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The Morris Arboretum is the Official Arboretum of Pennsylvania, and is owned and administered by the University of Pennsylvania. Located in The Morris is in fact where my story starts. I was looking for a GIS Independent Study, and I began talking to Margo Mensing. I had known Professor Mensing at Skidmore College through the Intro to GIS class that we were mutually enrolled in, taught by Bob Jones, a GIS and Economics Professor. I was looking for a challenging project, and Prof. I responded, saying that this project in the Philadelphia region sounded very interesting. Margo Mensing is producing a producing a site-specific sculptural display with John McQueen in the Morris Arboretum Madalyn K. Butcher Sculpture Garden, curated by Julie Courtney, titled "meta/Metasequoia". Mensing - McQueen envisioned a website to help inform Arboretum visitors about the Metasequoias. Bob Jones, GIS Professor, encouraged this idea on a Metasequoia Mapping project. I could collect data on trees from around the country, and map them. This would be possible because many Metas are in arboretums and gardens which keep strict records on their plants. I began emailing people, collecting leads, and working on compiling a large data collection in order to create maps and a database representing the range of Metasequoias flourishing in arboretums in the US. In the process I learned not only GIS and Metasequoias, but also about their plant relatives, botanic gardens, horticultural display, and the record keeping process. |
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There are a total of 47 trees on the Arboretum grounds, and I measured 34 in August, 2005. My study focused on fifteen trees planted before 1975. Nine of these fifteen were seedlings from the Arnold Arboretum, received in 1948 and planted in 1948 and 1949. The Morris was one of the very first gardens to receive these seeds. Six of these originals are by the creek in the Sculpture Garden, two are near the Swan Pond, and three are on Northwestern Ave.
The garden has many old Metas of impressive size. Other gardens, notably Princeton University, the Stanley Rowe Arboretum, the Frelinghuysen Arboretum, and the Secrest Arboretum & Wooster Ohio, reached overall better scores on my Average Ratings map. Yet the Morris stands alone in its unique role in my research. The Morris Arboretum of the University of Pennsylvania 100 East Northwestern Avenue Philadelphia, PA 19118 |
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historic Chestnut Hill area of Philadelphia. It is composed of 92 marvelous acres of Victorian landscapes with educational and research activities as well. Particularly beautiful parts include the Swan pond, the Sculpture garden, the Log Cabin, and the Garden Railway. 
Jones suggested I contact Prof. Mensing. Mensing was working on a project in a garden in the Philadelphia area.
In fact I decided to measure the Metasequoias at the Morris myself. I knew that having data on the Morris was essential for this project, and I wanted to learn how measuring trees was actually done. I was trained in using a clinometer, which measures trees through trigonometry. I went around with the curator of the arboretum initially, and then went off on my own.
These nine originals have grown extremely well. On average they are about 100 feet tall, with bases averaging around 40 inches in diameter. In fact the tallest and largest trees are those planted on either side of the creek in the Sculpture Garden in 1953. Trees planted in 1953 came from the Northeastern Forest E.S. in Pennsylvania. These five trees range from 100 to 114 feet in height. Three of them have base diameters over 40 inches, one at 52 inches. The Sculpture Garden is an excellent site for Metasequoias.