Peabody Tree Tour

About the tour
The Peabody tree tour is focused primarily on trees that are native to Middle Tennessee or naturalized, although a few other interesting non-native trees are included. It provides a shorter alternative to the Main Campus tour, which covers similar trees but is approximately twice as long. The Peabody tour meanders through Magnolia Lawn, promenades down the Esplanade, then winds its way along 21st Ave.S. back to Magnolia Lawn. It includes 37 trees.

How the tour works
The tour is designed to make use of portable devices. An iPad is optimal, although smart phones should also work well. Each tree has its own web page and is connected to the previous and next tree by buttons at the top of the page. In addition to the text description of the tree's location, there is a map at the bottom of the page showing where the tree is located relative to landmarks on the campus.

If your phone or iPad has GPS, you can use the "Find Me!" button on the page to locate the tree. When you click on the button, a drop pin will fall on the tree's location on a map. If you then click on the button to display your location on the map, you can see where you are relative to tree. You should be able to zoom in and make your "blue dot" meet the drop pin as you walk towards the tree. (Because the campus WiFi network covers many outdoor areas, you may be able to take parts of the tour without 3G. However, early version WiFi-only iPads do not have GPS capabilities. The Find Me! button will bring up a map with drop pin, but will not show your location.)

Each tree page also has a QR code that you can scan to load the tree's page into your phone. So you can view the tour on your desktop, then scan the QR code on the screen with your phone and use it to navigate straight to a particular tree. If a tree on the tour has a physical label, there will be a QR code sticker on the label as well. This is one way to know that you have located the right tree. It also allows anyone who discovers the QR code to load the tree's web page into their portable device. (If your portable device does not have a QR code reader, check the Apps Store where you can download one for free.)

Here's the QR code for the first tree on this tour:

Where to park
Parking on the Vanderbilt Campus can be challenging because there are few designated visitor spaces. The Visitor Parking page contains information about possible places to park, but for this tour it is recommended that you park in the Wesley Place parking garage because it is near the start of the tour and contains many pay-by-the-hour parking spaces that can be utilized by visitors. There is free parking on the north side of Scarritt Place opposite the garage, but it is for a limited time and is usually filled by mid-morning on weekdays. Do not park in reserved or zone parking without a permit. You will be ticketed and possibly towed.





Starting the tour
The tour starts at the northwest corner of 19th Ave. S. and Scarritt Place. As you exit the Wesley Place garage, turn right and walk to the end of the block, past the Disciples of Christ Historical Society (on your right). Cross over to the left side of the street to the first tree, a large tree standing by itself in an open lawn. To start the tour at the beginning, click on the "Begin" button above.

The Peabody tour ends at the pedestrian bridge that crosses over 21st Ave. S. At that point you can cross over Edgehill Avenue and travel north along 21st Ave.S. back to the parking garage. Alternatively, you can continue onto the bridge and start the Main Campus tree tour, which begins at that point.

You can also start the tour from any other location by clicking on one of the tree points on the tree tour map, then clicking on the link in the resulting bubble. Not all 37 trees are displayed at the initial zoom level, so use the + button on the map to see more detail.

A third option for starting the tour is by picking a tree from the list below. The tree's page has a map showing its location.

List of trees on the tour:
1: overcup oak (no ID)
2: American basswood 9-4
3: red mulberry 1-314
4: silver maple 1-7
5: sugar maple 1-591
6: holly 1-251
7: cucumber magnolia 1-845
8: flowering dogwood 1-635
9: tulip tree 1-126
10: American elm 1-198
11: green ash 1-200
12: white ash 1-734
13: white basswood 1-415
14: Kentucky coffeetree 1-520
15: black gum 1-583
16: sugarberry 1-64
17: American beech 1-1273
18: pin oak 1-506
19: white oak 1-38
20: chinkapin oak 1-963
21: swamp chestnut oak 1-420
22: black walnut (no ID)
23: shingle oak 1-418
24: yellow buckeye 1-81
25: northern red oak 1-508
26: American elm 1-49
27: swamp white oak 1-804
28: September elm 1-956
29: red hickory 1-714
30: northern hackberry 1-470
31: bur oak 1-476
32: sycamore 1-13
33: Osage orange 1-71
34: redbud 1-1274
35: yellowwood (no ID)
36: tulip tree (no ID)
37: ginkgo 1-329

Back to list of tours

Please sent your comments about the tour to Steve Baskauf.