Keele University Arboretum

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Keele University Arboretum

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Natural History of Keele University, UK. Set up by Dave Emley and run by Dr Sarah L. Taylor

Devoted to the study and promotion of the flora and fauna of Keele University estate.

15/10/2026

The former building site behind the Medical Centre at Horwood has been transformed into a colourful wildflower meadow. The flowers are still in bloom and the bees are very happy! Sow it and they will come.

05/10/2026

We have wonderful news from the arboretum. Our iconic Cedar of Lebanon that sits at the edge of the formal gardens of Keele Hall has been declared a "Notable" tree by the Ancient Tree Inventory. Students and staff on the MSc Ecology and Conservation programme assisted Sarah Taylor with the surveys back in January 2026. A notable tree is a mature, striking, or locally significant tree that stands out in its environment due to its size, appearance, or cultural and historical value. The reviewer says the girth points to the tree being from the Victorian era. We now have three notable trees registered on the campus. A link to the ATI tree record is in the comments. To celebrate this achievement it would wonderful to see your photos of the Cedar.

24/09/2026

It is always sad to lose a tree, especially when it is an "old friend". Those who have attended our cherry walks in the past will know that we always stop at this mature Prunus 'Takasago'. Over the last few years it has started to lean over and in October it was felled. It is a shame as it was a mature specimen of an uncommon variety. We have a couple of young trees alongside the Boundary wall.

19/09/2026

The two hiroshima ginkgo plants visited their future home on Cherry Tree Walk this week. We thought this was an excellent opportunity to show them around the campus. It was a unique way to spend a lunchtime. They even got to meet the VC and the Pro VC during their travels! It will be a few years before they are big enough to be planted out. They are now safely back in the greenhouse.

01/09/2026

We've had some rain. The lawns have greened up. Fungi fruiting bodies have taken over the bark path in Memorial Garden. Leaves are falling off the trees. Autumn is in the air!

14/08/2026

I am sure you have all seen the government alert about fires. Please take care when you are out and about.

13/08/2026

Amazing to see so many people gathered together to watch the eclipse yesterday. Not a single cloud obscured our view. The eerie light quality was quite magical. Everyone was comparing solar viewing devices and sharing eclipse glasses. Wonderful sense of community.

11/08/2026

Partial Solar Eclipse viewing event on Keele campus

Where: Playing fields, Barnes Hall Road. What3Words ///rarely.punt.shuts

When: Wednesday 12th August

Time: 6.15pm-8.05pm

We're set to experience a partial solar eclipse on Wednesday as the moon passes in front of the sun, and we'd love for you to join us for a community event to witness it together.

Join us on the sports fields on Barnes Hall Road, opposite the Islamic Centre, for a safe and family-friendly viewing experience.

The eclipse will begin around 6.15pm, reach its peak at 7.10pm, and end around 8.05pm. We'll have solar telescopes available for safe viewing, eclipse glasses to borrow and share, and friends from Newchapel Observatory joining us.

From 5.30pm-8.30pm, you can also enjoy refreshments, cupcakes and crafts, including the chance to make your own solar eclipse viewer.

Please note: This event is weather dependent and will be cancelled without notice if conditions are unsuitable, such as overcast skies or rain.

09/08/2026

Mr Asari finally got to don his graduation robes this weekend for a special ceremony in Japan in which he received his honorary degree certificate from Keele University for his work on flowering cherries. The event has been reported across Hokkaido in Japan.

Thanks to our Japanese lecturer Mr Toshihiko Kitagawa for facilitating this and translating in the Zoom meeting the following day.

07/08/2026

Today we welcomed the Shropshire and Staffordshire Lichen Group to the campus. They did surveys of epiphytic lichens growing on trees. The grove of sycamores on The Covert yielded ~25 lichen species and there was much excitement at the discovery of a specimen that has only been reported a few times in Staffordshire! Some specimens will require microscopy and chemical testing to verify their identification. This is the first of what we hope will be many trips onto the campus by the lichen group. Want to get involved? I will pop some contact details of the group in the comments.

Collecting baseline biodiversity data is really important. If you are a special interest group that would like to come to Keele campus then do please get in touch.

Address

Keele University
Keele
ST55BG

Website

https://www.keele.ac.uk/arboretum/nationalcollectionoffloweringcherries/

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