Mission Statement

To honor our Land Grant tradition by using plants for educational enjoyment.

We do this by...

Training the future public garden horticulturists, preserving green space, bringing people and plants together.

The Chadwick Arboretum and Learning Gardens is an extensive green reserve on the Ohio State University campus within an urban setting. Its mission is to provide an educational environment to advance the knowledge of students in their horticultural studies and to be a resource for learning about plants for the campus community and general public. It is also a peaceful place for respite. The Arboretum's various gardens, are well-designed models of annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs, native and non-native for the central Ohio climate.

History of Chadwick

-- Founders originally intended to have a campus wide arboretum

-- In 1888 the Columbus Horticulture Society tended the arboretum on campus

-- In 1926 the Horticulture Gardens west of Campbell Hall were opened to the public

-- Campbell Hall was developed as the Agricultural Campus between 1967-1979

-- The new gardens were dedicated in 1981

-- The first recorded date of an Arbor Day event presented by the newly dedicated Chadwick Arboretum was April 27, 1984

-- In 1980 the OSU Board of Trustees established the Chadwick Arboretum, named for Dr. Lewis C. Chadwick 

-- Dr. Chadwick was a well known horticulturist and professor at the Ohio State University

-- He is credited with bringing the field of arboriculture to professional status

-- He developed a system for propagation using hormones