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Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens

College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences

CFAES

Plant Collections and Gardens

Chadwick Arboretum & Learning Gardens is an extensive green reserve of over 60 acres located on West Campus within the over 1,600 acre Columbus campus urban setting. Our mission is to provide an educational environment to advance the knowledge of students in their horticultural studies and to be a resource for learning about plants for the campus community and general public. It is also a peaceful place for respite. The arboretum's various gardens are well-designed models of annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs, both native and non-native, for the central Ohio climate. The plants and the intensely landscaped gardens are the focus for urban design and environmental studies.

Academically, the arboretum is designed to serve as an outdoor classroom and laboratory for the university, secondary and elementary students, adult education, and as a training center for related professional and industry disciplines. It is a focal point for studies in plant sciences and landscape architecture and is used as a backdrop and inspiration for creative studies in literature and in the visual and performing arts.

Programmatically, the arboretum is the educational/research arena for three academic units: horticulture, landscape architecture, and natural resources. Present programming includes student internships, work study experiences, independent and group projects, public educational classes, and volunteer opportunities, as well as conferences, and seminars for professional and industry groups. The arboretum also offers many outreach programs including an annual Arbor Day program; a Day of Education for Central Ohio Master Gardeners and Chadwick Volunteers; and a Spring Plant Sale and Auction.


Our gardens consist of three main areas:

The Learning Gardens is an outdoor laboratory for teaching and research. Our mission is to provide an educational environment for all who visit. The variety of plant material in the gardens provides a wonderful outdoor lab for our horticulture, landscape architecture, entomology, and plant pathology students. We hope it will be a place to rest, reflect, and find inspiration for your own gardens.

The Lane Avenue Gardens were established in 1979 by the horticulture faculty and industry. A number of plantings were brought from the old Horticulture Gardens which once flourished at the rear of Campbell Hall. In 1980, the garden was dedicated in honor of Dr. Lewis C. Chadwick to serve teaching and research.

 

 

The Arboretum North is one of the hidden gems of our 60 acre arboretum – indeed of the entire OSU campus. It provides a wonderful respite for taking a walk, picnicking and even fishing. The gardens include a diverse willow collection, a 3.5 acre research lake stocked with several fish species, a picnic area, and a planting of 1,000 trees native to Ohio.