Crown Hill Arboretum

Since it’s widely regarded as “the single best place for tree lovers in the city,” it only feels right for Crown Hill to be an accredited arboretum. With more than 11,000 inventoried trees and 137 unique species, The Crown Hill Arboretum is an accredited Level II arboretum, certified by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program for achieving particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta. This massive inventory of trees serves as the architectural backbone of this beautiful urban green space, providing shade for the historic structures and shelter for a variety of wildlife.

LEVEL II ACCREDITATION
To become accredited at this level, the following guidelines must be achieved:

  • Create an arboretum plan, defining the purpose of the arboretum, the audiences, the types of plants to serve the audiences, and standards for maintaining and caring for our rich collection.
  • Maintain access for the public and host annual tree-focused events.
  • Establish a collection policy, defining practices and guidelines for the development and professional management of our trees.
  • Hire an arborist to manage and operate the Crown Hill arboretum, with support from volunteers.
  • Establish the Arboretum Committee of the Crown Hill Foundation to oversee our arboretum plan and standards.
  • Enhance and expand our current educational programming, including tree identification (with a public, web-based inventory of trees), ecology, conservation, and collections. Provide tours and educational opportunities for all age groups, covering topics such as identifying and caring for trees, the life cycle of trees, and the impact of trees on the environment.

This designation as a Level II arboretum will guide us in our efforts to ensure that the cemetery’s natural landscape is sustained for generations to come.

THE CROWN HILL TREE PROGRAM
Our tree program provides you the opportunity to conserve and enhance the natural beauty of Crown Hill’s tree canopy by Planting a Tree or caring for our Trees in Need.

Plant a Tree Trees in Need Tree Tour Interactive Tree Map

Crown Hill Cemetery in the Fall

Meet Our Arboretum Director

Carrie Tauscher’s personal and professional history is firmly rooted in trees. In addition to degrees in horticulture and landscape architecture, she has a diverse professional background as an arborist. At Crown Hill, she is essential in helping the urban green space adapt to functioning not only as a cemetery but as an arboretum and meeting the accreditation requirements necessary across operations to be recognized internationally as a Level II Arboretum through ArbNet.

Carrie’s work includes developing a better understanding of current day-to-day operations and sales as well as current tree management practices; the Development of a Strategic plan, Collections Policy, Education and outreach programming; as well as the implementation of best management practices. Efforts on the grounds will include a campus-wide tree inventory, with priority for risk mitigation and increased site safety, retaining the existing trees on site in a healthy condition for as long as possible. After those large projects are well underway, focus will shift to planning for the recovery and restoration of trees lost to storms and invasive forest pests (i.e., the Emerald Ash Borer and the extreme drought of 2012) and the planting of new trees to develop collections that fall in line with the original design intent of the site while blending with the site’s overall goals as a cemetery.

Carrie’s office is at the Waiting Station.