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At the Third Annual Flower & Garden Show on the Erskine campus, set for Saturday, May 17, a ribbon-cutting ceremony will mark the official opening of the Janice Hamilton Haldeman Arboretum at Erskine.

An arboretum is 鈥渁 botanical garden specializing in trees or woody plants,鈥� according to ArbNet, an arboretum accreditation and networking program. A traditional arboretum has as its primary purpose 鈥渢o be a tree-focused public botanic garden,鈥� but there are also nontraditional arboreta in municipal parks, for example, or on school campuses.

It was Martin Hamilton, executive director of the South Carolina Botanical Garden at Clemson University, who suggested to Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Relations Paul Bell 鈥�84 that the Erskine campus might qualify for designation as an arboretum.

Hamilton and his wife, Michele Dani Sanchez, assistant extension specialist with the Cooperative Extension Service at Clemson鈥攂oth of whom will be speaking at the Flower & Garden Show this year鈥攙isited the Erskine campus in March 2024 鈥渢o scope it out,鈥� Bell says, so that Hamilton could determine the topic of his keynote address at the 2024 Flower & Garden Show. Bell welcomed the couple, taking them to the Pressly Family Heritage Garden for a visit with Professor Emerita of Biology Dr. Janice Haldeman and then leading them on a campus walk.

As Bell and his guests stood in front of the Due West ARP Church on Main Street, gazing at the trees on the Circle across the street, 鈥淢artin commented that we should consider accreditation as an arboretum,鈥� Bell reports. 鈥淓laborating upon his thought, he said there are people who would come to campus just to see the trees.鈥�

Bell says he 鈥渢ook [Martin鈥檚] suggestion and ran with it back to Belk Hall,鈥� where he and his staff began investigating just what applying for arboretum status might entail.

鈥淲e looked into it and found that we easily qualified for Level 1 accreditation as an arboretum,鈥� says Senior Gifts Officer Beth Boyd. As the decision was made to pursue arboretum status, Haldeman, an avid botanist, was brought into the new project.

鈥淧aul Bell and Beth Boyd contacted me and asked me to work with Beth on the application for becoming a certified arboretum through ArbNet,鈥� Haldeman recalls. 鈥淲orking with Beth was a real pleasure. She has done the lion鈥檚 share of the work!鈥�

Boyd believes the longtime professor is a fitting namesake for the arboretum, and doubtless many alumni would agree.

“Jan has been a driving force behind the stewardship of the natural resources of our campus and has put a tremendous amount of time and energy into sourcing new trees and caring for established ones,” Boyd says.

“She regularly uses our campus in her teaching as a living laboratory, enriching the learning experience of the many students who have studied biology and especially medicinal botany over the years.”

For Haldeman, the naming of the arboretum “was a big surprise, and I feel humbled, excited, and very honored.鈥�

When she joined the Erskine faculty in 1967, the young biology professor knew she had landed in a special place. 鈥淚 realized from the start of my teaching career that our beautiful campus trees, shrubs, and other plants were excellent for teaching biology and botany courses,鈥� she recalls.

One of the earliest biology labs she taught included among its activities a campus tree tour, Haldeman says. 鈥淚 knew then that what we needed was a 鈥楥ampus Tree Walk,鈥� including tree labels and brochure with a map.鈥�

Obtaining a grant of $1,000 from Abbeville Savings & Loan (now Abbeville First Bank) for the tree walk project, she enlisted the assistance of students, including Jordi Fernandez 鈥�04 and later Claire Mueller 鈥�16, both of whom earned academic credit for their work.

Jordi worked on selecting the trees, attaching the labels, developing the map, and creating a list of 鈥淭ree Tidbits鈥� for the brochure. Claire worked on organizing the second edition of the brochure.

鈥淭here was also enough money for me to add 12 new tree species to campus, all of which are still alive and thriving,鈥� Haldeman notes.

Haldeman鈥檚 campus tree walk project has continued over the past decade. 鈥淲e鈥檝e moved to online, adding QR codes with tree information for tree signs and a website with a tree walk map and more!鈥� she says with characteristic enthusiasm.

While Haldeman鈥檚 background in botany and knowledge of Erskine鈥檚 trees and plants made her an obvious choice for assisting with the arboretum application, participation in the process was challenging.

鈥淚t was a learning experience for sure!鈥� she says. 鈥淚 was made aware of how many aspects there are to maintaining a diverse collection of trees and other woody plants in the form of an arboretum.鈥�

Life can get a little complicated when you鈥檙e applying for arboretum status, Haldeman discovered.

鈥淔irst, arboretum specimens have to be cataloged and listed in a particular order,鈥� she explains. Erskine鈥檚 specimens had been listed according to the campus tree walk, so a renumbering had to be done.

鈥淪econd, specimens鈥� common, scientific species, and family names are included,鈥� she says. 鈥淭hird, campus locations are listed along with their GPS coordinates. Finally, the catalog records all history of specimens, including special care, loss, removal, and replacement of specimens as well as all specimen additions to the collection.鈥�

Bell, Boyd, and Haldeman were delighted when Erskine鈥檚 arboretum application was approved.

鈥淭he benefits of becoming an arboretum include opportunities to steward our natural resources,鈥� Boyd says. 鈥淥ur status as an arboretum provides publicity for the college as a place for research and scholarship for scientists and students and elevates our profile in the broader community.鈥�

Join in the celebration of the Janice Hamilton Haldeman Arboretum at Erskine by attending the Third Annual Flower & Garden Show this spring. The event is set for Saturday, May 17, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Admission is free.

Learn about the many activities and workshops available at Erskine鈥檚 Flower & Garden Show here.听

Learn more about Erskine’s arboretum here.听

Pictured at top is a Cedar of Lebanon next to McQuiston Hall on the Erskine campus.