Flora, Fauna, & Funga
Mount Hope Cemetery is an oasis for wildlife just minutes from downtown Rochester.
Mount Hope Cemetery's landscape includes a wealth of plants, wildflowers, trees, and mushrooms, as well as cultivated gardens.
TREE MANAGEMENT PROJECT
The Friends of Mount Hope Cemetery recognize the Cemetery as a priceless asset and landmark within the City of Rochester. Comprising 196 acres, the cemetery is a highly-valued public landscape featuring an iconic tree population. The Mount Hope Cemetery Arboretum is a cultural asset as well as a quantifiable infrastructure valued at over $14 million.
In 2016, the Friends of Mount Hope in cooperation with the City of Rochester’s Department of Environmental Services received a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Urban and Community Forestry Program to develop a “Tree and Woodland Management Plan” prepared by Davey Resource Group.
This study is used as a guide for many of our restoration activities involving trees. Examples are the treatment of iconic trees planted in 1848 as a gift from the Ellwanger Barry Nursery in honor of the tenth anniversary of the Cemetery. Another is volunteer days to remove invasive species such as Olive (Elaeagnus) and Honeysuckle (Lonicera). Every year the FOMH plant and maintain new trees, many of which are new species not currently at Mount Hope.
A free pocket guide including a map of Mount Hope Cemetery is available at the cemetery office (1133 Mount Hope Avenue) and gatehouse (791 Mount Hope Avenue). The gatehouse, headquarters of the Friends, is open to the public when tours are scheduled.
Flora & Fauna