The Marywood University Arboretum

An arboretum is defined as a place grown with trees or a place where trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants are cultivated for scientific, educational and/or aesthetic purposes. 

the Marywood University Arboretum logo"To conserve, to enjoy, and to learn."

Marywood University was declared an arboretum in 1975 in honor of Sister Maria Laurence Maher, then Professor of Biological Sciences, and received its official designation as such in 1997.

The Arboretum’s Mission was to encourage others to conserve, to enjoy and to learn about the environment, the Arboretum at Marywood University was a living example of responsible stewardship to the world in which we live. The Arboretum served as both an aesthetic and scholarly resource for the community, and aimed to continue as a vital role as a center of learning for the public through ongoing physical enhancement and program development.

At its peak, the Arboretum at Marywood boasted 42 species of trees that contain 103 varieties, and a comparable number and variety of shrubs, as well as ornamental grasses and perennial, biennial, and annual blooms.

The campus continues to be a beautiful place to enjoy the scenery each season. We invite everyone to take a Virtual Tour of today’s campus »

The University would love to reinstate our national Arboretum status, however it has proven to be more difficult and costly than ever imagined. We thank our partners and all who were involved in this initiative originally. It was truly magical!

Never to be deterred by difficult challenges, the University is focused on eventually restoring our Arboretum designation. This effort also is a part of Marywood's Strategic Plan, as well as a topic of awareness and advocacy for the students and the Student Government Association.

[RELATED READ: SGA to Help Marywood Restore its Arboretum Status]

Marywood Arboretum Collection

Pennsylvania Magazine recognized Marywood’s campus as "Most Beautiful Religiously-Affiliated Campus in Pennsylvania." Tireless efforts to cultivate "official" arboretum status were made by the father/son team of John and Mark Burns, who respectively served as Superintendent and Foreperson of Grounds at the time.

SPECIES directory » [PDF] 

Arboretum Desktop screensavers

Historical Walking Map » [PDF]