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Under the canopy of thousands of trees,
Wofford College students, professors and visitors have long
enjoyed the almost legendary beauty of the campus.Wofford College campus has been desginated a haven for nature lovers and will provide enjoyment and educational opportunities for the Spartanburg community and visitors to the area. The entire 145-acre campus is an arboretum, and Wofford is now a member of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta. Nearly 4,500 trees have been planted on the Wofford College campus since 1992. Some 2,700 of those trees have been identified, cataloged and mapped for the two initial tours - the Central Campus Tour, which begins at the Admissions Office; and the South Campus Tour, which begins at the home of Dean of the College Dr. Dan Maultsby. Those two tours include 97 varieties of trees; another 150 will be added as tours of the north side of campus, along Evins Street and Gibbs Stadium, and along Memorial Drive on the south side of campus.
In addition, a full-color book provides further information about the trees included in the arboretum. The 100-page book, available for purchase, devotes a full page to each of the 97 varieties of trees included in the interior campus tours, describing the tree and its foliage and/or flowers, its optimum growing conditions, and its natural habitat. Information for the book was compiled and designed by two Wofford students, Matt Borders of Cherryville, N.C., and Ryan Gilreath of Inman, S.C., as part of their internships under the Milliken Summer Challenge this past summer. They were guided by Rachel Ruff, horticulturist and head of the Milliken Corporate Headquarters grounds department. Wofford botany professor Dr. Doug Rayner assisted in editing the book. Having the arboretum open to the public and identifying the plants satisfy criteria set for institutional members of the American Association of Botanical Gardens and Arboreta. Other criteria, which Wofford fulfills, include having the arboretum function as an aesthetic or educational display and/or site research; maintaining plant records; and having at least one professional staff member responsible for the arboretum. (Images provided by Wofford College.)
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The Wofford College Arboretum is available to the
public 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including
holidays. Kiosks will be set up at the starting points of
each tour with full-color brochures of the self-guided
tours. All of the trees on the tour will be labeled.