Pop-up Arboreta

Information
Argay Park Pop Up
An arboretum (plural arboreta) is a collection of trees, often with a theme or pattern. Every one of Portland’s parks has its own unique assortment of trees, each with a story to tell. With more than 300 different kinds of trees in Parks, no two Pop-Ups are the same!
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Pop-up Arboreta showcases the treasured trees of neighborhood parks through a month-long installation of interactive and informative signs. Each month, from May through September, four parks will be transformed into an arboretum full of educational, enjoyable, immersive experiences.


What is a Pop-Up Arboreta?

An green sign attached to a tree in the foreground of a park.
Park Pop-Up Arboreta are back! They are free and open to the public. Visit one, or all of them, starting in May 2022.

Every one of Portland’s parks has its own unique assortment of trees, each with a story to tell. This summer, 20 parks will be transformed into an arboretum full of educational, enjoyable, immersive experiences.

With more than 300 different kinds of trees in our Parks, no two Pop-Ups are the same!

Here are ways to enjoy the Park Pop-Up Arboreta this summer:

  • Visit one of four featured parks each month May – September.
  • Download or borrow a park copy of theTree Scavenger Hunt(available in three levels).
  • Print out oremail us for your Tree Journal to record your park observations.
  • Find all of the highlighted park trees with green signs.
  • Submit a photo of your Park Pop-Up Arboreta activities!

Are you missing summer adventures? Check out the online photo album from last year's arboreta adventures!


Arboretum Activities

Activities for all ages added some extra fun for park visitors.
Activities for all ages added some extra fun for park visitors.

Download a tree journal and scavenger hunts for a variety of ages and audiences. 

Tree Journal
Seek out six common trees in Portland to learn about. Great for students in pre-school through elementary.

Tree Scavenger Hunt
Complete short challenges, activities, and trivia to get you interacting with our urban trees. Three levels are available:

Early Leafers

Apprentice Arborists 

Dedicated Dendrologists 


Volunteer Opportunities

A member of the Laurelhurst Tree Team showing off a Katsura tree.
A member of the Laurelhurst Tree Team showing off a Katsura tree.

Adopt-a-Pop-up
Do you love visiting your local park? Our arboreta installations need a neighbor nearby to keep an eye on them. Volunteers would visit the park weekly, check installed signs and report to program manager any maintenance needs, as well as provide community outreach assistance for their adopted arboretum.

Interested volunteers will work with the program coordinator to match them with a park.

Time commitment: 4-8 weeks, up to 2-4 hours weekly

Arboreta Activity Creator
Are you a creative thinker who has been looking for a way to stay engaged with your tree community? Writing a story narrative as you visit a park could be more your style, or designing a coloring book of the trees you see - however you engage with your urban forest, share it with your neighbors!

Time commitment: Flexible, dependent on project.


Park Tree Map

Identify and learn about 25,000 mapped park trees! Take a self-guided tour using your phone, or sort and filter the data to find the biggest and best trees in Portland's parks.


About Portland Parks & Recreation UrbanForestry

Close-up image of the cone of a Douglas-fir tree.

The mission of PP&R’s Urban Forestry (UF) division is to manage and care for Portland's tree infrastructure in the City for current and future generations. Portland’s urban forest consists of 220,000 street trees, 1.2 million park trees, and innumerable private property trees. The Urban Forestry division is involved in managing or regulating these trees. UF created and implements the City of Portland's Urban Forest Management Plan, fosters community tree awareness and stewardship, develops tree policies and programs, monitors and assesses Portland’s urban forest, and issues permits for planting, pruning, and removal of public and some private trees. During extreme weather at all times of the year, UF crews respond to tree emergencies to keep you safe and the City moving.


For more information on Urban Forestry - www.portland.gov/trees