Take a Walk...

Situated on a 645-acre campus, the University of West Georgia Arboretum is a treasure trove of specimen and ornamental trees that provide beauty, shade and habitat. Now community and campus members can enjoy the lush landscape even more with the just-released UWG Arboretum Tree Walk guide.

James Hembree planting with crew.

The guide, compiled by James Hembree, university horticulturist and superintendant of grounds, celebrates the official status of the campus as an arboretum by mapping and identifying 77 Centennial and Tree Walk trees planted along pathways, classrooms, streams and fields.

The Arboretum Tree Walk begins at Front Campus Drive and Maple Street and winds around the west, east and northern boundaries of the main campus. State officials declared West Georgia’s campus an arboretum in 2001 and from Asian Kousa Dogwoods to Southern Magnolias, the informative booklet and beautiful landscaping will educate and delight nature lovers.

In addition to the Arboretum Walk, a map of more than four miles of nature trails located on the west side of the campus is also included in the guide. Charles Miller, ’07, designed both of the maps in the guide while working as a student assistant and as an alumnus for Hembree.

Guidebooks are available at the Visitors Center on Maple Street. For more information, call 678-839-6576.

Hembree and the Facilities and Grounds have an ongoing inventory of trees that became particularly important after losing more than 600 in two storms last spring semester. Using that information, the guide and the maps took about two months for Hembree and Miller to complete. An interactive map of the Tree Walk for the Facilities website is planned at some point. Visitors will be able to click on the tree and learn about that particular specimen. Thoughts on the project from James Hembree:

The guidebook is an informal self-guided educational tool for individuals who wish to learn more about our campus trees. We hope our community will use this guide book to enhance their experience on campus by adding a little knowledge to the great beauty of our campus arboretum."

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