The Connecticut College Arboretum: A Bountiful Campus Resource, Nationally Recognized

This past summer, the Connecticut College Arboretum received national recognition by Nerd Scholar, a website concerning the intricacies of higher education, which called the College one of the ten colleges/universities that “invest in our nation with Programs that take the lead in land preservation and restoration.” Other colleges and universities that garnered recognition for their arboretums or agricultural initiatives were the University of Maryland, the University of Vermont, Elmhurst College, South Seattle Community College and Hastings College. Connecticut College’s preserved open space, however, is the largest of them all, the second being Maryland at approximately 400 acres.
Mamacoke Island, the Caroline Black Garden between Winchester and Ridge apartments, the main Connecticut College campus itself, in addition to the enclosed space below Williams Street together comprise the 750-acre “Arbo.”
Director of the Arboretum Glenn Dreyer explained that Conn’s arboretum is fairly well known in the field of science teaching, but less recognized by the general public. “It’s nice that somebody noticed,” he said of the Nerd Scholar recognition. “It’s such a great asset for the College and the community.”
Dr. Caroline Black, the first chair of the Botany Department, developed a small teaching garden in 1928. The main arboretum off of Williams Street was established four years later on just 64 acres of farmland. On this land there was a grove of Eastern Hemlock trees, which Dreyer said “formed the nucleus of the natural area at that point.” Since then, the Arboretum’s variety of flora has evolved to what Nerd Scholar called “a diverse collection of natives and botanicals.”
Dr. George S. Avery Jr. was chair of the Botany Department and the first Director of the Arboretum, and he worked with landscape architect A.F. Brinckerhoff to design the living museum. Under Avery’s leadership, the Laurel Walk was constructed.
Dreyer commented that the construction of the Laurel Walk was in line with the idea of native plants, which has consistently been the theme of the Arboretum. This theme was fairly unusual in the 1930s and ’40s, during which it was more popular to import exotic plants for say, a Japanese-centric garden.
In 1935, the College received a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation to build the greenhouse. In 2011-2012, Rough Brothers Inc. renovated the greenhouse. The Arboretum Annual Report described the renovation; “the foundation and frame are all original, but now it features new safety glass, electrical service and modern climate control systems.”
In 1944, Dr. Richard Goodwin took over the Botany Department and the Arboretum. Considered a pioneering conservationist, the Arboretum grew from 100 acres to 450 in his years at the College. “During his tenure, there was a big push for acquiring land,” remarked Dreyer.
Dr. Goodwin hired a young plant ecologist in 1953 by the name of Dr. William A. Niering to teach in the Botany Department, work as his assistant director and oversee ecological research in the Arboretum. He became the Arboretum’s director in 1965. “Niering used the Arboretum for more academic purposes, establishing long term ecological studies that are still going on today, such as bird breeding and vegetation projects in the Samuel Bolles farm site,” said Dreyer.
Dreyer himself was a graduate student of Niering’s, having graduated from the College in 1983 with a Master’s degree in Botany. He is presently the Charles and Sarah P. Becker ’27 Director of the Arboretum.
“I guess my contribution has been managing our plant collection in a more constructive way,” Dreyer said, “thinning some things out, evaluating the collection.” He spoke of the Conifer collection that his team introduced in the Arboretum in response to an invasive species that had knocked out the plants on five acres of land next to the pond.
He pushes for a “more ecologically appropriate landscape management” in which he does not need to use as many chemicals in order to maintain plants. He also strives to make the collection more “biologically diverse in terms of nutrients, etc.”
In addition to being utilized by science students, particularly those in the Botany Department, the Arboretum hosts a plethora of cross-disciplinary events and activities. “The Arbo Project” is a collaborative program of the Office of the Arboretum and the Office of Volunteers and Community Service (OVCS). Connecticut College student volunteers lead tours of students from the New London area through the Arboretum south of Williams Street. In past academic years the program has brought in over 100 young students to engage in all the Arboretum has to offer.
Jennifer Cunningham ’13, AmeriCorps Vista in OVCS who is presently in charge of The Arbo Project commented that the program is off to a good start this year. They have already hosted approximately 85 students from a local middle school. During the tours, “the kids learn about the history of the Arboretum, the pond, succession… They love being outside, and are able to truly connect with the environment.”
Cunningham noted that the multitude of tours will take off in the spring semester this year. In 2012-2013, approximately 20 Conn students volunteered to give The Arbo Project tours; she expects a similar turn out for the program in coming months.
The open meadow in front of the pond in the Arboretum is utilized for many performances, as well as being a popular study and relaxation space on nice days. New London’s Flock Theatre annually puts on Shakespeare performances there every July and August. This past summer was their 20th summer, in which they performed As You Like It and Oedipus Rex. Derron Wood ’88 is the principal director of the Flock Theatre; other shows of his in the past have included Macbeth, The Tempest, and Romeo & Juliet.
Wood said that the Arboretum has first and foremost provided them with the space to put on these performances for 20 years. “The space has evolved and changed, with the Hemlock trees that were wiped out by an invasive species, as well as the arbors that were put in. The street lights that the College added are great as well because they allow more access in and out.”
He continued, stressing that the Arboretum is a “beautiful, beautiful venue for outdoor performances. We use it very specifically to not change the nature, therefore using portable props, instead really focusing on costumes to make the play come alive.”
From a logistical standpoint, Wood said, “it is much easier for families to attend, particularly those with young kids as they can get up and move around if they are restless… It is a relaxed setting for outdoor performances, and draws a couple thousand people every summer. Glenn Dreyer and the rest of the Arboretum staff are great to work with.”
The Student Activities Council (SAC) and various class councils take advantage of the space as well, as they did with both last spring’s senior event Lilypad, which replaced Fishbowl, as well as with the annual Arbofest that took place Saturday, Oct. 26. Arbofest, which constituted the first portion of SAC and the Senior Class Council’s “Fallapalooza” featured musicians River Whyless, Elison Jackson, and The Banditos.
Gracie Pearlman ’14, Chair of SAC, commented on the Arboretum’s importance: “The Arbo is so unique to Conn, and part of the reason so many people come here. While obviously preserving it, I think it’s so great that we are able to utilize it as a venue for various events (namely Arbofest and Lilypad last year). The Arbo basically provides a natural stage that overlooks the pond, and the hills all look toward that one spot, so it really is a natural fit for smaller concerts and events. I think we’re really lucky we get to use it for things like this, which is a testament to the faculty and staff’s trust in the students to respect the space.”
Every year on April 20th, N20, Connecticut College’s comedy group, puts on a consistently well-attended improv show in this same area of the Arbo.
As Nerd Scholar recognized, the Connecticut College Arboretum has been a unique and vital element of the College for almost a century. The opportunities it presents have only grown with its expansion and modification over the years. •