An Arboretum Blossoms at Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College has earned accreditation as a level one arboretum (an arboretum is a botanical collection of trees of a variety of species). RIC was granted the accreditation by the Morton Arboretum, an internationally recognized tree-focused botanical garden and research center whose mission is to collect, study, display and conserve trees around the world.

Rhode Island College has 58 species of trees on its campus, ranging from Norway Maples and Japanese Oaks to Flowering Dogwoods and Honey Locusts.

Jim Murphy, assistant director of facilities and operations for sustainability and logistics at RIC, and his team worked for nearly a year on achieving arboretum accreditation. See aerial footage of RIC’s arboretum and commentary from Murphy in video below.