Even for a self-described nature geek, the University of Guelph Arboretum still holds surprises. Case in point: One summer day, Chris Earley was leading a tour group, just a handful among the tens of thousands of people he\u2019s ushered around the grounds as interpretive biologist and education coordinator. Partway through the walk, one student invited him to look at her cellphone picture of a caterpillar. Earley has seen many of the 800-plus kinds of moths and their larvae found in the arboretum, but this was a species never recorded there. Where did you find that? he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gesturing to a cucumber magnolia tree, one of many kinds of endangered plants nurtured on the grounds, she said: Under that leaf, about five seconds ago. \u201cYou never know what\u2019s going to pop out,\u201d says Earley, who has worked at the arboretum since finishing his zoology studies here in 1992. Laughing at the recollection, he says, \u201cAll the students got to see me all excited. It\u2019s fun not only to be surprised but it\u2019s extra fun to be surprised when you\u2019re with a group of students who can see that surprise and realize: Oh, this is awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fifty years after it was established through U of G\u2019s Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) on former farmland, wetland and forest at the east end of campus, the arboretum has become a place for discovery and learning about the natural world. This year, COVID-19 has curtailed or altered many of the activities and programs that normally occur on the grounds, including events planned to celebrate the arboretum\u2019s first half-century of existence. But in many ways, the pandemic has also underlined our need for fresh air and green spaces, says Justine Richardson, appointed earlier this year as the new director. During the shutdowns, essential work on living collections continued and walk-through access was allowed, she says. \u201cPeople were coming \u2013 grandparents, dog walkers, families walking in the morning or evening. That trails were kept open is a recognition of one of our important roles and the need to be outdoors for mental well-being and physical activity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe founders had amazing foresight to have thought about developing an arboretum. It provides an opportunity for research to be sustained over time\u201d<\/p>Richard Reader<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Walking through the grounds offers more than just a green respite. As one of fewer than a dozen university-based botanic gardens and arboreta (collections of trees and other woody plants) in Canada, the U of G arboretum is variously called \u201cthe green heart of Guelph\u201d and a \u201cliving laboratory.\u201d The 400-acre expanse with its mix of open spaces, old-growth forests, provincially significant wetlands, cultivated gardens, woody plant collections \u2013 oh, and a disc golf course \u2013 offers an experimental site for campus researchers, an outdoor classroom for learners and a natural sanctuary for some 100,000 visitors a year. That mix of research, teaching and outreach was already envisioned by members of the University-wide committee led by OAC from 1964 to develop plans for the arboretum. The arboretum was established under its inaugural director, Prof. Robert James Hilton, in 1970 (see sidebar).<\/p>\n\n\n\n