NDSU Launched Interactive Campus Arboretum Program
North Dakota State University installed QR codes on 50 trees to offer educational content and quizzes.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Botany
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North Dakota State University has launched an interactive arboretum program on its Fargo campus that features 50 trees tagged with scannable QR codes. The project provides students, faculty, and staff with instant access to species information and educational quizzes.
Why it matters
The initiative aims to increase awareness of tree diversity across the campus grounds. By integrating digital accessibility into the landscape, the university seeks to promote active learning regarding local botany.
The arboretum project involved 15 years of development to implement its current digital framework. Among the marked specimens is a mature gingko tree, a species known as a living fossil with an evolutionary history spanning 270 million years.
The players
North Dakota State University
This public research university serves as the primary educational institution in Fargo and hosts the new arboretum.
The details
Visitors scan QR codes attached to designated trees to access a website containing detailed feature descriptions and tree identification guides. The platform also hosts an interactive knowledge quiz designed to engage the campus community with the surrounding flora.
Timeline
September 30, 2026: The university formally announced the arboretum program.
The Big Picture
The program extends the educational utility of the North Dakota State University campus arboretum by integrating digital tracking tools. This approach shifts traditional passive botanical study into an interactive digital learning experience.
Students and visitors can now perform on-campus field studies using only their mobile devices to access detailed tree data. The interactive nature of the program offers a new resource for those interested in local horticulture and natural science.
The takeaway
Using technology to index urban forests can transform campus spaces into living, digital classrooms. Readers can enhance their own outdoor walks by identifying native and specimen trees using similar community-led environmental databases.
Further reading
Learn more about local vegetation through the Botany department coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by KVRR Local News.
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