Arboretum History
Arboretum History
A wooden boardwalk moves away from the viewer and disappears into the forest. Trees surround the boardwalk.

Conservation and Outreach

Header image: Wild Goose Woods boardwalk, date unknown

The Arboretum has been dedicated to the conservation of plants and ecological restoration of natural spaces since it was first established. Throughout our 50 years of operations, we have worked to encourage and engage people in the preservation of our natural environment through our research, conservation efforts and educational programs. 

Conservation

The Gene Banks

The Arboretum became a “Living Library” in 1978 with the first planting of seedlings that now form part of The Arboretum’s Gene Banks. The Gene Banks are collections of individual plants grown from seed that was collected from natural populations of trees across Ontario. The purpose is to preserve a representative sample of the genetic diversity present in those natural populations. The focus of The Arboretum Gene Banks is on rare Ontario woody plant species that are threatened by climate change, disease, invasive species and habitat loss. 

Over decades of collection and maintenance, the Gene Banks have grown to include many species of rare woody plants. In several cases, the original populations have now been lost, often due to development, and the only remaining representative individuals are at The Arboretum. Many of the Gene Banks were developed in the 1970s and ’80s, largely due to the efforts of Professor R. J. Hilton, (the first Director of The Arboretum), John Ambrose (the first Curator), Steven Aboud (Botanist) and Henry Kock (Horticulturist). All three spent many hours on the backroads of Ontario looking for rare populations to collect seed from. By collecting genetic material from threatened populations, they established a legacy that is now (literally) bearing fruit. Seeds from our Gene Banks are contributing to research and conservation efforts in collaboration with other agencies such as the National Tree Seed Centre. Sean Fox, our most recent Manager of Collections, continued this legacy by adding new individuals and newly threatened species to The Arboretum’s Gene Banks.

Some examples of specimens housed in the Gene Banks are the cucumber tree (Magnolia acuminata), the Chinquapin oak (Quercus muehlenbergii) and the Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus).

  • Professor R.J. Hilton looks at seedlings sprouted in The Arboretum, 1974
    R.J. Hilton looks at seedlings grown in The Arboretum, 1974
  • Kentucky coffeetree seeds
    Kentucky coffeetree seeds
  • Curator John Ambrose (left) and Biologist (later Director) Alan Watson (right)

Helping others help the Earth

In 1988, The Arboretum made a donation to assist in the regrowth of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Kew, England. After Curator John Ambrose learned that a storm had damaged the Kew’s prize Kentucky coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus), he arranged a donation of seeds to the Royal Botanical Gardens. Over 1,500 seeds were donated, including seeds from a Kentucky coffeetree, a mountain maple tree (Acer spicatum), a crab apple tree and other native Ontario trees.

Laying roots in Guelph

The Arboretum has undertaken several conservation projects in Ontario, including sites in Guelph. In 1987, The Arboretum completed a study on the hop tree (Ptelia trifoliata) to learn more about the tree and the regions of Ontario it could grow in. Following the completion of the study, there was a surplus of hop trees in The Arboretum’s nursery. The Arboretum staff made the decision to donate the remaining hop trees to the City of Guelph for landscaping. These trees are now planted throughout the city and can be seen blooming beautiful cream-white flowers in the spring, often visited by Giant Swallowtail butterflies, whose larvae feed on the leaves.

The Nature Reserve

The Arboretum established its Nature Reserve in 1989. The 40-hectare plot of land south of Stone Road has been closed to the public since then, allowing the area to flourish without the impact of humans. Interpretive Biologist and Education Coordinator Alan Watson led the pursuit for the designation of the Nature Reserve, advocating for the conservation of the old-growth hemlock and beech forest that it contains.

Three men plant a small sapling. One man in the back left is filling in the hole with a shovel. He has short dark hair, wears sunglasses, and a zip-up coat. A man crouches in front of him, holding the sapling and looking at the camera. He has short dark hair and a beard. He is wearing khaki pants and a dark coat. On the right of the sapling is another man filling in the sapling hole with a shovel. He has short blonde hair and is wearing a plaid shirt and khaki pants.

Grant Egerdee (back left), Matthew Smerek (right), and John Ambrose (front) plant a hop tree in 1987.

The Elm Recovery Project

An Elm Tree.

In 1998, Horticulturist Henry Kock noticed that many large white (American) elm trees (Ulmus americana) in Ontario had survived Dutch elm disease. Most of the white elm population had been devastated by Dutch elm disease or cut down in an effort to prevent its spread, but some had survived unaffected.

Henry Kock and other Arboretum staff sought to regenerate the white elm population by reintroducing genetically diverse and disease-tolerant white elms to the landscape. To do this, they used citizen science to locate over 800 mature, living elm trees across Ontario. Henry and other Arboretum staff visited the most promising trees to assess their performance. They then screened the promising trees through inoculation trials at The Arboretum. The trees that were deemed the top performers were placed in a seed orchard at The Arboretum to produce seed to distribute to satellite orchards around the province.

The Arboretum continues its efforts to restore a genetically diverse population of elm trees in Ontario. To learn more about the Elm Recovery Project and learn how you can help with the project, visit the Elm Recovery Project page on The Arboretum’s main website.

Outreach

Symposiums

Hundreds of people attend symposiums held at The Arboretum to learn about and discuss new findings in various fields of study relating to nature and the environment.

The first symposium was held at The Arboretum in 1987. At this event, the President of the World Wildlife Fund of Canada and the chairman of the Ontario Waste Management Corporation lead workshops on “The Predicament of Man” and humans’ effect on the environment.  

Currently, The Arboretum hosts the O.A.C.’s Department of Plant Agriculture’s annual Plant Sciences Symposium. At this symposium, the current trends and emerging advancements in the fields of plant sciences and agriculture are discussed.

  • Poster advertising Allan R. Ruff’s seminar called “Ecological Landscapes Revisited: Recent Developments in Europe,” 1987
  • Program for a seminar entitled “Implications of Climate Change in the Great Lakes Basin,” 1988
  • Advertisement and program for the seminar “Chestnut (Castanea dentata) in Ontario: Status and Future Prospects,” 1988

Greening schoolyards initiative

A man with short brown hair, a long beard, and glasses stands next to a tree, smiling. He has long, brown, curly, Honey Locust leaves tangled in his beard.

Henry Kock stands next to a tree with Honey Locust leaves in his beard.

Horticulturist Henry Kock was a part of a large initiative to green schoolyards. Kock contributed to several books on the subject, including A Breath of Fresh Air: Celebrating Nature and School Gardens and Greening School Grounds: Creating Habitats for Learning. In these texts, Kock advocated for more trees to be planted on school grounds so children could see and come to understand how planting trees can change the nature of a schoolyard over time.

“Holding down soil, shading the earth and cooling its surface, absorbing rainwater and gradually re-releasing moisture, softening the sweep of winds, trees are a major climate regulator in our country and on our planet….The importance of maintaining our green canopy cannot be overemphasized. Climate moderation is perhaps the most essential – and least recognized – role of our trees.”
  • Henry Kock in A Breath of Fresh Air: Celebrating Nature and School Gardens

Jane Goodall’s Roots and Shoots

The Arboretum became home to Canada’s first regional office of the Roots and Shoots foundation when it provided office space to the NGO’s first regional coordinator, Michèle Martin, in 2002.

Roots and Shoots is an international environmental and humanitarian program started by Jane Goodall, a world-renowned anthropologist and primatologist. The program strives to inspire young people to take action to conserve the world for plants, wildlife and humans alike.

The Arboretum had the pleasure of hosting the Roots and Shoots Festival in 2003. Jane Goodall herself was in attendance. Throughout the festival, various presentations, workshops and activities with conservation themes were held. Arboretum staff and Roots and Shoots volunteers planted a commemorative Roots and Shoots Peace Garden along the Ivey Trail to celebrate the event. 

The Arboretum no longer serves as a regional office for the Roots and Shoots organization, but the Roots and Shoots garden is still tended annually by the Guelph Master Gardeners and Wellington County.

To learn more about Roots and Shoots Canada, visit Jane Goodall’s website here.

A group of students wearing green shirts gather around Jane Goodall, a famous anthropologist, for a photo.

Roots and Shoots Students gather around Jane Goodall in the front steps of the O.A.C. Centennial Arboretum Centre, 2003

The land where The Arboretum now grows has been home to plants and animals for thousands of years. It was home to Indigenous peoples before settlers arrived. We recognize the Dish with One Spoon territory, the treaty lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, and the Between the Lakes Treaty 3 lands on which the University of Guelph and The Arboretum now sit. We are honoured to work on and care for this land.