The word arboretum comes from the Latin meaning ‘tree-garden’ – arbor means tree and –etum is a suffix used to form the names of gardens and woods. In the truest sense of the word, an arboretum is a collection of trees. A collection of shrubs is called a fruticetum (from the Latin word frutex,

meaning shrub). The Euroa Arboretum should therefore be more correctly known as the Euroa Arboretum and Fruticetum—a bit of a mouthful. I think I prefer ‘The Arb’.

But this site is not just about the trees (and shrubs). The vegetation frames an environment that contains a wealth of living

Australian Pelican (Pelecannus conspicillatus)

organisms—like birds. The Arb’s woodlands attract a great variety of birds, and yet more bird species visit and live in the developing wetlands and adjoining lake. The photos show a few wetland birds photographed within a couple of hours on a sunny afternoon at The Arb.

So if you have the itch to twitch you can satisfy that urge at the Euroa Arboretum (and Fruticetum and Aviary and Insectarium). I made the last one up!