The Alphawood Arboretum is inviting students, staff, and faculty to participate in an upcoming tree-planting event on Friday, October 9! The event will be held in collaboration with Chicago Region Trees Initiative (CRTI). With their help, an additional 20 trees will be added to the arboretum collection, and additional shrubs!

Full Story

Join Openlands and in planting 26 new trees on campus on Friday, May 15. The planting event will qualify as a volunteer time off opportunity.

Full Story

It’s always a sad day saying goodbye to a healthy tree, but sometimes removing a tree protects our environment and ecology. Today, we’re talking about the problematic invasive tree of heaven.

Full Story

You may have noticed clumps of browning trees across Mies campus, and noticed webs on trees often accompanied by a worm. This is the result of an extensive infestation of mimosa webworm on our locust trees. Even though the feeding damage is unsightly, it is unlikely to significantly impact the health of infested locust and hawthorn trees. Management will begin next spring with non-toxic biological control pesticide.

Full Story

As part of the annual tradition, the Master of Landscape Architecture and Urbanism program (M.L.A.+U.) graduates had the opportunity to participate in planting trees at the Alphawood Arboretum to commemorate their graduation. Twelve new trees were planted as part of the commemoration which consisted of four crabapples (Malus sp.), three honey locusts (Gleditsia triacanthos), and five poplar-aspens (Populus tremuloides).

Full Story

This past month as students on the Mies Campus wrapped up the semester, the trees and shrubs were just going into bloom. For those who may not have been able to enjoy the spring bloom, here is a visual recap of the flowers around the Arboretum along with some interesting information.

Full Story

This past month, in collaboration with the spring 2025 Openlands TreeKeepers course, The Alphawood Arboretum added 53 more trees to the arboretum’s campus. The added trees bring the total number of species on Mies Campus from 68 to 78, and total number of trees from 1,601 to 1,654.

Full Story