surprised by the diversity of forms on display in the winter landscape.
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. But how do their feathers hold water so efficiently? Dr. Lorna Gibson, Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at MIT, has found the answer. Join Dr. Gibson for a lecture to learn about these fascinating birds and the science behind them.
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, and learn why that bark looks the way it does.
With mating season just getting started, February is one of the best times to see signs of the Arboretum's resident coyote population. Join Horticulturist and wildlife enthusiast Brendan Keegan to look for coyote tracks and scat, check our trail cameras, and find out why all these coyotes are in Boston in the first place.
The Arboretum becomes a riot of color in October, with leaves turning deep red, fiery orange, and bright yellow. Have you ever wondered why this happens every autumn? Outdoor Educator Ana Maria Caballero will take us through the science of fall leaf color, including an exploration of pigments and abscission, a hands-on experiment to reveal the array of pigments present in every leaf, and a walk in the landscape to take a closer look at leaves in all phases of color change.
Join docent Paul Eldrenkamp for a visit to five groups of trees that each played a particularly significant role in shaping five very different civilizations: Eastern White Pine, Cedar of Lebanon, Western Red Cedar, Oaks, and the five sacred trees of the Kiso Forest in Japan.
