The mission of the Appoquinimink Arboretum is to celebrate, enhance and maintain trees on St. Andrew’s School’s 100 acre campus and educate members of the community about the benefits of trees. The arboretum was made possible by a grant from the Green Schools Pathway Program which allowed Bartlett Tree, Inc. to identify and inventory 150 of the beautiful, stately trees on St. Andrew’s School’s 100 acre campus. Of the 150 trees inventoried, 39 trees were chosen to be included in the Arboretum of which 37 are unique species.

To enhance learning, each tree in the arboretum educates the community by listing the tree name, species, family, and the amount of carbon the tree sequesters in a year. A QR code is also included on each label to a website which lists more information about the trees including its benefits to wildlife and our environment. The arboretum is named in part because it lies in the Appoquinimink watershed and harkens back to “Apequinemy,” the name given to the region by the Lena-Lenape Native American tribe. St. Andrew’s School environmental science and biology classes will use the Arboretum to learn about trees on campus. St. Andrew’s School also hosts one educational program every year focused on trees. This event occurs in mid-May as a belated celebration of Arbor Day. During this event members of the senior class at St. Andrew’s School plant a class tree on our campus. Students also plant tree saplings on our 2,200 acres of land, flowers and bushes on our 100 acre campus, and help maintain trails in the school’s 700 acre forest.