Friends of Mellon Park

Mellon Park Has Been Named
the City of Pittsburgh’s First Public Arboretum

Mellon Park has been named the City of Pittsburgh’s first public arboretum, in large part because the importance to the community of the beautiful trees in the park cannot be overstated: they are part of an exquisitely designed landscape and are vital to our urban ecosystem. They provide pleasure to our community all year round – and will soon provide education as well. The attention and protections the trees are now receiving are a testament to the hard work of many people. Friends of Mellon Park is very grateful to everyone in the City of Pittsburgh who made this possible, especially Councilwoman Erika Strassburger and City of Pittsburgh Forester Lisa Ceoffe.

City of Pittsburgh Proclamation

WHEREAS, the Friends of Mellon Park partnered with both Tree Pittsburgh and Preservation Pittsburgh to designate Mellon Park as an official Arboretum, a protected green space for the continued study, preservation, enjoyment, and health of our environment; and,

WHEREAS, Mellon Park’s designation as an Arboretum is a victory for wildlife and plant life in our region and for the current citizens of Pittsburgh and future generations.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Pittsburgh City Council does hereby recognize and celebrate the fantastic work of the Friends of Mellon Park and Mellon Park’s designation as the first City park arboretum protecting the beauty and ecosystem of Mellon Park.

[Full Proclamation - PDF]

Arboretum Map

There are 35 trees located on both sides of the park that have been selected to be a part of the arboretum. All of those trees have signs indicating their species and providing interesting facts. We encourage everyone to go out, find the trees, and learn about them. These trees represent just a fraction of the over 100 different species of trees in Mellon Park.

If you can’t get out to the park, you can learn about some of the trees there in this Tree Pittsburgh virtual video tour, or learn more about the Remarkable Trees of Pittsburgh from the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.