The Magic of the Arb

The arb, or arboretum, is quite literally the best part of Carleton’s campus. I mean, we have 800 acres of gorgeous lush fields and trails right in our backyard; in my humble opinion, it is not appreciated enough by the campus community. It has become an integral part of my time here at Carleton. It holds so many special memories, like when I learned how to cross-country ski, or when my friend and I laid in one of the fields at night staring up at the stars, or any of the countless times I’ve sat at the bench that overlooks Bell Field and enjoyed the sunset view. Although our tour route, unfortunately, doesn’t let us take groups to the arb, I always make sure to stop by the display case in Hulings Hall that showcases it to try and give visitors a sense of why the arb is, in a word, MAGICAL. Unconvinced? Keep reading, and hopefully, I might be able to entice you to visit the arb at least ONCE in your lifetime (trust me, it is so worth it). 

My First Real Arb Excursion

I would be lying if I said I loved the arb as much as I now do right off the bat. The first time I visited was to plant a tree with my New Student Week group, and I must confess, I was more focused on meeting new people and making friends with the students in my group. Instead, I will tell the story of my first REAL visit to the arb, circa November 2021. It was a Friday, and it had been an extremely long week, as everyone was gearing up for the end-of-the-term stretch. My dear friend, Quinnie, and I were hanging out that night, and as a longtime arb lover, he suggested that we take a trip to the druid circle to cheer me up. What is the druid circle, you may ask? Well, in the 1960s, a religion was formed at Carleton, the Reformed Druids of North America, in response to the then requirement of attendance at religious services, and the circle (of rocks, that still stands) is where they would meet. So! We bravely made our way, in the dark, sans flashlights, and there it was, in all its glory. I don’t think we stayed there for a particularly long time, but I’ll always remember the instant calm I felt as we walked back to campus; I knew I would be back for more.

But Wait, There’s More Arb!

And boy, did I visit the arb more and more! In my sophomore fall term, I took an Introduction to Geology to fulfill my lab science requirement, and we spent a decent amount of time in the arb for labs. In the interest of complete and utter honesty, that was probably the best part of labs for me, being physically present in the arb. I’m a big fan of the liberal arts, but I truly am a humanities gal through and through. Still, it was really fascinating that we were able to incorporate the arb into our lessons, and study the environment directly around us. I’ve also taken two of my P.E. classes in the arb, those being Nordic skiing and trail running! Nordic skiing was my favorite of the two since I’m not much of a runner, and witnessing the arb in its full snowy glory twice a week as I skied on by was just incredible. Trail running was also a lot of fun, though, since it took place in the lower arb (I usually spent a lot of time in the upper arb), and three mornings a week, I would get lost (Not actually, metaphorically! Well, it may or may not have actually happened once) in the fields and trees and flowers and focus on my run. I’m hoping to take the field drawing class before I graduate, since the field students draw in is located in, you guessed it, the arb! Clearly, I can’t get enough of it.

LiveLaughLoveArb

Despite the mosquitoes, I still make sure to go on a walk in the arb at least every other day while I’m working on campus over the summer, especially now that we have goats that eat the grass (we love sustainable methods of grazing!) There was many a night this past year that Quinnie or I would text one the other and suggest a moonlit arb walk to decompress from a stressful day, or just because we hadn’t gone on one in a bit. One morning during my sophomore spring term, we even went for a sunrise walk through the lower arb just for the heck of it; I HIGHLY recommend this, because the sky is just ethereal. That bench that overlooks Bell Field is my favorite part of campus, and before I graduate, I intend to add my name to the many that are engraved in its wood. I can’t make everyone love the arb, but if you take one thing away from this blog, just know that if you don’t go, you’re missing out.

If Holly (she/her/hers) was a place on campus, she would be the bench in the upper arb that overlooks Bell Field. During the school year, Holly “slays” on the dance floor as the director of the Synchrony II dance troupe, is a member of Project Friendship, a theater stage manager, and works in the Alumni Relations Office! A fun fact about her is that she has triple citizenship with the US, UK, and Ireland.