The Alumni Arboretum

The WSU Alumni Arboretum site is a relatively new, two-acre arboretum site on a hill adjacent to the Lewis Alumni Centre. The Alumni Arboretum is one of the first major arboretum development projects undertaken by the Arboretum Committee and the WSU Alumni Association. This new site overlooks the Lewis Alumni Centre, and when fully developed, will provide a complementary environment for hosting summer and fall events for visitors to the Lewis Alumni Centre.

In recent years, the Alumni Arboretum has been the site for the annual Presidential Tree Planting ceremony, which has now become a long-standing tradition for WSU Presidents. The Alumni Arboretum has a curved path leading to the top of the hill and areas for seating and future benches and other arboretum structures. Although the Alumni Arboretum is a young arboretum, with continued development, it will become a beautiful addition to the campus core and the Alumni Centre. Rhonda Kromm and others from the WSU Alumni Association were instrumental in securing the initial funding to create the Alumni Arboretum.

"We wanted to create a park-like setting connected to the Alumni Center (and favorably close to Ferdinand's) where students can go to relax and graduates can come back for photo opportunities," said Kromm. "Once it is planted, we hope to add some unique bronze statues or possibly granite benches. Graduating classes may also be able to donate special trees, bushes or flowers. We want to make it something all alumni can contribute to."

Currently, the WSU Arboretum and Conservation Center is hoping to complete all of the landscape plantings needed to finish this arboretum site so that it may more quickly add to the green environment near the central part of campus. If you are willing to contribute donations to help us complete this important task, please contact the Arboretum.

For photographic perspectives of this site, see the slide show of the Alumni Arboretum:

Alumni Arboretum Slide Show