Bard Dedicates Arboretum on Arbor Day

ANNANDALE-ON-HUDSON, N.Y.—Bard College has one of the most outstanding collections of trees in our region. On Friday, April 27, Arbor Day, Bard College officially dedicates the Bard Arboretum. The ceremony begins at 1:00 p.m. at the Main Campus Oak Grove (across from Kline Commons). Planned during the dedication ceremony is a ceremonial tree planting and distribution of free educational information about the arboretum.

In December 2005, a group of Bard staff, faculty, administration, students, and community members gathered to discuss how Bard’s 500-acre campus could be best managed for the stewardship of the landscape and trees. From this discussion, a group, “Friends of the Bard Landscape and Arboretum,” was formed, aimed toward officially designating an arboretum—a place where trees or shrubs are cultivated for their educational or scientific interest—on the campus. During this process, historic and other specimen trees were identified and labeled with both the common and Latin names, genus, and approximate date of planting; new trees continue to be planted. A brochure identifying a trail that visitors can take to see various trees on campus also has been developed.

The mission of the Bard College Arboretum is to preserve and enhance the natural and landscaped resources of the campus and to promote knowledge and appreciation of horticulture and conservation. This appreciation provides a campus environment rich in horticultural diversity and beauty that can be readily enjoyed by the College and surrounding community. “The special historical and landscape resources on the campus are now offered as a living museum for visitors to enjoy,” says Bard alumna Amy Foster ’99, horticultural supervisor, who has overseen the arboretum’s development.

The campus, along the Hudson River, is situated on the grounds of two of the great 19th-century estates and was celebrated by A. J. Downing, a renowned landscape architect, in his Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening (1841). Downing also wrote of Bard in his Rural Essays, mentioning the Blithewood estate (now the Levy Economics Institute) as “one of the most charming villa residences in the Union.”

For those who wish to help support the arboretum, different levels of memberships are available to become a Friend of the Bard Landscape and Arboretum. A free tree will be given to each new member. For further information, call 845-758-7179, e-mail horticulture@bard.edu, or visit http://inside.bard.edu/horticulture.

# # # (4.9.2007)

This event was last updated on 03-12-2021

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