Salve Regina hosting Arboretum Week activities starting April 24

The Arboretum at Salve Regina is hosting several public activities on campus starting on April 24 in conjunction with Newport Arboretum Week. The events call attention to the unique urban forest on campus and throughout Newport, which is home to 15 professionally accredited arboreta – more than any city in the world.

Though suffering from significant losses in its population of Gilded Age era trees, the city’s longstanding tradition of iconic public gardens, arboreta and historic landscapes is a legacy destined to thrive for future generations thanks to ongoing education and revitalization efforts.

All activities on Salve’s campus – which is designated as a “Tree Campus USA” by the Arbor Day Foundation and an ArbNet Level II Arboretum – and throughout the city are free and open to the public. For a full slate of Newport Arboretum Week activities across the city, visit www.newportarboretumweek.org.

Salve Regina is hosting the following events:

Wakehurst Tree Walk

11:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 24, Ochre Court

The inaugural campus tree walk will guide visitors through a curated loop of distinct tree specimens of the arboretum. Tour guides will include Salve’s superintendent of grounds, Michael Chester, arborist Christopher Fletcher of Bartlett Tree, and Salve’s arboretum assistant, Micaela Griffin. Participants will receive tree walk pamphlets as a gift for attendance. The tour will begin at the main entrance of Ochre Court.

Tree ID Student Presentations

12:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 24, McKillop Library atrium

Conservation Biology students, under the direction of Dr. Jameson Chace, associate professor of biology and biomedical sciences, will present their group projects covering the establishment, management and conservation of a certified arboretum. Their presentations will offer a path forward for the Arboretum at Salve Regina to expand its scale toward a Level III accreditation. Light refreshments will be served.

Lecture: “The Art of Scenery: Creating Ocean Drive”

6 p.m. Wednesday, April 25, Bazarsky Lecture Hall

The Ocean Drive district is a cultural landscape of national significance. Established in the late 1860s, the drive was exceptional for the manner in which its planners worked with the natural topography and views of the sea. It opened the entire southern coast of Newport to development, attracting designers such as Frederick Law Olmsted and other renowned landscape architects who created innovative gardens within this unique environment of hills and valleys.

“The Art of Scenery: Creating Ocean Drive” will be presented by architectural historian John Tschirch, who has lectured widely in the U.S. and abroad on architecture, landscapes and historic cities. Reserve tickets at https://artofscenery.eventbrite.com/.

Wakehurst Tree Walk

12:30 p.m. Thursday, April 26, Ochre Court

The campus tree walk will guide visitors through a curated loop of distinct tree specimens of the arboretum. Tour guides will include Salve’s superintendent of grounds, Michael Chester, arborist Christopher Fletcher of Bartlett Tree, and Salve’s arboretum assistant, Micaela Griffin. Participants will receive tree walk pamphlets as a gift for attendance. The tour will begin at the main entrance of Ochre Court.

Arbor Day Tree Planting

10:30 a.m. Friday, April 27, Wakehurst lawn

In recognition of Arbor Day, join Michael Chester, Jason Black, Dr. Jameson Chace and others representing the Arboretum at Salve Regina for the planting of a weeping beech tree on the front lawn of Wakehurst. Salve Regina is a Level II nationally accredited arboretum and is the only Tree Campus USA in Rhode Island recognized by the Arbor Day Foundation.

Tree Trolley Tour

10 a.m. Sunday, April 29, Antone Academic Center

Join Christopher Fletcher of Bartlett Tree Experts on a city-wide tour of unique and specialty trees found in the various arboreta in Newport. Refreshments will be available in the Antone Academic Center beginning at 9:30 a.m. Reserve tickets through https://www.eventbrite.com/e/newport-trolley-tree-tour-tickets-44609715861.