Dartmouth Tree Walk Tour #2: UMASS Dartmouth Campus

Dartmouth Tree Walk Tour #2: UMASS Dartmouth Campus

Dartmouth, Massachusetts 02747, United States

Created By: Dartmouth Tree Committee

Tour Information

Intro:

Architect Paul Rudolph began working on a master plan for Southeastern Massachusetts Technological Institute (later, the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth) in 1963. Rudolph, then the chair of Yale’s Department of Architecture, was already famous for his “brutalist” concrete structures. He had intended for the campus landscape to play an important role in complementing his bold buildings, but his intentions were never realized.

In the 1980s, the University’s landscape began to undergo many improvements thanks to Jim Sears, a botanist in the biology department. Sears started a modest arboretum, envisioning a botanical walk. An interdisciplinary course “Landscape and Garden,” taught by Professors Sears, Donna Huse, and Peter London, enlisted students for the job of planting a variety of plants to beautify the austere 710-acre campus. By the year 2000, nearly 500 trees had been planted, natives and non-natives from as far away as Asia.


Tour Map

Loading Tour

 

What You'll See on the Tour

Sorry, there wasn't any information provided for this point of interest.
This is the starting point for the walk.
3. Allée of Small-leaved Lindens (Tilia cordata) This allée of 17 Lindens was designed to draw the viewer into the center of campus. Lindens are commonly used for allées, a line of trees bordering a byway. Here, they are planted 33 ... Read more
4A. The Ragsdale Memorial Grove—Crab Apple (Malus spp.) The Grove was designed and planted in 1995, in memory of James Ragsdale, a civic leader in New Bedford and editor of the Standard-Times. Ragsdale had called Jim Sears and offered f... Read more
5. Council Ring. Council Rings are a distinctive feature of various tribal communities in North America. The Council Ring at UMD, built by faculty and students, was influenced by Danish-American landscape architect Jens Jensen, who designe... Read more
6. Grove of Eastern White Pine (Pinus strobus) Here are examples of some of the beautiful, mature White Pines that you’ll see in different areas throughout the campus that were saved during the excavation and building of the campus. The... Read more
7. American Beech (Fagus grandifolia) Planted in 1997, this tree was donated by Howard Bridgman, a professor of sociology. It is now impacted by Beech Leaf Disease (BLD), caused by a nematode, which can lead to reduced vigor and possibly ... Read more
8. Trees at Centennial Garden, the arrival point of Centennial Way Rd. (#A,#B,#C,#D below) 8A. Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) There are hund- reds of exotic Japanese maple cultivars with great leaf color and shape. Most feature simple lea... Read more
9. Trees at The Bus Stop (#A, #B, #C below) In 1996, the concrete container at the Bus Stop was transformed by Jim Sears and his students from a “Giant Ashtray,” filled with cigarette butts and garbage, into a beautiful “Island P... Read more
10. Trees in Little Island, a later addition to the Centennial Garden  (#A, #B below) 10A.  Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) This hazelnut tree is characterized by its fantastically twisted and contorted br... Read more
11. Gold Threadleaf False Cypress  (Chamaecyparis pisifera filifera ‘Aurea’) This is a golden version of the Sawara Cypress in #9C, distinguished by thread-like golden foliage on drooping branches. Suitable as a specimen or accent in a... Read more
12. American Linden (Tilia americana) This big-leaved Linden (as opposed to small-leaved Lindens, #3) is also called Basswood.  A large deciduous tree, it grows fast to 50-80 ft., with large heart-shaped leaves. Small pale yellow flowers b... Read more
13. Allée  of Yoshino Cherries (Prunus x yedoensis) aka “The Cherry Cloud.”  At the tall bell tower, look due west and you’ll see this allée of 31 Yoshino cherry trees. They were a gift from Lloyd MacDonald, a longtime Dartmouth r... Read more
14. Kwanzan Japanese Flowering Cherries (Prunus serrulata ‘Kwanzan') A very popular ornamental cherry with double, deep pink flowers in spring making quite the show. Foliage is lustrous dark green in summer then a soft bronzy-red in fall.... Read more
15A. Weeping Alaskan Cedar (Chamaecyparis noot-katensis  ‘Pendula’) An elegant pyramidal evergreen with weeping branches &bluish-green foliage, native to Pacific Northwest. In the wild it can grow 100 feet tall, whereas in gardens ... Read more

 

Leave a Comment

 


 

Download the App

Download the PocketSights Tour Guide mobile app to take this self-guided tour on your GPS-enabled mobile device.

iOS Tour Guide Android Tour Guide

 


 

Updates and Corrections

Please send change requests to changerequest@pocketsights.com.