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  • Plan Your Visit
    • Arboretum Trail Map
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  • Discover
    • Discovery Room
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    • Nature Playscape
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News & Blog

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May 15, 2023

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Houston Monarch Story arrives at the Arboretum

Houston Arboretum & Nature Center is excited to announce the opening of the Houston Monarch Story, an interactive art installation celebrating Monarch butterflies and their vital habitat.

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A Beginner’s Guide to Composting

If you’d like to do your part for the planet and begin composting, here are some simple steps to get you started. 

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Board Spotlight: Dr. Cullen Geiselman Muse

As her Board service draws to a close, it is with deep gratitude that we acknowledge the unparalleled leadership of Dr. Cullen Geiselman Muse.

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Inside a Prescribed Fire

Prescribed fire is vital for ecosystem health and community safety. Find out what is it like to be on the ground for one.

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The Great Owl Rescue

On a cool February morning, a visitor spotted three white puffballs. They were Great Horned Owl chicks, and they were in trouble!

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Experiencing Fall Migration

Happy Fall Migration! It may have just started to feel like autumn, but for birds, the subtle change in daylight hours at the end of August was enough to trigger their urge to travel.

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The Dog Days of Summer

We’re entering the Dog Days of Summer in a much more literal way this year – with multiple coyote and fox sightings!

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Birding as Citizen Science

The Global Big Day is a challenge to bird watchers everywhere: see as many bird species as possible in 24 hours. Will you join the challenge?

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Earth Month Wrap-up

Thank you all for joining us during Earth Month! Just because April is almost over doesn’t mean that you have to stop helping the Earth. There are tons of great environmentally-friendly things for you to do all year.

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Earth Week

Get ready to go outside (even if it’s just in your backyard) and celebrate nature with us this week! In honor of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, we’re getting ready for two fabulous events – a virtual Earth Day celebration and the City Nature Challenge!

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What Nature Means to You

Nature isn’t just a place to find animals and plants. Nature is relaxing, refreshing, comforting, and inspiring. Do you capture nature’s beauty with a camera or sketchbook? Do you jot down poems or creative writing in a nature journal? Use your art to show us how us how important nature is to you!

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The Art of Recycling

Reducing, reusing, and recycling are some of the most important things we can do to help the earth, but they can also be really fun!

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Get Social With Us!

#HoustonArboretum

This week we’ve had a visit from the submarine o This week we’ve had a visit from the submarine of the bird world: a Neotropic Cormorant! Unlike most waterfowl, cormorants do not have waterproof feathers. They get sopping wet as they swim, making them heavy enough to sink into the depths where they can chase fish and other aquatic prey. However, they can’t fly with wet feathers, and so you may spot one perched in the sun with its wings spread out to dry after a fishing session. Look for them in the Woodway ponds. #BeakOfTheWeek #WildlifeWednesday 

📸 Rosemary Brooks
🚨 New Trail Hours 🚨 After years of being op 🚨 New Trail Hours 🚨

After years of being open from 7 am until the often confusing hour of "dusk", the Arboretum is instituting new trail hours to take the guesswork out of planning your visit.

March-October: 7 am - 7:30 pm
November-February: 7 am - 6 pm

The Nature Center building will remain open from 9 am - 4 pm, daily. We look forward to seeing you on the trails!

📸 Charles Mayer Photography
Sleek and silvery, Mississippi Kites are some of o Sleek and silvery, Mississippi Kites are some of our most elegant birds. These raptors have recently arrived from their winter home in Argentina and are ready to gobble up our summer cicadas, dragonflies, and grasshoppers. They nest in the Houston area and we often see them swooping and “kiting” (hovering in one spot by facing into a strong wind) over the Savanna and Display Walk to find food for their hungry chicks. #BeakOfTheWeek #WildlifeWednesday
You’re invited to a magical afternoon at this Sa You’re invited to a magical afternoon at this Saturday's Butterfly Tea Party! Join us at the Houston Arboretum on Saturday, June 7 for a whimsical tea party celebrating native plants and pollinators. 

🥒 Enjoy finger sandwiches and other light bites
🫖 Craft your own custom tea blend using wild and garden botanicals
🌱 Take home a packet of wildflower seeds for your local butterflies
🦋 Create a your very own butterfly memento

Let’s sip, snack, and celebrate the beauty of butterflies together!

Advance registration is required. Register online at the link in our bio.
Mee-erp! That’s the sound of a Common Nighthawk Mee-erp! That’s the sound of a Common Nighthawk calling over the Meadow at dusk. These birds may look like hawks or owls, but they are actually most closely related to hummingbirds. They use their enormous eyes to spot flying insects and scoop them up with their huge mouths. We’ll look for nighthawks and other interesting Arboretum creatures at our first Summer Camp All Grown Up: Lost in the Woods on Thursday, June 19. #BeakOfTheWeek #WildlifeWednesday

📸 Tom Koerner/USFWS

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