Arboretum’s exhibit takes families out on a limb

by Joel Hoffmann

The catwalk is the centerpiece of the Morris Arboretum’s new Tree Adventure exhibit, which opens July 4. (Photo by Jainne Perez)

“People need trees,” Bob Gutowski was telling me as we surveyed the vast, verdant canopy above the Wissahickon Vista.

“Why do they need trees?” I asked, inviting the treetop philosopher to think aloud.

“Do you breathe?” he asked.

I took a quick breath, then I smirked at Gutowski and answered, “Yeah … yeah.”

“Well, guess what?” he said, chuckling between thoughts, “you breathe what the trees produce.”

In his 24 years at Morris Arboretum, a public garden operated by the University of Pennsylvania, Gutowski has noticed again and again how much people take trees for granted. With the Arboretum’s Tree Adventure exhibit, opening July 4, Gutowski hopes to stir up childhood nostalgia for parents and a sense of wonder for their children.

“Most people smile, remember fondly climbing trees,” he said. “And they enjoy an apple pie, and they enjoy clean water from the tap [but] don’t think about the role of trees in each of these things.

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