HPU Family Celebrates Annual Arbor Day with Community
HIGH POINT, N.C., April 24, 2026 – High Point University held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new Cottrell Japanese Garden during HPU’s annual Arbor Day Celebration on April 23 at the Cottrell Amphitheater.
HPU First Lady Mariana Qubein invited students, faculty, staff and community members to tour the tranquil garden and sample traditional Japanese matcha tea following the celebration. Each guest in attendance also received a complimentary Chinese fringetree or American persimmon tree to take home after the event.
The Cottrell Japanese Garden was recently added to campus thanks to a generous gift from David and Christy Cottrell. Designed by acclaimed landscape architect Sadafumi Uchiyama, the garden is located behind Cottrell Hall and features a tiered waterfall and pond, a stone terrace and a Japanese-style tea house. Walking paths weave through the garden and offer students a peaceful retreat and a way to enjoy the garden’s natural beauty.
“Plants with different shapes, sizes and colors display beautiful patterns that are so obvious when they surround us everywhere,” said Mrs. Qubein, who has spearheaded the efforts to grow and sustain the campus gardens and arboretum. “Pattern is important. Pattern causes harmony and tranquility, and what a perfect opportunity to highlight our Cottrell Japanese Garden.”
HPU President Nido Qubein unveiled plans for the new Japanese garden during last year’s Arbor Day Celebration. It is the latest addition to the Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Botanical Gardens, which feature 31 gardens with 3,700 different plants and more than 700 varieties of trees. The arboretum and gardens include 48 varieties of redbuds, 65 varieties of dogwoods, 40 varieties of flowering apricots and 135 varieties of magnolias.
This year’s Arbor Day Celebration featured various speakers.
“The gardens are such an important part of what makes HPU a distinctive environment,” said Emma Martone, curator of the Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. “I think the commitment and the care that we have is something that’s really special.”
Pamela Lindeback, assistant professor of interior design, and sophomore Stella Galindo Haas presented some of the decorative hand-painted patterns students designed through inspiration from the gardens on campus.
“Today we’re celebrating nature as a living classroom,” Lindeback said. “Thank you for this opportunity to elevate student voices and experiential learning through our Pattern Lab Project. Working with the conservatory, students gain so much new knowledge about nature. When we look at patterns in nature, it connects us to nature.”
During the event, representatives from the Arbor Day Foundation presented campus leaders with the Tree Campus Higher Education Award for a 17th consecutive year.
Martone said earning this recognition for the 17th consecutive year reflects both the value of trees on campus and our ongoing commitment to caring for the environment and the surrounding community.
“Our team in the gardens can see our role is to not only create beautiful spaces for our students, faculty and staff but for all of you, so that you can get access to all of the wonderful benefits that nature provides,” said Rachel Diaz, coordinator of the Mariana H. Qubein Botanical Gardens. For example, she said research studies show spending time in nature can lower heartrates, blood pressure and cortisone levels; reduce anxiety or depression and improve memory.
“Trees are essential to healthy ecosystems and support our mental and emotional wellbeing – a big reason we will continue to care for our existing canopy and expand it across campus,” Martone said. “Distributing trees on Arbor Day is just one of the ways we promote their importance within our community.”
HPU’s Arbor Day Celebration was presented by Davey Tree. Price Landscaping and Pennybyrn were also sponsors.