Take a bird’s-eye view of the F. R. Newman Arboretum in this stunning flight over its 100 acres. This living museum is one of Cornell University’s most iconic natural features, beloved by generations of graduates and local community members. The arboretum houses more than 1,000 species each of trees and shrubs, almost 4,000 total trees, all lovingly stewarded by Cornell Botanic Gardens as part of a broader effort to safeguard the diversity of plants and the cultures they sustain.
As if on wings, you rise over the majestic Class of 1901 Nut Tree Collection, planted in the 1950s to study varieties of pecan, hickory, and walnut. Next, you float over the long swath of Newman Meadow. Mowed only twice a year to reduce fuel use and encourage the growth of native grassland plants, the meadow provides a place to stroll and take in the beauty of the Nut Tree and Maple collections.
Then to the Zucker Shrub Collection, an area designed to provide gardening inspiration for home landscapes. Here you can see the series of garden “rooms” that display stunning arrangements of shrubs, grasses, and large-statured perennials.
Finally, you drift through the Sculpture Garden, and see the unique sculptures built as a class project in 1961 by Cornell University architecture students, before gliding over Houston Pond. This water habitat, created in 1980, displays a rich diversity of plants and wildlife and serve as a living-learning classroom and laboratory for research and instruction.
Your gift of any size helps make the breathtaking majesty of this treasured place and its plant collections accessible to visitors, students, and researchers.