Student Farmer's Market
The arboretum committee participates in the student farmers market. We give away cuttings of various easily propagated woody plants. These cuttings are given away with the appropriate propagation medium and reused, or upcycled, planting pots.
In 2023 we gave away about 200 willow cuttings. We hope to increase the diversity of cuttings.
The student farmers market is organized collaboratively by UMass Permaculture and the UMass Student Farm. The markets occur in fall and the spring on Fridays from 12pm-4pm. Check out our booth the next time you're at the market.
Seedling Giveaway
Every April on Arbor Day, the University gives away hundreds of seedlings of native trees. The seedlings are grown in the UMass nursery from local sources. They are often from champion trees or especially old specimens like the swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor) featured in the legacy tree section of our Storymap Walking Tour.
Other seeds are selected from local ecotypes of native shrubs and trees that are regionally adapted to Western Massachusetts. In previous years, seedlings of native birch, chokeberry, hazelnut, holly, oak, and willow were offered.
Look for the next Seedling Giveaway. Check the campus events calendar in early spring.
First Annual Five Colleges Grounds & Landscape Management Sustainability Summit
On July 31, 2024 UMass Amherst Facilities Management Ray Jackson, Executive Director, Pam Monn, Associate Director, Grounds Services & Events and Todd Cournoyer, Head of Grounds hosted the First Annual Five Colleges Grounds & landscape Management Sustainability Summit at UMass Amherst's Tillson Farm.