Boston Flora

Tag: Arnold Arboretum

  • Wednesday, August 10, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm – Insect Science: Collecting & Preserving

    Insects provide a wealth of information about the environment in which they are found. In this Arnold Arboretum Insect Science class on Wednesday, August 10, from 5:30 – 7:30 in the Hunnewell Building, 125 The Arborway, you will tune in to insects in the landscape, learn about their life stages, and see how paying attention to their actions and population numbers can guide horticultural maintenance. Sue Pfeiffer, Horticultural Technologist, who has helped collect insects to assist integrated pest management efforts as well as visiting entomologists at the Arnold Arboretum, will give a brief overview of insect anatomy, their life cycles, and describe the major insect families and their identifying characteristics. She will demonstrate how to assess a population as well as various methods of attracting, capturing, and collecting insects. She’ll also show how to preserve and display some of these complex and delicate beauties. Note: this is not a class on integrated pest management. Fee $20 member, $27 nonmember.  To register, log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Wednesday, August 3, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm – All Around Us: Paintings by Ricardo Maldonado

    When observing trees, change is a constant. The passing of the seasons, the weather, and the time of the day produce endless variations in light, shape, and color. Both subtle and abrupt, these changes challenge self-taught painter Ricardo Maldonado to embrace the shifting elements of the natural world, creating expressive yet wholly recognizable shapes that elicit unexpected emotions.  The paintings of Ricardo Maldonado will be exhibited in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum beginning July 30 through September 11, and a reception with the artist will take place Wednesday, August 3, from 6 – 8 in the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall.  The event is free.  For more information, call 617-384-5209, or visit www.arboretum.harvard.edu/news-events/art-shows/.  Below is “Forest in Fall” found at www.redbubble.com.

  • Tuesday, July 12, 1:30 – 4:00 pm – New England Trees in Decline: The Science Behind the Story

    David Orwig, Forest Ecologist at Harvard Forest, will speak in the Hunnewell Building of the Arnold Arboretum on Tuesday, July 12, from 1:30 – 4 pm, on the topic of New England Trees in Decline: The Science Behind the Story. Since 1907, research has been underway at the 3,000-acre property of Harvard Forest, one of the oldest and most intensively studied forests in North America. Scientists, students, and collaborators at the Forest explore topics ranging from conservation and environmental change to land-use history and the ways in which physical, biological, and human systems interact to change our earth. Join Dr. Orwig for this special opportunity to learn about tree decline in New England and to explore ways to reduce and avoid further problems. Dr. Orwig will present information that details ongoing tree decline resulting from a variety of stressors including native and exotic pests and pathogens. Conifer species will be highlighted, but ongoing hardwood tree problems will be included as well. An emphasis will be given to identification of the problem, the mode of tree decline, and appropriate treatment options when applicable. Discussion will include pests such as hemlock woolly adelgid, elongate hemlock scale, red pine scale, Sirex wood wasp, spruce diseases, emerald ash borer, Asian long-horned beetle, and oak decline on Martha’s Vineyard.  Note New Date: Postponed from April 5.
    Fee $20 Ecological Landscape Association and Arnold Arboretum members, $25 nonmember.  Co-sponsored by the Ecological Landscape Association and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.  Register online at https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu or by phone at 617-384-5277.

  • Wednesday, June 29, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – A Walk in the Arboretum with Painters for a Purpose

    Experience a walk along the paths of the Arnold Arboretum through the eyes of “Painters for a Purpose,” a group of South Shore pastel artists, on Wednesday, June 29, from 6:30 – 8, leaving from the Hunnewell Building Lecture Hall. The medium of pastel is particularly suited for rendering intense colors and contrasting textures. With the Arboretum as a magnificent muse, these artists explore the landscape in all seasons, beautifully capturing changes in nature and light.  For more information, call 617-384-5209, or log on to www.arboretum.harvard.edu.  The show will run from June 11 – July 23. “Ripple” below by Nancy Poucher.

  • Monday, June 27, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm – Mother Nature’s Child: Growing Outside in the Media Age

    The film, Mother Nature’s Child, explores nature’s powerful role in children’s health and development through the experience of toddlers, children in middle childhood, and adolescents. Mother Nature’s Child asks the questions: Why do children need unstructured time outside? What is the place of risk-taking in healthy child development? How is play a form of learning? The June 27  Arnold Arboretum screening in the Hunnewell Building will be followed by an informal discussion. (The film runs 57 minutes.) To learn more about the film, visit www.mothernaturesmovie.com.  Free, but registration is encouraged at www.arboretum.harvard.edu.

  • Arnold Arboretum Interpreter Training

    Expand your knowledge of the Arnold Arboretum and share your passion for plants with others.  Arboretum Interpreters will be trained to talk knowledgeably about the Arboretum and plants.  In addition to training on Arboretum history, plant terminology, and the landscape, volunteers will learn interpretive techniques to effectively engage with visitors of all ages.  As an Arboretum Interpreter, you will have casual interactions and conversations with visitors, one-on-one or in small groups.  You’ll help people find their way through the landscape, explore the fascinating world of plants, communicate how the Arboretum is a living museum, and make Arboretum history come alive.  Fall 2011 training will be held at the Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway in Boston,  and there is no no fee.  Punctuality and attendance at every session, as well as commitment to the program, are very important.  The training will be held on three Tuesdays and two Saturdays in September:

    Saturdays, September 10 and 17, 10 am – 3 pm

    Tuesdays, September 13, 20 and 27,  6 pm – 8:30 pm

    The Arboretum Interpreter program is a partnership: you provide your time, commitment and enthusiasm, and the Arnold Arboretum provides rich resources, experienced staff, and special benefits for volunteers.  It is also a wonderful opportunity for self-growth and for reaching out to Arboretum visitors to communicate the importance of plants in our lives.  An application form may be found at www.arboretum.harvard.edu (click on Get Involved, then click on Volunteer.)  After receipt of your application, a staff member will contact you.  An interview will then be scheduled.

     

  • Friday, June 24 and Saturday, June 25, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm – In the Groves: A Summer Solstice Journey

    Transport yourself to a different time and place with this enchanting evening of tree lore and summer-solstice legends. Storyteller Diane Edgecomb and Celtic harpist Margot Chamberlain spin tales of the human connection with trees and the deep meaning we have assigned to them through the ages. This unique performance, designed specifically for the Arnold Arboretum, starts at the Hunnewell Building and continues along tree-lined paths with story and music. The evening culminates with the haunting Czech legend “The Wild Woman of the Birch Grove” told amid the birches of Bussey Hill at sunset. Appropriate for adults and for children 12 years and above. Bring a cushion to sit on if you wish. Registrants will walk approximately two miles on and off trails. The performance takes place rain or shine. In the event of rain, it will be held in the Hunnewell Building lecture hall. You may choose from two sessions, the first taking place Friday, June 24, and the second on Saturday, June 25, from 6:30 – 8:30 pm. Fee $20 per person; space is limited. To register, visit www.arboretum.harvard.edu.  Painting of The Birch Grove (Birkenwald), circa 1900, by Ludwig Dill, courtesy of the Frye Art Museum.

  • Wednesday, June 15, 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm – Woody Vines for the Garden

    Effective landscape design includes creative development of vertical space, and vines should be considered from the outset.  While touring the Leventritt Garden of Shrubs and Vines at the Arnold Arboretum, horticulturist Jen Kettell will introduce you to an array of woody vines. She will explain their various growth habits and attachment mechanisms which determine how they are best used in the garden. Focusing on floral, foliar, and fruiting characteristics, she’ll recommend vines for a variety of situations. The class will take place Wednesday, June 15, beginning at 6:30 pm, and is $20 for Arboretum members, $25 for non-members.  To register, call 617-384-5277, or visit https://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?/DayPlanner=1023&DayPlannerDate=6/15/2011.

  • Saturday, June 25, 9:00 am – 1:00 pm – Bark Ecology and ID: Get to Know Your Trees

    Identifying tree species can be challenging when the traits typically used to describe them—leaves, buds, and twigs—are not clearly visible or, in the case of leaves, not even present. Join Michael Wojtech on Saturday, June 25, from 9 – 1 in the Hunnewell Building at the Arnold Arboretum in Jamaica Plain for an exploration of bark, the tree characteristic that is always visible in every season. A copy of his new book, Bark: A Field Guide to Trees of the Northeast, is included with the class fee. You will learn how to differentiate six different bark types, how to use the book’s identification keys, and begin to discover why such a variety of bark characteristics has evolved—Why do some species have smooth bark, while on others it is thick and broken? Why does bark peel? After a classroom session we will practice identifying native tree species on the grounds of the Arboretum. Open to naturalists at all levels of experience.  $55 Arnold Arboretum members, $70 for nonmembers.  To register, visit http://my.arboretum.harvard.edu/Info.aspx?DayPlanner=1026&DayPlannerDate=6/25/2011.

     

     

  • Saturday, June 4, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm – E.H. Wilson: A Century Past

    It’s been one hundred years since Wilson returned from his last major Chinese collecting expedition.  Wilson is credited with introducing over one thousand Asian plants into Western horticulture, including the paperbark maple, regal lily, Chinese tulip tree, and beautybush.  Learn more about this fascinating explorer and view a selection of Wilson’s introductions growing at the Arnold Arboretum, 125 Arborway in Boston, including some grown from seeds he collected, on Saturday, June 4, from 1 – 2:30, on a walking tour led by Jim Gorman.  The walk is free, and for more information call 617-384-5209.