Thriving Outside in the Robert J. Huckshorn Arboretum

Thriving Outside Live Events

• October 6th - Join us at 12 pm for a bird walk with a local bird enthusiast from the local chapter of the Audubon Society. The arboretum is a birding hotspot and early October is a great time to spot migratory birds. Bring binoculars if you have them.

• October 13th - Join us at 3PM for Nature Bathing Meditation with CAPS. Just bring yourself and be ready to relax!  

• October 20th – Join us from 5-6pm for a Celebration of Writing with Student Writer in Residence Gina Gruss. October 20th is National Day on Writing and there’s no better way to mark the occasion than with a reading from one of the best and brightest young writers at the Honors College. Gina Gruss was selected as the Student Writer in Residence for 2021 and she will be reading her award-winning short story “Wasps and Bees.” She will share her words, her wit and her best writing advice.

• October 26th - Join us at 12pm for a butterfly walk with a local butterfly expert from the North American Butterfly Association. The Arboretum has many plants that were specifically planted to attract butterflies. During this walk, you learn how to spot and identify our common local butterflies.

• November 9th - Join us at 12pm for an Audubon Bird walk. The arboretum is a birding hotspot and it’s a great place to learn about a common local bird species. Register Now. Space is limited.

• November 16th - Fall for Nature! - Join us at 4pm for fall-focused readings. Is fall your favorite season? You’re not alone! Maybe it’s the cooling temperatures, the smell of bonfires, or the thought of gathering for the holidays. But there is something undeniably cozy and inviting about an autumn afternoon. Come join us for a reading of stories and poems that celebrate all things fall. Following the reading, you will receive a prompt to help you write about your own favorite seasonal memories. You can stay and complete the writing in the arboretum or take it with you to complete on your own.

• December 7th - Pet-A-Pup - Join us from 2-3pm for some cuddly dog therapy! - Exams are always stressful, but spending some time with therapy dogs from the Jupiter Tequesta Dog Club can make the experience more bearable.

Registration is not required. 

• December 8th - Mindful Doodling! with CAPS - Join us at 12pm for a 30-minute activity to help you de-stress before you take your final exams. 

Asynchronous/Virtual Events

• ALL FALL - Storywalk - Starts on October 7. Take a relaxing walk through the arboretum and read the classic children’s book, The Giving Tree, along the way. Download the map that shows the starting point and where to find all of the pages of the book.

• Virtual Art in the Arboretum Exhibit - Students from Professor Lemeh’s art and photography classes use the arboretum as a source of inspiration. All of the entries can be viewed on our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.6297411613666408&type=3

• Arboretum Photo Scavenger Hunts! Every two weeks this fall, we will give you a photo challenge. Go out to the Arboretum and snap a few photos to address the challenge and then share them with us on social media! The photo and description with the most likes will win some fun FAU SWAG! 

• October 4 - 17: Bird’s the Word! - Now is the time for migratory birds to pass through south Florida and the Arboretum is a birding hotspot. Go out to the Arboretum and search for a bird. What is the bird doing? What colors are its feathers? Do you know its name? Snap a photo and share it with us along with your observations. 
• October 18 - 31: I’m Lichen it! - Lichens are fascinating plants that form as a result of a symbiotic relationship between algae and fungus. They grow on the trunks of many of the trees in the Arboretum indicating good air quality. Find a tree trunk with lichens and snap a photo. Describe what you see. What color is it? Is it flat? Or wavy? Or branching? What side of the tree is it on? Snap a photo and share it with us along with your observations.
• November 1-14: Tooty Fruity - Many of the native plants in the arboretum bear fruit. This is by design! Plants with fruit attract our native wildlife. Look around the arboretum and search for plants with fruit. How big is the fruit? What color is it? Do you know the name of the plant? Snap a photo and share it with us along with your observations. 
• November 15 - 28: Leafin’ on the edge - Have you ever noticed how different leaves on plants are? Some are serrated. Some are smooth. Some are wavy. Take a closer look at the leaves on the plants in the arboretum. What shade of green is it? Are its edges serrated or smooth? Do you know the name of the plant it’s on? Snap a photo and share it with us along with your observations. 
• November 29 - December 12: Barking up the right tree - - The Arboretum has more than 20 species of trees! Find a tree (or woody vine or plant) that interests you and examine its bark.  Outer bark protects the tree and inner bark passes the tree’s “food” through the tree.  How would you describe it?  Is it rough, textured, peeling, multi-colored?  Note that not all trees have bark, like the palm tree. Snap a photo and share it with us along with your observations.