It’s easy to take our planet for granted. Sure, rain might have ruined your last picnic and you’re probably still finding sand in your car from last year’s trip to the beach, but we humans have a pretty great setup here on Earth (especially when compared to the alternatives!). If you want to hear more about the past, present, and future of the planet we all call home, then come visit DayCon 2017: Planet Earth!

DayCon is a free, daylong science conference consisting of talks and interactive demonstrations given by graduate student scientists. This year’s...

Help Harvard excel in this year's MassCommute Bicycle Challenge during Bay State Bike Week
Grab breakfast, some bike swag, and talk with Harvard and local bicycling groups (Harvard faculty & staff event)
RSVP to commuterchoice@harvard.edu

The Harvard University Center for the Environment presents "Understanding and Improving Crop Responses to Global Atmospheric Change" with Lisa Ainsworth, Associate Professor of Plant Biology; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Crop Sciences, USDA ARS Photosynthesis Research Unit, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Co-sponsored by the Harvard University Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, the Plant Biology Initiative at Harvard University, and the Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University.

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John Singleton Copley grew up in mid-18th-century Boston, which maps proclaimed “the metropolis of New England.” For at least a generation, scholars accepted this description, emphasizing the cosmopolitanism of the town—a British seaport whose chattering classes called London “home”—and imagined Harvard as a seat of learning with firm claims to membership, even leadership, in a global republic of letters. Copley’s biography reveals a more complicated place, where it was easier to read than to see and easier to yearn than to achieve.

In this lecture, Jane Kamensky, professor of...

In 1978, sculptor Christopher Wilmarth was asked by poet Frederick Morgan to recommend an illustrator for his translation of a group of seven poems by the French symbolist Stéphane Mallarmé. Wilmarth was so moved by the poetry that he offered to undertake the project himself. Wilmarth found a parallel to his own artistic sensibility in Mallarmé’s effort to purify language—to use it abstractly—so that it would not describe an object in any literal sense: “The essence of a work consists precisely in what is not expressed,” the poet wrote. Wilmarth remarked in turn: “Mallarmé’s work is...

Arboretum docent Marty Amdur, will share insights into the Rosaceous Collection. As you explore this five acre garden, you will have a chance to observe some original species used for hybridizing current cultivars and see the wide range and number of plants that make up the rose family. She will also share some information about the origin of the garden, collecting practices, and some examples of plant discoveries.

For cancellations due to weather, call 617 384-5209

Free, registration is requested at my....

Join us for an enchanting evening of Tree Myths, Songs and Summer Solstice Legends. Diane and Margot spin tales of the human connection with trees and the deep meaning we have assigned to them through the ages. This unique performance, designed specifically for the Arnold Arboretum, travels through the Arboretum with story and music. Each story is told under a different tree or among a unique collection of Arboretum plants.

The program begins under a grand Cedar of Lebanon, moves into the rosaceous collection, to the oaks of Bussey Hill, then onward to Hemlock Hill,...

In just a few hours you can learn to identify 90 percent of the trees growing in Boston, both native and nonnative. Beginning in the classroom, you will briefly review the characteristics of the 25 most common trees and learn the botanical terminology necessary to describe them. You will then walk the grounds of the Arboretum to look at mature specimens of these trees.Bring a notebook or clipboard for this information-rich program.
Fee $45 member, $60 nonmember

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A close look at magnolias, lindens, maples, and others along Meadow Road, and how they are organized by scientific plant classification, will offer insights into how the plants are classified, where they came from, and how each collection has its own unique beauty.For cancellations due to weather, call 617 384-5209

Free, registration is requested at my.arboretum.harvard.edu

Did you know that almost all of the plants in the Arboretum begin their lives in the Dana Greenhouses? Get a behind-the-scenes look of the greenhouse growing process, from seed to sprout to seedling to tree. Meet at the Bonsai and Penjing Collection above the Leventritt Shrub & Vine Garden.

There is a 14 person maximum.

Free, registration requested and limited

Register online at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5209....

Anthropocence—the “Age of Humans”—is the scientific name for our new future, in which humankind is the dominant force of nature that stands to determine our ecology and therefore the fate of all life on Earth. To many, Anthropocence foreshadows widespread extinction of species and loss of global sustainability. But, this needn’t be. Scientist and author Oswald Schmitz will discuss how the science of ecology is evolving to provide new understanding about how humans can engage with the natural world to maintain and enhance our planet’s environmental performance and ensure a sustainable...

May is a celebration of buds and blooms in the landscape of the Arboretum. Come see the colorful “clothes” our plants put on for their spring display. This walk will highlight different plants and natural phenomena while developing observational skills in children. One adult may bring a maximum of three children; suitable for children ages four through eight. Meet in the Visitor Center.

For cancellation due to inclement weather, call 617-384-5209

Free, registration is limited and required at my.arboretum....

The Fagus (beech) collection comprises more than 100 individuals and has representatives from eight different species. It is an extremely rich collection with many specimens from the late 1800's and early 1900's as well as a number collected by E.H. Wilson. Witness the majestic outline, graceful branches, slender buds and beautiful leaves of the beech. Join a tour provided by Arboretum staff, chat with an Arboretum Interpreter about the differences between the American Beech and the European Beech, or participate in a family activity. Or, simply stand or lie under a...