Great Outdoors

For all that is scenic about the University of Georgia – from its historic buildings on North Campus, its museums and concert halls on East Campus and its facilities for athletic prowess on South Campus – the green spaces in between are a wonder unto themselves. The campus flora is celebrated enough to be designated an arboretum, as stately, noble trees provide human scale, a sense of place, cooling shade, and tranquility to students, faculty, staff and visitors.

 

Botanical Gardens

The roses are red, the liriopes are blue.

Three miles south of campus is the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, an educational facility operated under the auspices of UGA. A “living laboratory” for students and faculty who utilize the collections for studies, the garden is also a public garden for those who find beauty, knowledge and solitude in a garden setting.

Founded in 1968, the Garden encompasses more than 300 acres, much of which borders the Middle Oconee River. It contains a number of theme gardens (including ones for roses, native flora and spices), special collections (rhododendrons, azaleas and conifers), and a tropical conservatory which together feature a broad array of both native and exotic plant species.

More than five miles of nature trails (picture above) traverse the natural areas where small populations of wildlife, particularly birds, can be observed. The Garden also features a cafe, garden shop, and a Day Chapel, which is one of Athens’ premier wedding facilities.

 

Herty Field

A peaceful spot marking the start of gridiron greatness.

Behind the Chapel on North Campus sits Herty Field, the spot of the first intercollegiate football game played in Georgia. On Jan. 30, 1892, Georgia topped Mercer 50-0 in front of a few hundred sideline spectators and students watching from their dorm windows in nearby New College. Georgia played its home games on the field until 1911, when a new field was constructed off Lumpkin Street. The grounds were then used for informal intramural games and as a drill field for the R.O.T.C. trainees.

The field was named in honor of Dr. Charles H. Herty, professor of chemistry and sports enthusiast. He introduced football to the college boys and was unofficial coach and trainer of the early teams.

 

Oconee Forest Park and Intramural Fields

All things athletic, surrounded by century-old giants.

Managed by the Warnell School of Forest Resources, East Campus’ Oconee Forest Park is the school’s gift to the university community. The park includes Lake Herrick, foot and bike trails, picnic tables, and open, grassy areas bordered by native plants and wildflowers.

Towering 100-year-old trees are remnants of a once extensive old-growth forest that stretched across the bypass toward the UGA Golf Course.

The park provides a convenient living laboratory for faculty who teach botany, ecology, dendrology and horticulture. But there’s just as much to do as to see. Picnic areas include tables and two permanent charcoal grills, while canoes and pedal boats can be rented at Lake Herrick.

The park includes an extensive hiking area with a large off leash dog park, for those with four-legged friends; a 2.57 mile fitness trail with pull-up bars and fitness facts; a ropes challenge course for those who like their action above the tree line; 15 tennis courts; a dozen playing fields, for sports including lacrosse, softball and soccer; and a batting cage.

 

Founder’s Garden

The first garden club organized in America is remembered in nature.

Created as a living memorial to the 12 founders of the Ladies’ Garden Club of Athens, the first garden club in America (organized in 1891), the Founders Memorial Garden not only serves as a museum of landscape design, but also a natural laboratory for botany, forestry, and related disciplines. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The layout of the two and one-half acre plot on North Campus includes grounds of the former Headquarters House, a formal boxwood garden, two courtyards, a terrace, a perennial garden, and an arboretum. After the establishment of the garden in 1946, the old smokehouse was acquired for a living museum to the 12 women. It was restored and furnished in keeping with the period of the house.

Historical mementos, pictures, and a painting depicting the first meeting of a garden club are among the museum’s most treasured items. In 1991 to celebrate their Centenary, the Ladies’ Garden Club of Athens placed a time capsule under a circular design of pavers in the front courtyard, which will be unearthed in 2091.

 

Old Athens Cemetery

A quaint, quiet spot amid the bustle of campus.

Across the street from the Main Library, nestled near Lamar Dodd, sits the Old Athens Cemetery, Athens’ original burial ground. Purchased for UGA in 1801, all townspeople were allowed to bury their dead there free of charge. Some markers are uninscribed local field stones, while others are of imported marble. Two Revolutionary soldiers are buried there, as well as Dr. Moses Waddell, university president from 1819-1829.

The last known burials occurred in the 1880s, and today the cemetery, with its beautiful park-like setting, serves as a place of quiet reflection and remembrance of Athens long ago.

 

Arboretum Walking Tour

A stroll among giants.

With an abundance of stately, noble trees, the university has been designated as an arboretum spreading throughout the entire campus. The towering tress generate a sense of place, cooling shade, and tranquility for students, faculty, staff and visitors. To walk this hallowed campus is to sense the pride in its heritage and hope for the future.

A “Tree Walk” was created by the University of Georgia Campus Arboretum initiative, and brochures marking the trees on North, Central and South campus can be found in the University Visitor’s Center.