History of the Centennial Arboretum
The Centennial Arboretum was gifted to SUNY Oswego in 1961 by the community of Oswego, NY to commemorate the centennial year of the institution. The arboretum was originally centrally located on campus, but the campus subsequently tripled in size, leaving the arboretum on the edge of campus and largely forgotten. In 2021, the Oswego Tree Stewards, the Office of Sustainability, and Rice Creek Field Station banded together to revitalize the Centennial Arboretum by planting 21 new trees. The Arboretum is located at the corner of Sixth Avenue and George Washington Boulevard.
Accreditation of Arboretum
This Arboretum has received Level 1 accreditation status by ArbNet, a global registry of arboreta maintained by the Morton Arboretum. ArbNet promotes advances in conservation, collaboration on scientific study, and education regarding trees within their network.
Directions to the Arboretum
Resilient Species
The Centennial Arboretum now hosts 45 trees and over 30 diverse species chosen specifically for their resilience to predicted climate changes, their ability to provide habitat and food for native fauna and/or food for humans, and their contributions to upholding the Arboretum’s original mission of providing beauty and knowledge to the surrounding landscape.
Tree Varieties
Blast from the Past!
Pictured here is a photo of where the arboretum currently stands behind Moreland Hall. This photo pre-dates the arboretum and was most likely taken around the early 1950's here at the college! The arboretum was not established until 1961, in honor of the college's centennial celebration.
Arboretum in the News