HPU Invites Community to Attend Annual Arbor Day Celebration
High Point University invites community members and the HPU family to campus for the university’s annual Arbor Day Celebration at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, at the Cottrell Amphitheater.
HIGH POINT, N.C., April 20, 2026 – High Point University invites community members and the HPU family to campus for the university’s annual Arbor Day Celebration at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, at the Cottrell Amphitheater.
The event is free and open to the public. To attend, community members must register at Arbor Day | High Point’s University | High Point University.
This year’s celebration will feature various speakers, including HPU First Lady Mariana Qubein, who has spearheaded the efforts to grow and sustain the campus gardens and arboretum. Each guest in attendance will receive a complimentary tree to take home after the event.
The Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Botanical Gardens feature more than 30 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.
During the event, representatives from the Arbor Day Foundation will present campus leaders with the Tree Campus Higher Education Award for a 17th consecutive year.
“The trees on our campus make HPU a distinctive place to live and learn,” said Emma Martone, curator of the Mariana H. Qubein Arboretum and Botanical Gardens. “Earning this recognition for the 17th consecutive year reflects both the value of trees on our campus and our ongoing commitment to caring for the environment around us. 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. Distributing trees on Arbor Day is just one of the ways we promote their importance within our community.”
HPU held a ceremony last September for the ground-breaking of the new Cottrell Japanese Garden that is being built on 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 feature a tiered waterfall and pond, a stone terrace and a Japanese-style tea house. Walking paths will weave through the garden and offer students a peaceful retreat and a way to enjoy the garden’s natural beauty and tranquility.