On a recent visit to the Dorena Genetic Resource Center near Cottage Grove, Hoyt Arboretum staff stepped into one of the country’s leading quantitative resistance research facilities and saw, firsthand, how science is helping forests keep pace with fast-moving threats. What’s happening at Dorena isn’t abstract. It’s hands-on, large-scale, and urgent. What Is Quantitative Resistance? … Read more
The growing chaos, conflict, and division in our world often feels overwhelming. As a combat veteran who enlisted after 9/11, I scarcely recognize the country I once risked my life to defend. But in recent months, I’ve found a potent antidote to despair in my volunteer work at Hoyt Arboretum. Discovering the Joy of Volunteering … Read more
At Hoyt Arboretum, our trails are more than paths through the forest—they’re galleries in a living museum, where trees and shrubs are thoughtfully arranged like exhibits. And this time of year, the Witch Hazel Exhibit steals the show as their signature, spidery flowers begin to unfurl. Some Botanical Background Witch hazels (Hamamelis) are full of … Read more
I firmly believe that trees are more than landmarks; each one carries its own significance on earth. As a certified tree hugger, I grew up surrounded by tropical trees and had no trouble identifying them from a young age. But when I walked the trails of Hoyt Arboretum for the first-time last November, I was … Read more
On a rainy spring morning in 2022, a bus full of elementary school students crossed the Fremont Bridge for the first time. Some of them screamed—not from fear, but from wonder. They had never crossed a river before. A few thought it was the ocean. For Natalie Camelio, a teacher at Scott Elementary, moments like … Read more