Shortridge Memorial Park Arboretum

The Shortridge Memorial Park Arboretum was established in 2025.  It has an entirely volunteer staff of directors and welcomes arboretum volunteers to sign up as “Friends of Shortridge Park” through the Shortridge Civic Association.  All arboretum plans, designs, and works are coordinated with the Lower Merion Township Arborist and Park Commissioner. 

The Shortridge Memorial Park Arboretum, contained within the 12.3-acre public Shortridge Memorial Park, has 44 labeled tree species, 26 of which are native to North America.  The park’s landscape is unusually varied, providing micro-ecosystems for a large collection of trees and woody shrub species.  The park is long, narrow, and gently sloped with a rocky bottomed stream running through it and a wide gradual riparian boundary.  The upper third of the park is characterized by a steep dry ridge with a wet transition zone between the mowed grass and forested hillside.  Part of this hill is prized by local snow sledders. Aside from a few benches and several stone and steel pedestrian bridges, there are no permanent structures.

The trees of the arboretum range from saplings swamp oaks to nearly 200-year specimen red oaks.  The central portion of the stream bank contains 16   70+ year old mature dawn redwoods, the hillside supports 25 mature eastern white pines planted shortly after the parks founding in 1941.   Several mature sugar maples along the upper foot path recall the park land’s history as a farm.   Of note, there are several large ginkgo bilobas, amur cork trees, black locusts, black tupelos, American sycamores, American elms, Eastern hemlocks, silver maples, and Kentucky coffee trees.