The Arboretum at GovState

About the Arboretum

The Arboretum at GovState was created on April 29, 2022, when GovState received Level 1 Accreditation through ArbNet, a registry program developed by the Morton Arboretum to set standards and encourage the planting and conservation of trees.

To achieve Level 1 accreditation, a program must have:

• • An arboretum plan that defines its purpose and types of trees grown
• • An organizational structure
• • An arboretum collection of at least 25 labeled species of trees
• • Arboretum staff or volunteers
• • A public dimension such as an educational event each year

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Goals

The Arboretum has three main goals:

• 1. Serve as a living laboratory, providing a dynamic and engaging learning environment for students of all ages that emphasizes both Western science and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK).
• 2. Promote health and wellness by encouraging reciprocity and the mutual flourishing of all GovState constituents, including its people, plants, land, and animals.
• 3. Integrate sustainability, ecological stewardship, and environmental justice into our program planning.

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Visit

Hours: Open Dawn to Dusk
Location: 1 University Parkway, University Park, IL, 60484 (Directions to GovState)

General Information for Visitors:

• • Parking is free in designated areas
• • Bathrooms are located inside the main campus building
• • Check the forecast before leaving. Sturdy shoes, pants, hats, sunglasses, bug spray, and sunscreen are recommended.
• • Leave flowers, grasses, leaves, and seeds as you found them
• • Throw away or recycle all trash
• • Picnic tables are available from May through October on a patio overlooking the lake near the university's D-Wing
• • Alcoholic beverages and smoking are strictly prohibited
• • Do not climb sculptures – They are works of art, not playground structures. Many of the works have already spent nearly half a century outdoors and are quite fragile

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Explore

• • Education
• ‣ Lesson Plans
• ‣ Story Walk
• ‣ Sculpture Park
• • Wellness
• ‣ Meditation Walk
• ‣ Exercise Walk
• • Trees
• ‣ Ash
• ‣ Basswood
• ‣ Birch
• ‣ River Birch
• ‣ Yellow Birch
• ‣ Buckeye
• ‣ Catalpa
• ‣ Cedar
• ‣ Kentucky Coffee Tree
• ‣ Maple
• ‣ Red
• ‣ Oak
• ‣ Black Oak
• ‣ Burr Oak
• ‣ Chinkapin
• ‣ Northern Red
• ‣ Pin
• ‣ White Swamp
• ‣ Birch
• ‣ River Birch
• ‣ Yellow Birch

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