University of Washington Campus Tree Tours

The University of Washington acknowledges the Coast Salish peoples of this land, the land which touches the shared waters of all tribes and bands within the Duwamish, Suquamish, Tulalip and Muckleshoot nations. Since time immemorial, the Coast Salish peoples have been the original stewards of these lands. Colonization and its modern systems of oppression continue to disrupt their work. We hope that this acknowledgement serves as a first step in our commitment to authentic relationships with Native and Indigenous communities moving forward. Additionally, we wish to acknowledge the false narrative applied to the discovery of many of these species. The majority of these species were not in fact discovered by the generally white contingent of botanists arriving in lands besieged by European colonizers, but by the peoples who have lived on those lands since time immemorial. Indigenous peoples have developed connections with these trees going back generations. We would like to acknowledge too that many of these species have distinct practical and medicinal value which were known to the first peoples of their native ranges. Credit for the discovery of these properties is too often given to colonizers who did not in fact discover the uses of these plants. Where possible we have avoided common names which memorialize such botanists whose work disregarded the knowledge of indigenous peoples.

Looking for a long-winded explanation of exactly what can be found on this website?! This is it! This tree tour website is meant to incorporate information to suit a wide variety of interests. On each tree's individual page one may find information regarding the tree's range, its historical uses, and its identification features, broken down into the categories of leaves, bark, and reproductive bodies. There also are photos of significant features of each tree on the tour and of the specimen as it appears on the UW Campus. Each page also includes the short summary for each species written at the time the tour was first created (information in these original tour portions may be inaccurate, especially tree locations, since the tour has changed significantly since the 1980s). This historical tree profiles can provide insight into the changes in mindset regarding forest sciences in the last 40 years. One can navigate through the tour either by entering each tree's individual page from this homepage or by navigating from one page to the following or previous using the "next" and "back" buttons on each individual page. Additionally, maps are available (both in satellite and street base layers) to show the location of trees relative to each other on campus.

This website includes a short biography on C. Frank Brockman, for whom it is named, as well as resources to aid the user in identifying plant and tree species. This identification addendum includes the botanical names of the different types of leaves, growing patterns, and how these resources might be used in conjunction with a field guide to identify various species not included on this tour. For those wishing to extend their love of trees beyond the boundaries of the Campus Tree Tours, this site contains resources to connect users with trees around Seattle, including a Tree Map of every tree on the UW Grounds, a map of Trees in the Washington Park Arboretum, and the City of Seattle Street Trees website. These maps allow the user to identify thousands of trees all over the city, even those not present on the UW Campus Tours! There are also dozens of other Tree Walks and Tree Tours available in the Emerald City. A list of those created by the City of Seattle may be found on their Seattle Tree Walks website. Others crafted for the Washington Park Arboretum may be found from the UW Botanic Gardens.

Additionally, for those who would like to experience the tour without having to look at their screen as they enjoy the campus grounds, there are several printable tour information options available, including the Brockman Memorial Tree Tour Guide and Native Trees of Washington Guide. These booklets include small summaries and works in tandem with the maps on this website (or a printable summary map for a fully non-digital tree experience). The Booklet may be picked up free of charge at the office of the School of Environmental and Forest Sciences in Winkenwerder Hall, or from the Center for Urban Horticulture.