The Arboretum, University of Guelph
200 Arboretum Road N1G 2W1 Guelph, ON, Canada

There is a lot of history behind The Arboretum Centre! The Arboretum Centre's full name is the OAC Centennial Arboretum Centre to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Ontario Agricultural College in 1974. The building was designed by architect Raymond Moriyama, a famous architectural firm located in Toronto. When the Arboretum Planning Committee requested the architects' services, they specifically requested the Centre to be built to emphasize the landscape of The Arboretum rather than the building itself. This explains why the Centre is set into the hill and features large round windows! #Arbat50 #ArbRoots

A Northern Shrike was seen here this morning. If you look closely at its beak you can see why this predatory songbird is also called the butcherbird! A winter-only visitor, this species eats small birds and meadow voles during its Arboretum stay.

What can happen way up high, way down low, and always leads to something to grow? Seed collection, of course! Our staff collects seeds in a responsible manner from wild plant populations and The Arboretum's seed orchard. In this picture, our staff are collecting seeds from the very top of a tree as part of a local volunteer day with Skyjack! After collection, seeds are stored, exchanged with seed-saving organizations, propagated into individuals saplings to be shared with partners and archived in our living gene banks -- all of which aids in the conservation of biodiversity to protect rare plant species. The Arboretum is proud to use these seeds to develop Arboretum grounds, aid Canadian and global conservation efforts, and maintain records of threatened woody plant species. #AwesomeFactsat50 #Arbat50

Nothing says teamwork like some good ol’ lichen! #dyk that lichen is actually 2 organisms (a fungus and an algae or cyanobacteria) functioning as a single stable unit? The algae or cyanobacteria is able to produce carbohydrates from photosynthesis and the fungi provides protection in its filaments as well as the ability to absorb moisture and nutrients from the environment! There are so many different types of lichen and they’re all beautiful to look at!

Visit our winter wonderland!

Thinking of raking your leaves? Try leaving them on the ground instead! All the leaf litter here in Wild Goose Woods create an important overwintering place for insects, frogs, and other animals to hibernate the winter away. You can create the same type of habitat and attract different wildlife to your yard by simply leaving all the fallen leaves on the ground this fall...and it’s less work too!

Have you ever seen the Arb staff set up shop next to one of our feeders with big nets and metal cages? That's because Chris Earley, our Interpretive Biologist Extraordinaire, is a master bird bander! Join us for this week's video to learn a bit about what that is! For a more in depth look at the process of bird banding, also check out: https://youtu.be/DkHPV2P9GxA

The Da Vinci Arts and Science Community and Environmental Leadership Program is an experiential learning opportunity for grade 11 students to spend a semester at The Arboretum. Through this partnership with the Upper Grand District School Board, students earn credits in English, Biology, Art, and Social Sciences (Introduction to Anthropology, Sociology and Psychology). As part of learning about art and the outdoors, participants develop and lead Eco-Artists sessions for grade 4 students. Da Vinci is a great way for students to spend time outside, gain leadership experience, and get course credits! #AwesomeFactsat50 #Arbat50

While some birds migrate to escape the colder months, Red-tailed Hawks can tough it out in the snow and cold. This particularly handsome individual has been hanging out at The Arboretum for a while now, and we hope it continues to stick around. Even with the recent snow fall, there’s still lots of wildlife around to see!

#dyk that coniferous trees like this White Pine can produce resin as a defence mechanism? Overtime, this resin may become fossilized and become amber!

Did you know that many undergraduate courses utilize The Arboretum for a component of their classes? These courses range from 12 different disciplines, including Environmental Sciences and Philosophy! The students pictured here visited The Arboretum for a second year Ecology lab. Chris Earley, The Arboretum's Interpretive Biologist and Education Co-ordinator, trained the students on how to collect data for Project Feederwatch, a citizen science project. #AwesomeFactsAt50 #ArbAt50

Check out Portico’s new article on The Arboretum’s 50th Year! Take a look back at The Arboretum’s history and hear about our goals for the future in U of G’s Living Lab. https://tinyurl.com/y6fld49k

Want to do some backyard research? Or a Science Fair Project? Studying feeder bird dominance is a fun way to get to know your backyard feathered friends. All you need to do is make a chart like in the second photo but with the common birds at your feeder. Then watch your feeder. When you see one bird actually displace another bird, you mark it on the sheet. So, for example, this sheet shows that the viewer has seen a Blue Jay displace a Northern Cardinal five times and a cardinal displace a jay twice. Once you have a lot of observations you can look up the results from a Cornell Lab of Ornithology dominance study and see if yours is similar. Who do you think will be the big cheese at your feeding station? You might be surprised!

The Gosling Wildlife Gardens were designed to demonstrate and educate about how to make urban or suburban backyards more wildlife-friendly! These gardens were initially opened in 1988 after Jean and Philip Gosling supported the project. After 32 years of growing and inspiring visitors, the Gosling Wildlife Gardens are getting a fresh new look! Thanks to a legacy gift from the Gosling Foundation, the Gosling Wildlife Gardens are undergoing a multi-year revitalization project involving updates to the themes, plant collections, ponds, and other garden features. To learn more about all of the changes we have planned for the Gosling Wildlife Gardens, visit our website: https://uoguel.ph/gcfeq. What garden are you most excited to visit?

College Avenue has been re-opened! That means visitors can now enter The Arboretum through the entrance there again, and parking lots are just up ahead beside the Arboretum Centre. Maps and directions are also available on our website at https://www.uoguelph.ca/arboretum/directions.

It's important to always look at more than one leaf when trying to identify a tree, and here is why... Honey Locust trees typically have pinnately compound leaves, where the leaf blade is divided into multiple leaflets on each side of the central stalk. This Honey Locust, however, is being extra tricky by showing a leaf that is both pinnately and bipinnately compound (where the leaf is divided twice)! You can take a look at the leaves of the Honey Locust in our World of Trees collection!

Feeder Bird Basics: ID. Now that lots of birds are returning to feeders across Ontario, let’s get some id practice. What species are these? This is a great photo to compare a female House Finch HOFI (or possibly a young male) with a female (or possibly a young male) Purple Finch PUFI. Look at all three photos and note the following: PUFI white eyebrow HOFI plain face PUFI white underparts with distinct dark streaks on breast HOFI dirty or grayish underparts with less defined... breast streaks PUFI sometimes slight crest HOFI rounded head PUFI straighter top of beak HOFI rounded top of beak Now go look at your or another local feeder and check it out in the field! See more

Looking to add some colour to your property? Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica) is a native shrub that produces a spectacular fall colour display of purples, reds, oranges and golds. This shrub is also great for attracting wildlife to your house. Bees and early butterflies like the yellow spring flowers and it’s berries are favoured by birds in the winter.

Missed our recent 50th Celebration Talk with Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin? No worries, catch it at our website : https://www.uoguelph.ca/a/education-events/50th-anniversary

You’re walking #NextToHistory when you stroll through the various gardens in The Arboretum. The Garden Project began in 1995 when Mrs. Bobbi Porter dedicated the David G. Porter Memorial Japanese Garden to her late husband and professor of the Ontario Veterinary College, David G. Porter. The Garden Project grew to include the OAC '56 Park in the Garden, the Edna and Frank C. Miller English Garden, and the Italian Garden. Be sure to stop by and see why so many visitors enjoy our Garden Project! #Arbat50 Edit: Christopher Campbell actually started rough plans and ideas for the Garden Project in 1987! How time flies...and brings us something wonderful!

The first research to be published out of the #LivingLaboratory of The Arboretum was in 1974! D.W. Smith and G.C. Bowes published their research, Loss of some elements in fly-ash during old-field burns in southern Ontario in the Canadian Journal of Soil Science. Fly-ash is fine powder that contains aluminous and siliceous material. It is a by-product of burning pulverized coal and, when mixed with water, forms cement! You really do learn something new every day. #Arbat50

The needles on this Tamarack are just starting to change colour! Even though this tree species produces cones and has needle-like leaves like many evergreen trees, it’s actually a deciduous tree! That means it will lose its leaves in the fall and its branches will be bare all winter long, just like our maple trees. How cool is that?!

In December 1970, only six years after the University of Guelph became a comprehensive university, the Board of Governors approved the master plan, creating The Arboretum. Our first nursery accession was an ironwood tree seedling in 1970, and Maple Collection plantings began in May 1971. Today, we aren’t exactly sure what date we should call our anniversary, so we are going to celebrate for months on end! #Arbat50

Have you visited the Japanese Garden recently? The new thyme bed is filling in beautifully!

Our 50th Celebrations Talk featuring Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin will be taking place in 1 hour! "See" you there! Attend the Zoom broadcast at this link: https://zoom.us/j/99337986333 ... Pre-recorded in the pandemic, our program features a talk by Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin, Executive Director of the US Botanic Garden; a report on some of our conservation and collections efforts by Sean Fox, Manager of Collections; and a musical piece ‘Arboretum Improvisation’ recorded during the summer shutdowns by percussionist Richard Burrows playing marimba on our renovated boardwalk in Wild Goose Woods! Program Opening Pre-show Slides: ‘#Arb at 50’ Land Acknowledgement - Arboretum Staff 2020 Welcome - Rene Van Acker, Dean, Ontario Agricultural College Introduction - Justine Richardson, Director, The Arboretum Talk ‘Local Leadership and Global Impact: Botanic Gardens Advancing Food Security’ - Saharah Moon Chapotin, Executive Director, United States Botanic Garden Report ‘Living Laboratory: Collections and Conservation’ - Sean Fox, Manager of Collections, The Arboretum Musical Closing ‘Arboretum Improvisation’ - Richard Burrows, Percussionist (Marimba) This begins a year-long celebration featuring many facets of the Arboretum past, present, and looking to the future.

Today's the day! Dr. Chapotin's talk will be happening tonight! Attend the Zoom broadcast at 7 pm, at this link: https://zoom.us/j/99337986333 ... Pre-recorded in the pandemic, our program features a talk by Dr. Saharah Moon Chapotin, Executive Director of the US Botanic Garden; a report on some of our conservation and collections efforts by Sean Fox, Manager of Collections; and a musical piece ‘Arboretum Improvisation’ recorded during the summer shutdowns by percussionist Richard Burrows playing marimba on our renovated boardwalk in Wild Goose Woods! Program Opening Pre-show Slides: ‘#Arb at 50’ Land Acknowledgement - Arboretum Staff 2020 Welcome - Rene Van Acker, Dean, Ontario Agricultural College Introduction - Justine Richardson, Director, The Arboretum Talk ‘Local Leadership and Global Impact: Botanic Gardens Advancing Food Security’ - Saharah Moon Chapotin, Executive Director, United States Botanic Garden Report ‘Living Laboratory: Collections and Conservation’ - Sean Fox, Manager of Collections, The Arboretum Musical Closing ‘Arboretum Improvisation’ - Richard Burrows, Percussionist (Marimba) This begins a year-long celebration featuring many facets of the Arboretum past, present, and looking to the future. For more information email us at: [email protected]