Research Stations
The University of Massachusetts Cold Spring Orchard is a research facility as well as a "working farm." During the fall, the farm crew is harvesting the fruit they cared for all year. During this time we offer informational tours to school groups. All tours are age appropriate and include various aspects of the fruit cycle, harvesting, cider making and marketing. Children will pick a bag of apples to take home.
The Agricultural Learning Center was established to provide a hands-on, living classroom for students to learn about farming, and the horticulture, arboriculture, plant nursery and landscape industries. Used primarily by students of The Stockbridge School of Agriculture, current programming provides students with skills in organic farming, urban farming, native pollinator habitat conservation, social justice, agronomic crop production, and animal husbandry.
"The Massachusetts Agricultural Experiment Station operates within the Center for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment in the College of Natural Sciences to coordinate the distribution of federal funds from USDA/National Institute of Food and Agriculture that advance science in disciplines related to agriculture, food and natural resources."
Kane Lab Research Plot
Located directly adjacent to the Utility Arboretum off of N Pleasant St., the Kane Lab Research plot was established in 2009 by Dr. Brian Kane, Massachusetts Arborists Association Professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation. This plot serves as a site for researching and teaching arboricultural practices.
Students visit the site for NRC 235—Sensible Pruning for Beginners & Experts and NRC 275—Trees and Sustainability, as well as the adjacent utility arboretum for NRC 102—Arboricultural Field Techniques I.
Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning
If you are interested in learning how to identify trees and other woody plants, Plants in the Landscape (Sustcomm 335) is the class to take. The arboretum will be your outdoor classroom through weekly plant identification walks.
If you are interested in forest ecology and landscape processes, Landscape Patterns and Processes (Landarch 547 & 547L) is another class that incorporates our arboretum. The labs include weekly field trips to a variety of unique geological sites and ecosystems such as the natural areas of Orchard Hill, Prexy's Ridge old growth forest, and regional forest properties like the Buffam Brook Community Forest.
Department of Environmental Conservation
The department's degree programs, certificates, and pre-college programs include Arboricultural Field Techniques (NRC 102), Sensible Pruning (NRC 235) and Commercial Arboriculture (NRC 305). They prepare students for a career in Urban Forestry and Arboriculture. Courses directly engage with our campus trees.
A concentration in Forest Ecology & Conservation will prepare students for the workforce as natural resource professionals with skills to manage and conserve our forests in an era of rapid climate change.
- Forest Tree and Shrub Identification (NRC 212)
- Silviculture and Applied Ecology (NRC 526)
- Land Protection Tools and Techniques (NRC 597)
Stockbridge School of Agriculture
The Stockbridge School of Agriculture offers Associate, Bachelor and Graduate Degrees, and online and Certificate Degree programs.
Prospective students interested in the classification, sexual and asexual reproduction, and cellular structure of vascular plants should consider taking Intro to Botany (Stocksch 108). This class introduces you to the processes of cellular respiration and photosynthesis and delves into the structure and function of plant tissues and organs in both a lecture and lab setting.
Soils (Stocksch 105), another introductory course, teaches you about the interrelationships between plants and the soils they live in. Curriculum includes a deep dive into the chemical, physical, and biological properties of soils and how to identify them. This course has both a lecture and lab component.
Plant Propagation (Stocksch 200) introduces students to the basic techniques of asexual and sexual plant propagation. Through grafting, layering, budding, rooting, seed starting, cutting propagation, and tissue culture, students learn the principles of propagating plants in a lecture and lab setting. This course requires Biology 103 or an equivalent course as a prerequisite.
School of Earth & Sustainability
Students in the UMass Arboriculture and Community Forest Management program enjoy being outdoors, working with their hands while using their minds, and making the world a better place. Our academic training prepares students for an arborist certification exam. This program has a 100% job placement rate with excellent career opportunities.
Turf Managers Certificate Program
This comprehensive, dynamic program is especially suited for experienced professionals associated with the management of golf courses, athletic fields, parks, municipal and private grounds, fine lawns and landscapes. Winter School is an excellent choice for professionals who seek to expand their knowledge and practical skills. The program is also uniquely suited for those who want to advance in their career, but cannot schedule a two- or four-year program, as well as career changers who want to enter the field of turf management.
Green School
Every other year UMass Extension’ offers Green School: A comprehensive 60+ hour certificate short course that offers fundamental horticultural training in a compact time frame. Registrations for the next class is expected to be in July 2024.
Designed for landscapers, lawn care providers, nursery operators, public and private grounds managers, arborists, professional gardeners, landscape and garden designers, industry sales and support professionals, and others in the green industries.
Permaculture Garden
Volunteer at the Permaculture Garden. In 2009 a group of passionate UMass students proposed a simple, but revolutionary idea to the Director of UMass Auxiliary Enterprises, Ken Toong. Their proposal was to install edible and ecological permaculture landscapes right on campus." From the history of the Permaculture Garden