Arboretum

Welcome Class of 2016 and hello again to all returning ‘Fords, faculty and staff.

For the Sixteen, this is an exciting time on campus, you are joining the Community as the doors of Tritton and Kim residence halls open.  These are the first new dorms on campus since the mid ’60s!  You will also be living in an Arboretum.  The Haverford College Arboretum is the oldest in the United States and to prove it there is a landscape design from 1834 in the college archives.

You’ll see the Arboretum and grounds staff out weeding, planting trees, watering, raking leaves and shoveling snow.  Be sure to say, “hello”.

Join the Arboretum staff thursday, August 30 at 10am in the old orchard behind Tritton Hall.  We will assist you as you plant your freshman tree.  Then next week, Sept, 2-4, in the Dining Center all freshman can pickup a free plant for their room and have the opportunity to become a student member of the Arboretum and a proud owner of the ever popular Arboretum t-shirt.

Enjoy a few of my favorite images from this year and you’ll see what a wonderful place Haverford is.

I never like to witness a tree being cut down. On August 8th the community lost a sentinel red oak, Quercus rubra. While it had been in decline for a number of years, the Arboretum made efforts to stimulate growth and improve the overall health. It was recently decided by the Arboretum Manager, Bill Astifan in close consultation with Arborist, Jim Ward of the John B. Ward Tree Co. that the oak was a hazardous tree and needed to come down.

This red oak quietly graced a prominent spot on campus.  After counting the growth rings, my estimation for age is approximately 114 years. Many will remember it on the south west corner of Barclay Hall. Parents and friends coming to campus passed under its branches on their walk to Commencement. Generations of ‘Fords enjoyed its cooling shade in their Barclay rooms. When the oak was planted on the south side of Barclay so many years ago, it was the intent that one day this tree would bestow shade to those rooms. Our oak did not disappoint on providing a cooling canopy or by offering a majestic and beautiful presence to the Haverford campus.