The arboretum at Penn State Harrisburg spans the 218-acre campus originally founded in 1966. A former pickle farm and Air Force base located within historic Middletown; it sits in Central Pennsylvania nine (9) miles south of the city of Harrisburg in direct proximity to the Susquehanna River[SV1] [CS2] .

As part of the Penn State Commonwealth Arboreta Network (CAN), PSU Harrisburg supports the identification and cataloging of campus tree species while providing new research paths as well as teaching and experiential learning opportunities in courses like BIO 424: The Use of Plants and BIOL 220: Populations and Communities.

The campus currently has over 800 trees accessioned as part of the arboretum. Of the 60+ species represented, Oaks (Quercus spp.) and maples (Acer spp.) dominate the collection, constituting over 25% of species present on site. Efforts are currently underway to add medicinal and ethnobotanical tree species into the collection, with a focus on Pennsylvania native species.