The Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

The Arboretum for Educators

Resources for Teachers, Students, and Families
 
February 2026
During the 2025–2026 school year the Arboretum for Educators will feature one native tree species per month, highlighting recognizable features and sharing interesting facts. This will be followed by Outdoor Journaling suggestions and related Science Labs. Embark on a yearlong tree investigation and outdoor journaling program: can you “collect” all 10 trees by June? Be sure to read the previous newsletters.

The Long-Lived Eastern Hemlock

Eastern white pine
The eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) is the tallest conifer in New England. These trees during pre-colonial times were part of massive old-growth forests often towering over 200 feet tall! By comparison, today’s white pines grow to 160–180 feet, though they are still the tallest trees around. This height and perfectly straight trunks often clear of branches for 80 feet or more were the reason England decreed them to be the property of the Royal Navy, to be used as ship masts in the late 1600’s. If you can get your hands on the picture book Giants in the Land by Diana Appelbaum you will be rewarded with exquisite black and white illustrations and dramatic explanations of how these massive trees were felled and moved to the coast.

Today, you will find the eastern white pine throughout New England in mixed forests and colonizing old fields, as they are a pioneer species. Their seeds are wind carried and will quickly establish new dense stands of pine trees that grow rapidly, sometimes 2–3 feet per year. You can recognize a white pine by its bluish-green soft needles that grow in bundles of five from a single point on the stem known as a fascicle. The pine cones are slender and cylindrical, 4–8 inches long and with a slight curve. Often the cones are covered in “white tips” which is from the tree resin which protects the cones during maturation.
Eastern white pine needles
Eastern white pine cones
Eastern white pine bark
Outdoor Journal Activities
  1. When you find an eastern white pine, step back and take a deep breath. Can you smell the pine scent? Locate some green needles on the ground and crush them between your fingers – smell the needles. What does the aroma remind you of?
  2. Separate the needles in a bundle and count them. Only the white pines have 5 needles in a bundle; other pines have needles in groups of 2 (red pine) or 3 (pitch pine). Measure the length of each needle. Feel their texture. What do you think happened if you only count 4 needles in a bundle?
  3. Try to locate a young eastern white pine. You can estimate its age by counting the whorls of branches that grow along the trunk. Starting at the base, run your hand along the trunk until you reach a set of branches (1) then continue running your hand along the trunk stopping at each set of branches (2,3,4, etc.) When you get to the tip, add 1–2 more to your number and you’ll have the approximate age of that pine tree.
  4. Collect some pine cones to examine. Take some scales apart to see if there are still seeds left in the cone. Try and sketch exactly how the scales overlap to understand the “puzzle” like structure and how it keeps the seeds inside safe and dry.
Science Labs
  1. Pine cone seeds are winged and dispersed by wind. The ideal time for release is during dry sunny days in late fall and winter so the seeds can get as far away as possible. What do your students think happens to pine cones when it rains? Use this presentation to go over cones in general and then experiment with cones in dry and wet environments.
  2. Hygroscopy is the ability of plants to respond the moisture. The mechanisms that allow cone scales to open and close have inspired engineers to design new window shades, active wear textiles and even re-imagine green buildings. Challenge your students to dream up new applications of the hygroscopic pine cone!

Arboretum Happenings

Nature as Art collage

Nature as Art

Family Drop-In Activities
February 17, 18, 19, 20
10am–12pm
Hunnewell Bldg.
FREE

Drop by each day during the school vacation break to create art from natural materials. Each daily new activity takes about 40 minutes to complete. Best for children ages 7–12.
More Info
Let's Botanize book cover

Let’s Botanize

Book talk and walk
February 28
12–2pm
Hunnewell Bldg.
FREE

Let’s Botanize: 101 Ways to Connect with Plants is full of prompts and beautiful macrophotography that encourage readers to get outside and observe plants in close detail. Meet the authors and get your autographed copy, then get outside to begin observing!
Register
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