Upcoming Events

This page will be updated as events are added. Come back often to see what new programs we have coming up! 

Events will meet in the garden near the garden pond unless otherwise noted.

Beal Footprints Walking Tour Series

4th Wednesday of each month, April - October, 2025
12:10 - 1:00 p.m.
Register Here

Join Beal Botanical Garden and Campus Arboretum for lunchtime guided tours on the the fourth Wednesday of each month, April through October, exploring conservation, ecology, and sustainability. These will be walking tours around campus and will always begin at the Beal Pond.

Schedule:

  • April 23 - Spring Ephemerals; Carolyn Miller, Arboretum & Invasive Species Coordinator
  • May 28 - Plant identification for everyone; Alan Prather, Director
  • June 25 - Plants in the eyes of pollinators; Jennifer Apland, MSU Herbarium Collections Coordinator
  • July 23 - Botany by Bethany; Bethany Troy, Botanical Lead & Head Horticulturist
  • August 27 - A Feast for the Senses; Katie Fry, Collections Manager
  • September 24 - Arboreal Amble; Frank Telewski, Former Director
  • October 22 - Riverbank restoration and clean-up; Carolyn Miller, Arboretum & Invasive Species Coordinator
promotional graphic featuring a computer generated image of a person's silhouette walking along a path, text reads "take a walk with us, Beal Footprints, fourth Wednesdays 12:10 to 1pm"

Beal Botanical Garden Tour: Taking a 'Peak' of Fall

October 9, 2025
12:10 - 1:00 p.m.
Register Here

Join Botanical Steward and Horticulturist Mackenzie Hiatt for an autumnal garden tour engaging all five senses and embracing seasonal changes. Meet at the garden pond.

promotional graphic featuring a close up photo of striped tree bark

Deep Rooted Tour Series

Multiple Dates
1:00 - 2:00 p.m.
Location: Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum

Dates:
October 12, 2025 (Register Here)
November 16, 2025 (Register Here)
January 25, 2026 (Register Here)
February 22, 2026 (Register Here)

What can art tell us about the relationship between plants and humans? Join Maeve Bassett, Applied Ethnobotanist and Education Director of the Beal Botanical Garden, for an immersive tour unearthing the historical, social, and political narratives growing within works of art from the MSU Broad Art Museum’s collection. Registration for this free tour is encouraged.

Deep-Rooted is an ongoing tour collaboration between the Beal Botanical Garden and the Broad Art Museum, where art and plants intertwine in a conversation about the extraordinary ways our natural world has influenced art and human societies throughout history.

Photo credit: Chloe Kirchmeier, Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum

woman giving a tour inside a museum

Falling for Beal: Drop-in Activities

October 27-31, 2025
12:00 - 1:00 p.m.
Activities will be near the garden pond
Register Here

Celebrate the fall season with us! We'll be hosting some fun crafty activities during the week of Halloween at noon. There's a different activity each day, so be sure to come back! These activites are free and supplies are provided first come, first serve.

Dates:
October 27: Mojo Bags
October 28: DIY Tea Blend
October 29: Cornhusk Dolls
October 30: Cider Press/Tasting
October 31: Painting Pumpkins/Fall Wood Ornaments

fall drop-in activities 2025 simple

Twilight Tour: Toxins, Thorns, and Tricks

October 27, 2025
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Meet at the garden pond
Register Here

This Halloween week, join Education Director Maeve Bassett for 
plant-tastic twilight tours! This tour will cover the many tools and tricks plants use to defend themselves, and how people have used these tools both for good and evil throughout history!

Tours contain adult themes and are not recommended for children.

Weather cancellations will be made two hours prior to event start through social media and registration emails.

October 27 twilight tour

Twilight Tour: Fall Plant Lore

October 28, 2025
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Meet at the garden pond
Register Here

This Halloween week, join Education Director Maeve Bassett for 
plant-tastic twilight tours! This tour will look at the many stories humans have created throughout history to explain and understand darkening days and colder nights.

Tours contain adult themes and are not recommended for children.

Weather cancellations will be made two hours prior to event start through social media and registration emails.

October 28 twilight tour

Twilight Tour: Plants and Witchcraft

October 29, 2025
6:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Meet at the garden pond
Register Here

This Halloween week, join Education Director Maeve Bassett for 
plant-tastic twilight tours! This tour will cover plants associated with witchcraft and how perceptions of plants change throughout history.

Tours contain adult themes and are not recommended for children.

Weather cancellations will be made two hours prior to event start through social media and registration emails.

October 29 twilight tour

Baker Woodlot Invasive Species Workdays

Multiple Dates
11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Meet at Baker Woodlot
Register Here

Dates:
Saturday, November 8, 2025
Sunday, November 16, 2025
Sunday, November 23, 2025

Join Arboretum and Invasive Species Coordinator Carolyn Miller for a workday in Baker Woodlot. You'll help Carolyn beautify the crown jewel of our Campus Natural Areas by helping remove and treat invasive plants. All supplies provided. Please wear boots or closed toed shoes and clothes you don't mind getting dirty.

Any cancelations will be made by contacting the registered email. If you have any questions, please email Carolyn at miller94@msu.edu.

a group of people dressed in warm clothes sitting on a log in a forest