Arboretum
Wayne State College has long been known for its beautiful campus landscape, ornamental prairie plants, and one of the most diverse tree collections in the region. The Arboretum encompasses the entire campus and serves as a living museum of tree and plant life for the region. This sustainable landscape of native Nebraska plant communities and diverse plant materials offer significant aesthetic and educational value to campus.
The Wayne State College Arboretum is an affiliate site of the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum, and in 2019, it received their Affiliate Excellence Award in recognition of “excellence in collection development, maintenance practice, and community engagement.”
The Wayne State College “Tree Committee” was granted status as a “Teaching and Community Arboretum” in 1977 by the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum. An initial inventory of Wayne State’s Arboretum in 1976 listed 87 species of trees and shrubs. Today the inventory consists of more than 280 species, cultivars, and varieties of trees and shrubs. The campus also has many ornamental plantings with the focus being sustainable landscapes using Nebraska natives.
