NDSU to celebrate opening of interactive campus arboretum on Sept. 30
Students, faculty, staff, alumni and members of the community are invited to attend the opening of a new interactive urban forestry resource at North Dakota State University.
NDSU will celebrate the opening of the new NDSU Interactive Campus Arboretum with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the NDSU campus main gate at 9 a.m. on Sept. 30 in Fargo, North Dakota. The event will be held as part of NDSU’s homecoming week and in recognition of NDSU’s Tree Campus Higher Education status through the Arbor Day Foundation.
The NDSU Interactive Campus Arboretum is designed to transform the university’s living collection of trees and shrubs into an accessible educational resource for students, faculty, staff and campus visitors. Representative woody plant species throughout campus are identified with labels that include QR codes, connecting visitors to an interactive learning experience.
By scanning a QR code with a mobile device, visitors can learn more about a particular tree or shrub, including key identification characteristics and other plant information, or test their plant identification skills through an interactive quiz. The self-guided format allows visitors to explore the campus arboretum at their own pace.
“This project supports NDSU’s commitment to education, campus sustainability and urban forest stewardship while creating new opportunities for experiential learning,” says Todd West, professor of arboriculture and horticulture and director of the NDSU Woody Plant Improvement Program.
The NDSU Interactive Campus Arboretum opening also complements NDSU’s recognition as a Tree Campus Higher Education institution, a national program of the Arbor Day Foundation that recognizes colleges and universities for effective campus forest management and engagement of the campus community in conservation efforts.
Information about the event is available at ndsu.ag/NDSU-arb-26.
The NDSU campus main gate is located at the southeast corner of campus, near the intersection of 12th Avenue North and University Drive.
NDSU Agriculture Communication – Sept. 21, 2026
Source: Todd West, 701-231-6476, todd.p.west@ndsu.edu
Editor: Dominic Erickson, 701-231-5546, dominic.erickson@ndsu.edu
