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Definition:
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Looking toward the East Sub-Campus
from beside the Hosler
Oak during its first year after being transplanted to
the Arboretum. |
In the traditional sense, arboreta are curated collections of
trees, shrubs, and other plants arranged deliberately for study
and display. Although the traditional definition is still relevant,
modern arboreta may use their plant collections to support scholarship
and education in ways that were not envisioned just decades ago.
To illustrate the range of possibilities, the subject of study
may be not only the plants themselves (e.g., horticulture, botany,
dendrology), but also the arrangement of plants and plant communities
in the landscape, and perhaps even the landscape as a cultural
or ecological feature (e.g., ecology, landscape architecture,
geography, social sciences). Other scholarly pursuits, perhaps
not so intrinsically linked to arboreta as most of the above examples,
may be catalyzed, encouraged, or facilitated by the presence of
the arboretum and its facilities (e.g., geology, architecture,
fine arts, engineering). The display, or design, of this arboretum
is arranged to support these pursuits of study, as well as amenity
and recreation, in accord with the mission of The Arboretum at
Penn State.
Mission:
The mission of The Arboretum at Penn State is to promote the quality of human
life by seeking, through scholarship, research, and education,
collaborative solutions to growing demands on the natural landscape
and its resources. As a place of beauty in a rapidly expanding
metropolitan area, an educational facility, and a microcosm of
the human-nature continuum in settled landscapes, The Arboretum
at Penn State shall strive to become an interdisciplinary "institute
for land health" of state, regional, and perhaps national
significance.
Concept:
Source:
College of Agricultural Sciences
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Although arboreta everywhere are attempting to address missions
relevant to contemporary issues, older arboreta are constrained
by long-lived collections assembled for such traditional purposes
as the phylogenetic display of specimen plants. The design concept
envisioned for The Arboretum at Penn State is contemporary and
innovative. Its essence is the harmonious composition of seemingly
disparate elements: buildings, agriculture, gardens, plantation
forests, and natural plant communities — a human/nature continuum
— and, supporting all, the water and soil of the land (sensu
Leopold). With its rich tapestry of multidimensional but unified
elements, the Arboretum will itself be a metaphor for environmentally
compatible use of the natural landscape by humans. The following
interpretive themes will be emphasized: (1) richness of biological
and ecological diversity in native and cultivated collections;
(2) stewardship and conservation of soil, water, and biological
resources; (3) environmentally compatible use of the landscape
- maintaining balance in the human/nature continuum; and (4) restoration
of degraded landscapes.
Context:
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Source: Richard Ackley
Promoting stewardship of the land is one of
the Arboretum's main themes.
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The site of Penn State’s Arboretum is the most expansive,
remaining open space adjacent to this growing university and rapidly
urbanizing metropolitan area. Because of its unique topography
and location, the site is a place of unexpected serenity and solitude
in a community generally crowded with the sounds of people and
their vehicles. Within the area of the Arboretum is a historically
important forest grove with herbaceous species of special botanical
significance, and the site straddles an important groundwater
recharge and well-head protection zone that is critical to the
local water supply. The Arboretum borders the Mount Nittany Expressway
(soon to become part of Interstate 99) and Park Avenue, which
are becoming the principal routes of arrival at the University.
The site is also adjacent to two residential neighborhoods (College
Heights and Overlook Heights) and within walking distance of a
retirement facility, The Village at Penn State, and another residential
community, Toftrees.
At a greater distance are located other facilities with potential
programmatic linkages to The Arboretum at Penn State. Examples
of these include the Millbrook Marsh Nature Center, Stone Valley
Recreation Area and Experimental Forest, Valentine Turfgrass Research
Center (which may move to the Arboretum), effluent spray fields,
and a deer research center.
Finally, it is worth emphasizing that the context of The Arboretum
at Penn State also includes a human resource - interested faculty
and staff with tremendous breadth of expertise relevant to the
mission of the Arboretum.
Vision:
All of the land stretching
from Overlook Heights, the residential neighborhood where
this photo was taken, to the buildings in the background is
encompassed in the Arboretum. The buildings silhouetted (Agricultural
Science and Industries, and Housing and Food Services) are
on the eastern side of the University Park Campus.
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All of the land stretching from Overlook Heights, the residential neighborhood
where this photo was taken, to the buildings in the background
will be encompassed in the Arboretum. The buildings silhouetted
(Agricultural Science and Industries, and Housing and Food Services)
are on the eastern side of the University Park Campus.
In the 21st century, The Arboretum at Penn State will be one
of the most renowned facilities on campus, a significant scientific
and aesthetic resource that will draw visitors, students, conference
participants, visiting scholars, and new faculty. The Arboretum
will be one of those special features of campus that strengthen
personal attachments to Penn State. Its Education Center and other
facilities will be the location of scientific conferences and
programs for students participating in resident education, cooperative
extension, and outreach activities on a multitude of cross-disciplinary
topics. The foresight demonstrated in protecting this area from
intensive development will be an example of the planning and cooperation
possible in our burgeoning, but fundamentally individualistic,
society. Reconstructions of local prairie and forest communities
and the protection of groundwater resources will provide historic
perspective and demonstrate the benefits of wise stewardship of
our natural resources. As an outdoor classroom used by numerous
campus academic programs and their clients, the Arboretum will
become known for excellence and innovation in interdisciplinary
approaches to environmental and conservation issues.
Developing The Arboretum at Penn State will have considerable
practical benefit to the University as a support facility for
programs in horticulture, forestry, biology, landscape architecture,
engineering, ecology, entomology, geosciences, geography, and
other environmentally oriented departments and colleges. The close
proximity of the site to central campus will also make the Arboretum
a convenient and valuable resource for a wide variety of educational,
cultural, and social activities and events. The Education Center
of the Arboretum will become a preeminent facility for outreach
programs, distinguished lectures, small international conferences,
and (in its patio garden) important receptions. Most importantly,
the Arboretum that we envision will "fit" Penn State
— it matches, complements, and preserves the qualities and
ambiance that make this campus unique and attractive to students,
staff, faculty, alumni, and visitors.
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