For the first time in recent history, the general public is invited to participate in free tours of the Jane Decker Arboretum at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio.
Used for biological study, the arboretum dates back to the 1860s, when a local pastor began planting native and foreign trees on the 200-acre Ohio Wesleyan campus.
Students from the OWU’s botany-microbiology department will conduct free one-hour “Tree Trek†tours for the public at 10 a.m. on October 24. Participants should meet at the University Hall plaza, 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware (located between University and Slocum halls.) Participants should wear comfortable walking shoes. Although the arboretum covers the entire Ohio Wesleyan campus, the majority of the trees on the tour are located between South Sandusky and Henry streets. The public Tree Trek tours will encompass this section of the arboretum, with participants receiving instructions for self-guided tours of the Monnett Garden area between Austin Manor and Sanborn Hall on the west side of campus.
The arboretum is a living laboratory used regularly by students and faculty, said David Johnson, Ph.D., chair of the Ohio Wesleyan Botany-Microbiology Department.
“My colleagues and I regularly examine the arboretum trees with our students,†Johnson said. “We study tree identification, the microscopic structure and function of tree leaves, how insects such as the emerald ash borer attack and damage trees, and we estimate the amount of carbon that can be stored in the woody tissues of trees.â€
Members of the public also are invited to take a self-guided tour of the arboretum at their convenience. Free printed “Tree Trek†guides are available for general use, with a second version for children. “Tree Trek†guides are available by contacting David Johnson at dmjohnso@owu.edu or Nancy Murray at namurray@owu.edu, or by calling (740) 368-3505.
