April 26, 2002 - The C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University in Brookville, N.Y. has long been recognized as one of the most beautiful college campuses in the nation. Now it is also one of the most beautiful arboretas.

After three years of cataloging and identifying hundreds of trees, a 20-acre portion of the C.W. Post Campus has been designated as a public arboretum. The C.W. Post Community Arboretum features more than 100 trees (62 species) labeled with interesting horticultural facts and origin information. The collection includes some of the largest and most unusual trees in the region: a 105-foot tulip tree, a Japanese pagoda dogwood, and an 89-year-old American Elm. The arboretum will open to the public on Arbor Day, Friday, April 26, 2002.

The trees are located along a self-guided walking trail that encircles the campus' main academic buildings. One of the landmarks along the trail is the breathtaking Tudor mansion that was once the home of cereal heiress and socialite Marjorie Merriweather Post.

"C.W. Post is home to some of the most amazing trees and flora on Long Island," said Case Joosse, horticulture and grounds manager at C.W. Post. "The wide variety of trees and plants on campus provides us with a wonderful educational and recreational opportunity that should be shared with the local community and anyone with horticultural interests."

Vincent Simeone, a professional horticulturist and a student in the masters of public administration program at C.W. Post, aided Mr. Joosse in cataloging the trees and developing the labels. "Establishing this arboretum has been an incredible experience," said Simeone. "There are so many beautiful and unusual plants and trees at C.W. Post that have, until now, stood in the background of campus life. We are bringing them to the forefront for the students, faculty, staff and the local community."

In 1999, C.W. Post alumni Rick Rosen (class of 1970) and Tina Lippert Rosen (Class of 1971) of Boca Raton, Florida, launched the C.W. Post Aboretum Initiative with a generous donation to professionally catalog and help maintain the campus's collection of trees.

The arboretum is open to the public seven days a week from dawn to dusk. The self-guided walking trail starts and ends at Hillwood Commons. There is ample parking on campus and Hillwood Commons has a food court, public phones and restrooms. An arboretum map and guide may be picked up at the Hillwood Commons Information Desk or mailed. For a copy of the map, contact the C.W. Post Office of Community Relations at 516-299-3500/2333 or email neighbor@liu.edu The map offers two options: a 30-minute walk that can be navigated with wheelchairs and strollers, and a 45-minute walk that includes stairs and modest inclines. Highlights include a babbling brook, a labyrinth, a formal rose garden, arbors, the Great Lawn and a miniature house that was specifically built as a playhouse for Mrs. Post's daughter Dina Merrill. The arboretum's web site is www.liu.edu/arboretum

Admission is free but donations to help maintain the arboretum are accepted. For information about contributions contact the C.W. Post Office of Development & Alumni Relations at 516-299-2263 or email lisa.mulvey@liu.edu