The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University, established in 1872, is the oldest public arboretum in North America.
Arnold Arboretum in autumn (Photo courtesy of Chelsea He)
SP residents visited the Arnold Arboretum at the end of autumn (Courtesy of Dawsen Hwang)
The SP trip to the Arnold Arboretum, organized by the Plants chair and Bikes chair, drew a huge crowd; more than twenty people came including 5 bikers and 2 runners! A warm and sunny day set the stage for one of the last public tours this year. Our quirky tour guide (fun fact: his day job is a driving trucks) showed us stories and characteristics of many plants around the park. In fact, he encouraged us to use all of our senses, include touching the spikes on the trees! In the end, the tour lasted 2 hours, much longer than we planned. Not only our understanding, but also appreciation of plants was fostered through this substantial and fun tour.
For interested readers, the Arnold Arboretum is located at the Forest Hills Station at the end of the Orange Line. In addition to taking the T, we also recommend biking or jogging there. For more information see:
Here are some thoughts from the residents who attended the trip:
“This event was very well planned and organized. The trip was full of fun. I took a lot of pictures there. It was a fantastic trip to learn, to relax, and to think. I highly recommend this to my friends and I’d love to go again!” – Sheng-Ying (Aithne) Pao
“I really enjoyed this trip!” – Jagdish Ramakrishnan
“This is a great time to see the New England foliage. I had lots of fun learning about the plants too.” – Amy Zhou
By Dawsen Hwang, SP Plant Chair