Each spring, winter-weary New Englanders keep an eager eye out for signs of warming weather and the return of a lush landscape. One of the best places to observe the transition is the Connecticut College Arboretum, where students and a small staff tend to thousands of trees, plants and shrubs in the vast gardens and pathways in New London and Waterford.

Since it was established in 1931, the arboretum has offered educational opportunities for Connecticut College students and researchers, provided an environment for public education and recreation, and created a way for busy residents to connect with the natural world.

Originally established on a 64-acre site west of the college’s main campus, it has grown over the years to more than 750 acres. All areas are open to the public every day from sunrise to sunset.

Maggie Redfern, interim director of the arboretum, says the conservation of this land helps reduce forest fragmentation and preserve wildlife habitat, provides educational value for students and the public, encourages people to incorporate more native plants into their landscaping, and offers the public the peaceful experience of being in nature.

The Native Plant Collection, accessible through a handsome entrance on Williams Street, is arguably the most well-known part of the arboretum. A path flanked by mountain laurel leads to a pond, which the college originally created for ice skating by damming a red maple swamp.

Nearly 2,500 distinct species native to North America can be found within the 30-acre collection. Several smaller gardens are grouped within, featuring wildflowers, azaleas, mountain laurel and conifers.

Metal walkways have been installed to cross a bog and extend into the deeper water of the pond. The walkways are designed to have minimal impact on the landscape while allowing visitors to observe plants and wildlife in formerly inaccessible areas.

However, the property extends well beyond the Native Plant Collection. A 1996 decision designated the arboretum as inclusive of all campus property, encompassing specimens from all over the world. The main campus also includes the Lillian Niederman Garden—an “old field” open landscape planted in 2012 and characterized primarily by meadow grasses and flowers—and a 3,000-square-foot greenhouse.

Hidden on the east side of Route 32, the Caroline Black Garden predates the arboretum but is now considered part of it. Black, the first chair of Connecticut College’s botany department, established the 3-acre landscaped tract of woody plants as a small teaching garden. The garden was named for her after her untimely death in 1930.

Large tracts of the arboretum’s property extend into Waterford and are preserved as natural or managed areas, creating a habitat for native plants and animals. The arboretum’s only maintenance in these areas is the upkeep of trails.

One particularly distinctive feature of the natural areas is Mamacoke Island, a 40-acre rocky island in the Thames River. A tidal salt marsh connects Mamacoke Island to the mainland, creating a path to visit the island and enjoy panoramic views from the middle of the river.

“I think a lot of people are surprised about Mamacoke Island,” says Redfern. “Just being able to walk across the salt marsh and around a wooded island in the Thames River is a pretty special natural feature that we have.”

Redfern says part of the excitement of exploring the arboretum is simply coming across unexpected sights, such as native lilies or luna moths. Visitors can also find interesting features such as colonial-era stone walls and cemeteries in the arboretum.

Due to their adaptation to late frosts, many native plants in the arboretum will flower and leaf out later than exotic species. However, early spring tends to bring the emergence of species such as spicebush, red maple, willows, shadbush and bloodroot. Redfern says it can also be an amazing experience to witness the early development of plants in the arboretum.

“Before all the leaves and flowers emerge, just seeing the structure of the plants can be really beautiful,” she says.

Flower blooms accelerate in May, and a tour of the wildflower collection in the arboretum is typically held on the first Friday of this month.

Another source of recreation within the arboretum is the outdoor theater, located within the Native Plant Collection. A boulder-strewn open field slopes gently down toward the shore of the pond, creating a natural arena to view performances.

The theater was created in part through a donation in 1932 from student Frances Buck, who received $2,000 from her father as a reward for not smoking while attending college. Her family was impressed with the gesture and the resulting improvement to the arboretum, and donated additional funds to create the rustic Buck Lodge located nearby.

Music in the Meadow, a family-friendly festival featuring local musicians, is held at the outdoor theater in early June. Since 1994, the outdoor theater has hosted summer shows from Flock Theatre, which puts on Shakespeare plays with the surrounding landscape as a backdrop.

Derron Wood, founder and principal artistic director of Flock Theatre, says he enjoyed walking through the arboretum while he was a student at Connecticut College and continues to enjoy it today. Wood says the environment is perfect for brainstorming or running lines, and that it fits well with the natural themes in Shakespeare’s plays.

“The space allows the audience’s imagination to connect on a much more direct level than those elements recreated in an indoor theater,” he says.

The arboretum has also proved attractive to photographers, and a contest is held each year inviting people to submit their best shots. Awards are given in several categories, and winners get prizes such as a puzzle and note cards featuring their photos.

Thirty different courses at Connecticut College use the arboretum, covering topics like biology, botany and environmental science. The setting has also hosted dance classes, been the site of student-led archaeological digs, and served as a study in landscape architecture and design.

The arboretum has been used for a variety of research, including long-term vegetation and birding surveys. Some studies have been going on since the 1950s, illustrating how the forests have changed over the decades since then. Arboretum staff have also held annual conferences on ecology and hosted Smaller American Lawns Today, a movement encouraging property owners to return more of their land to a natural state.

“The arboretum is always changing, through seasons and across years,” says Chad Jones, associate professor of botany and environmental sciences at Connecticut College. “Careful observation can be one of the best ways to learn.”

Other specialty programs are also available. One, established by a Connecticut College student as her senior thesis some 30 years ago, is still going strong to provide tours to elementary school students. The Connecticut Audubon Society also hosts children’s programs in the arboretum, and an en plein air painting program hosted by the Florence Griswold Museum will return this year at the end of April.

To learn more about the Connecticut College Arboretum, visit conncoll.edu/the-arboretum.

Dirk Langeveld has written for newspapers and magazines since 2007, and is the author of The Artful Dodger, a nonfiction biography. He is a former marketing editor at The Day and now works at Miranda Creative.

EXPLORE THE ARBORETUM

The Connecticut College Arboretum is open to the public, and passive recreation is welcomed. People are invited to walk, snowshoe or cross-country ski through the properties. Dogs are allowed if they are kept on a leash and their owners clean up after them. Running and biking is prohibited, but jogging is allowed on designated trails on arboretum properties near the athletic center.

Visitors can explore the arboretum on their own through self-guided tours or free docent-guided tours between May and October, including one of the Native Plant Collection on the first Sunday of the month and one of the Caroline Black Garden on the second Sunday of the month. Many plants in the arboretum are labeled, and people can also peruse detailed online databases that identify where plants are located. Visit the arboretum website for more information and to register for a tour: conncoll.edu/the-arboretum/visiting-the-arboretum.