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These tours and this website are maintained by a volunteer guide. If you enjoy this resource and want to leave a tip, they are gratefully accepted. Thank you so much for your support!
What to expect from the Guided Tree Tours:
What to expect from the Guided Tree Tours:
Welcome to the UW Guided Tree Tours page! Currently, guided tree tours are free and offered about twice a month. These walking tours depart from a variety of places around campus, and generally are attended by between 5 and 30 participants. Please arrive on time to ensure we do not depart without you (the tour usually departs the meeting location within 10 minutes). Tours generally last about 2 hours, but participants are welcome to leave early if they need. All tours are outdoors so please plan accordingly and dress for the weather! Parking on the UW campus can be difficult at times, so please plan ahead if driving to the tour. Parking rates vary by parking lot and date. There are also many public transit routes available for those wishing to reach campus by bus or rail. In the interest of accessibility, the tour routes are designed to be as wheelchair friendly as is possible on the UW Campus. To request any special accommodations, please email tdhoss@uw.edu. Tour information is also regularly posted on social media at @campus_tree_tours on Instagram.
Upcoming Guided Tree Tours:
Upcoming Guided Tree Tours:
Tuesday, December 2nd (12pm-1pm): Washington Native Trees Tour. Meet at the front of the Husky Union Building (HUB) near the Husky statue.
This lunch break tour offers a chance to meet a few of the incredible native trees growing right in the middle of campus! On this tour we will meet the Douglas-fir, Western Redcedar, Western White Pine, and more. We will also dive into the human connections we share with these trees, and discover their place in the local environment.
Sunday, December 7th (1pm-3pm): Washington Native Trees Tour. Meet at the front entrance of the Burke Museum.
What better way to kick off the cold months by learning about our beautiful native trees of Washington that are keeping things vibrant this chilly season. This tour will introduce participants to some of our most iconic conifers, as well as a few of the deciduous broadleaf varieties. We will also discover their place in the local environment.
Sunday, January 11th (1pm-3pm): Evergreen Trees Tour. Meet at the front of Denny Hall.
By January, winter is well and truly here, but that doesn't mean we can't go looking at trees! Come join us for a chance to learn about the many trees on campus who persist in staying green even in spite of the gloomy gray, and take a chance to spend some time in the outdoors. We can't promise it will be sunny, but we can promise you'll learn lots about our most hardy campus trees.
Wednesday, February 4th (12pm-1pm): Pine Trees Tour. Meet at the front of Denny Hall.
Sometimes it seems like Pine Trees are all over the place...and its true, they really are! The Pine family has more species than any other family of conifer, including some of the oldest, tallest, and most economically important trees on the planet. Come join us for a lunch break tree tour and spend an hour getting to know some of the specimens around the Denny and Parrington Lawns on the UW Campus!
Sunday, February 8th (1pm-3pm): Conifer Trees Tour. Meet at the Husky Union Building (HUB) near the Husky statue.
Coniferous trees define the forests of western Washington, but have you ever noticed that most other forests of the world are completely lacking these cone bearing trees? Come find out why that is, and learn all about the 8 families of coniferous trees that grow on planet earth. We will cover a variety of conifers from all over the globe and learn to identify the different families based on their shared traits and preferred habitats.
Thursday, February 19th (12pm-1pm): Medicinal Trees Tours. Meet at the Bus Shelter on Stevens Way just west of Anderson Hall.
Many potent medicines around the world trace their origins back to trees. This includes both traditional medicines and those now distributed by the pharmaceutical industry! From cures for cancer to relief from hemorrhoids, join us for this lunch break tour to learn about the many benefits that trees on campus can offer us as humans.
Sunday, March 1st (1-3pm): Urban Tree Benefits Tour. Meet at the front of the Burke Museum of Natural History
Trees in Seattle are always hard at work! What exactly are these trees doing? Making and storing sugars, growing, and building defenses against pathogens are all top tree priorities, but as these trees do these things, they are also working hard for us! Trees provide humans with all kinds of benefits; from food we can eat to cleaner water to the very air we breathe. Come learn all about how helpful trees are in our city, and meet some of the gorgeous specimens on the UW Campus!
Looking for a more personalized experience?
Looking for a more personalized experience?
Looking for a custom guided tour for a group, club, or class? Special tours can be arranged by request. Send an email to tdhoss@uw.edu to request more information. If it is possible for your group to offer one, an honorarium or donation is greatly appreciated, since these tours are offered on a voluntary basis and require a long drive for the guide! Suggested donation amounts will vary by group size and organization type. These special tree tours can be designed to cater to specific interests, timeframes, or expertise. Groups, clubs, and classes are always welcome at the free public tours each month as well.
Your Tree Tour Guide
UW Campus Tree Tours are conducted by Theodore Hoss, an alum of the Biology and Environmental and Forest Sciences programs at the University of Washington. He currently teaches as an instructor at the Raven's Roots Naturalist School. While a student, he helped redesign the campus' historic Brockman Memorial Tree Tour. He has maintained and updated the website and curated the campus tree tours ever since. Theodore has worked for years as an Environmental Educator, Gardener, and National Park Ranger, providing interpretation on forests, wildlife, and human connections to the landscape. He continues studying trees and forests through a Natural Resources graduate program at Oregon State University. He is a member of the Arboretum Bulletin Editorial Board, and enjoys backpacking, kayaking, hiking, and just about anything else outside in his free time. If you have any questions regarding the tours, or would like to request some form of accommodation, feel free to reach out at tdhoss@uw.edu. Theodore conducts these tours on a voluntarily basis, with no direct affiliation with the University of Washington.
What is a Standard Format for these Tours?
What is a Standard Format for these Tours?
These Guided Tours are designed to provide participants with an informative and engaging learning experience focused on the trees of campus. During each tour, you can expect to learn a bit about tree ecology, human connections to the forest, tree management practices, and tricks to identify different groups of trees. All tours are offered in an interpretive format, with ample time for questions and no specific script. This means every tour is unique, with a different theme and focus, and a fresh perspective each time a tree is visited!
Each tour begins with an introduction of the tour theme and short conversation on the history of the UW Campus Tree Tours, as well as a time for participants to share any particular interests. The group will then depart from the meet-up location and follow a different route across campus that changes from tour to tour depending on the overarching theme. Each tour is designed to supplement and expand upon the self-guided tours on this website, and offer opportunities for asking tree questions, diving into broad science concepts, and connecting with other tour participants. The tours usually last about 2 hours and cover a distance of up to about 1 mile. There is usually time to engage with other participants as we walk between the different specimens on campus. If you have more questions about the tour format or need to request accommodations, please email Theodore Hoss at tdhoss@uw.edu
If you have an RSO, Club, Class, or Organization interested in a custom guided walking tour of significant trees on campus, special tours can be arranged by request. Send an email to tdhoss@uw.edu to request more information. Suggested donation amounts will vary by group size and organization type. Groups are also more than welcome to join in on any of the free public tours!
If you have already taken the tour and wish to leave feedback, please visit the survey located at the bottom of this page!
Feedback Survey!
Did you already take a guided tour?! Maybe you loved it! Maybe you hated it...we sure hope not, but it would be good to know either way. If you have a moment to fill out the feedback survey, please let us know what you think so we can continue to improve these tours! Your contributions are appreciated!
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