Mission

"The University of Arizona Campus Arboretum is a living laboratory

promoting stewardship and conservation of urban trees

through research, education and outreach."

The University of Arizona campus is home to hundreds of tree and shrub species from arid climates on every continent on earth. Most of the roughly 400 acres of The University of Arizona's main campus are included in the boundaries of the Campus Arboretum. The trees within these boundaries, collected over the University's more than 125 year history, are an historical part of the University's land grant commitment to providing research and education to serve the needs of the state. The campus itself was used as a proving ground and living laboratory in sustainability, evaluating hundreds of new species and cultivars for their adaptation to this urban and arid region. In 2002, The University of Arizona Campus Arboretum was established to preserve, curate and enhance this extensive collection as a resource for research and educational programs that promote the historic, scientific, environmental, economic, aesthetic, and educational value of trees in urban deserts.