New Book Documented University of Pennsylvania Trees
A new publication chronicles the development of the university's urban arboretum landscape.
Updated on Sept. 25, 2026 in Botany
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Frederick Steiner and Ignacio Bunster-Ossa have published Penn's Sylvania, a book detailing the historical evolution of foliage across the University of Pennsylvania campus. The work documents the institution's ongoing management of its arboretum, which gained official accreditation in 2017.
Why it matters
The project illustrates the complex challenges of maintaining a curated arboretum within a dense urban environment. It highlights how academic campuses serve as long-term testing grounds for urban landscape management and biodiversity.
The collection features nearly 50 images of campus trees, cataloging species and plantings across the university grounds. This includes specific sites like the Woodland Walk diagonal in Hill Square, where tuliptrees were planted to mark 125 years of women at the institution.
The players
Frederick Steiner
A scholar who began his association with the university as a graduate student in 1975.
Ignacio Bunster-Ossa
An alumnus of the School of Design who led the post-pandemic photographic documentation of campus trees.
Chloe Cerwinka
The landscape planner who has managed the university's grounds since 2012.
University of Pennsylvania
An academic institution that has operated as an accredited arboretum since 2017.
The details
The book examines the campus through the lens of landscape planning, tracking changes in vegetation that began in earnest following the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors Steiner and Bunster-Ossa utilized photographic collection and editing to contrast past campus states with current arboretum conditions. The documentation serves as a physical archive of the university's managed green spaces, providing a visual record of how urban landscape design evolves over decades of institutional growth.
Timeline
1975: Frederick Steiner began his graduate studies at the university.
1979: Ignacio Bunster-Ossa earned a master's degree from the School of Design.
2012: Chloe Cerwinka began her tenure as a landscape planner at the university.
2017: The University of Pennsylvania received official arboretum accreditation.
Post-COVID-19 pandemic: Ignacio Bunster-Ossa initiated the documentation of campus vegetation.
The Tech Race
This documentation project follows the standard of botanical record-keeping set by the university's official arboretum research programs. It situates the campus landscape within the broader context of urban arboriculture and long-term ecological management.
The publication provides local residents and students with a historical guide to the specific tree species located around the Woodland Walk and Hill Square. It serves as a resource for those interested in the university's landscape history and its status as an accredited urban arboretum.
The takeaway
The book documents the transformation of a dense urban campus into a recognized arboretum. Readers can monitor future landscape changes by tracking the university's annual reports on arboretum health and planting initiatives.
Further reading
Explore more regarding the scientific study of plants and their historical management in our Botany section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Former Penn President Liz Magill earned $4.46 million the year following her resignation - The Daily Pennsylvanian.
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