Our Grounds are Becoming an Arboretum!
As first announced at Strawberry Festival 2026, the grounds of Plymouth Meeting Friends School and the historic Plymouth Monthly Meeting are becoming an arboretum. The School and Meeting are working together to ensure our diverse collection of plant species meet the requirements to become an ArbNet-recognized Level I arboretum.
The idea solidified after discussions by a group who already cares for the more than 10 acres of land here, comprised of PMFS alum Bill Kopf, PMFS staff Jonathan Perry, and Plymouth Monthly Meeting members Mark Setman, John Cardina, and David Miller. Within the past year, they have planted more than 50 trees, some with the help of PMFS students.
The idea solidified after discussions by a group who already cares for the more than 10 acres of land here, comprised of PMFS alum Bill Kopf, PMFS staff Jonathan Perry, and Plymouth Monthly Meeting members Mark Setman, John Cardina, and David Miller. Within the past year, they have planted more than 50 trees, some with the help of PMFS students.
Many trees were donated by the Keystone 10 Million Trees Partnership program and others by members of the Meeting. This spring, they monitored winter survival of trees (all but 2 survived the harsh winter), added deer protection, mulched, and pruned as needed. Native wildflowers and sedges were planted around select trees established previously.
The aims of the arboretum are:
- To enhance the joy, understanding, and appreciation of the natural world shared by our community by creating a place of learning where children explore the biological, social, and historic importance of trees.
- To steward and conserve the existing collection of trees and other woody plants throughout the campus to honor the biological and cultural history of the land, and to preserve and restore the ecosystem and its services.
Read more about the upcoming focus and plans to create this gift to the future at Plymouth Friends Arboretum, a joint project of Plymouth Friends Meeting and Plymouth Meeting Friends School.
Come out to help with tree planting and more at the Fall Fix Up & Frolic on Saturday, October 24!
© PMFS 2021