Speak for the Trees, Boston, will hold the second annual Teen Tree Summit, highlighting the work of environmental youth groups in Greater Boston, on Saturday, June 15 from 11 – 3 in the Weld Hill Research Building at the Arnold Arboretum.
The event will feature various guest speakers, hands-on activities, tabling by our partners and other groups. Lunch will also be provided. If you are a part of an environmental justice organization that services youth, are looking to attend the event, or have other ideas for partnering with us, please let us know. Fill out the Goggle Docs form HERE, or email tutc_chrome@treeboston.org
As a free urban park and naturalized landscape in the heart of Boston, the Arnold Arboretum plays an important role in supporting health and wellness in our community. Connecting Boston’s neighborhoods to trees and wildlife, our landscape offers an exceptional environment for enhancing our relationship with plants and tapping into the physical and mental benefits of immersion in nature. For individuals and families of people challenged by memory loss, a guided walk through the Arboretum landscape can be an enriching experience and sensory feast for all. On Saturday, June 8 at 10:00 a.m., Arboretum Director William (Ned) Friedman will lead a free guided tour developed to engage individuals with dementia and their caregivers. Register for this special opportunity to meet some marvels of the botanical world, enjoy seasonal highlights, and take in the wonderful sights and scents of late spring at the Arnold Arboretum.
If you haven’t joined the Arnold Arboretum yet, now is the time. In early May when crowds head to the lilac collection to see the beautiful spring flowers, something incredible is taking place below the radar, deep in the conifer collection. Spruce cones are just starting to emerge from their buds and they are not the shades of brown and grey that we know well: these young cones are vibrantly yellow, red, lime green, and pink. Join Arboretum Director Ned Friedman for a tour of the spruce collection to see this rainbow of young cones at their peak. There is even an opportunity to join virtually! Meet at the Walker Street Gate. Register at www.arboretum.harvard.edu
Experience the springtime bloom of our renowned collection of over 400 lilacs. Visit for tours with Arboretum experts, hands-on children’s programming, and more. Picnicking in the Arboretum landscape is permitted on this day only, Sunday, May 12 from 10 – 3.
Located primarily on the edge of Bussey Hill Road in the heart of the landscape, the lilac collection at the Arnold Arboretum is among the premier collections of these plants in North America. Of the thousands of flowering plants in the Arboretum (many of which can also be enjoyed at this time), only the lilac is singled out each year for a daylong celebration.
Pack a picnic and make your way to the lilac collection on Bussey Hill Road. With 407 lilac plants representing 173 taxa (kinds), the Arboretum holds one of the premier lilac collections in North America. Lilac Sunday has been celebrated at the Arnold Arboretum since 1908. Join an Arboretum expert for a guided tour of the lilac collection. Tours depart between 10:00am–2:30pm from Arborway Gate and the Ponds. Access the lilac tour—as well as over 60 additional plants and areas—on our mobile app, Expeditions. The app is available in English, Spanish, and Simplified Chinese/Mandarin. You can access Expeditions through your smartphone’s internet browser or download the app from the Apple App store and the Google Play store.
In Japan, the appearance of cherry blossoms (sakura) in early spring is marked by festivals, family gatherings, and flower viewing where the trees thrive. At the Arnold Arboretum, the cherry collection along Forest Hills Road draws visitors to enjoy their spectacular and ephemeral displays. Among the showstoppers is the Sargent cherry, which was introduced to North America by the Arboretum and named for our founding director who collected the species on his 1892 expedition to Japan.
Come celebrate sakura and Japanese culture in our Bradley Rosaceous Collection near the ponds and the Forest Hills Gate on Friday, April 12 from 6–7 p.m. Enjoy the rhythms of Taiko drumming by Karen Young and KASA Taiko from 6–6:30 p.m. and learn calligraphy and Japanese games with Showa Boston Institute. Visitors are welcome to bring a blanket to sit on for the performance. This event is appropriate for all ages.
Take in the sights and sounds of the Arnold Arboretum under the light of a full moon on January 25. Facilitator Bob Linscott will lead the group through some mindfulness in nature practices as we meander along the paved road to our final nighttime viewing location on top of Bussey Hill. Meet on January 25 at 6 pm in front of the Hunnewell Building. Registration is required at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/events/event-signup/?id=82536
Accessibility: This program will take place entirely on paved roads. We will ascend some moderate hills. Facilitator Bob Linscott is a certified Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction teacher at Brown University and Center for Mindfulness at UMASS Memorial Health Care.
In the event of inclement weather, registrants will be notified via email. If you have questions, please email publicprograms@arnarb.harvard.edu or call the Visitor Center desk between 10:00am and 4:00pm at (617) 384-5209.
Dusk in January is a perfect time to look and listen for Great Horned Owls, often heard calling throughout the Arnold Arboretum’s collections. Join Horticulturist Brendan Keegan and Zoo New England’s Matthew Kamm 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. The walk takes place on January 21 beginning at 4:30 pm. Meet at the Bussey Street Gate. Registration required at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/events/event-signup/?id=82531
Accessibility: Participants will walk over paved roads, woodchips paths, and mowed grass.
In the event of inclement weather, registrants will be notified via email. If you have questions, please email publicprograms@arnarb.harvard.edu or call the Visitor Center desk between 10:00 am and 4:00 pm at (617) 384-5209.
Hundreds of mushrooms hide beneath the Arnold Arboretum’s canopies, silently blossoming into unique forms then withering away again just as quickly. Join local mushroom enthusiast Maria Pinto on January 27 at 2 pm to search for these fascinating organisms on the Arboretum grounds, both edible and poisonous alike. Along the way you will learn what mushrooms to look for in different habitats and seasons, how they move through ecosystems, and what the Arboretum’s unique collections affect what mushrooms you might find here. Meet at the Bussey Street Gate. Registration required at https://arboretum.harvard.edu/events/event-signup/?id=82552
Accessibility: Participants will need to navigate woodchip, gravel, and dirt paths, and climb moderate hills.
In the event of inclement weather, registrants will be notified via email. If you have questions, please email publicprograms@arnarb.harvard.edu or call the Visitor Center desk between 10:00am and 4:00pm at (617) 384-5209.
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 on January 16 at 6:30 pm for a lecture to learn about these fascinating birds and the science behind them. For registration for either the virtual or live option, click HERE.
Embark on a birdwatching walk in the Arboretum’s landscape with birder and wildlife photographer Michael Bryant, AKA Nature Man Mike. This two-hour walk on January 13 at 8 am is suitable for beginners as well as more experienced birders. Binoculars will be available to borrow on a first-come-first-serve basis, but you are encouraged to bring your own! To get on the waitlist, click HERE. Below: White-Throated Sparrow. Photo by Michael Bryant.
