Luzerne County Community College holds ribbon cutting for Yeager Arboretum

Luzerne County Community College students and the surrounding communities will now have access to a living, outdoor classroom.

LCCC officials on Saturday held a ribbon cutting for the new Yeager Arboretum, which is housed throughout the main campus. The arboretum consists of trees identified by name with accompanying QR codes people can scan to learn more.

The arboretum is named after donors Elizabeth (Libby) Yeager and the late W. Brooke Yeager III, who are longtime educators at LCCC. Brooke Yeager, who passed away in May, was a professor emeritus who retired from LCCC after teaching biology for many years. Libby Yeager is LCCC's Dean of Curriculum.*

"We are grateful for the generosity of Libby and Brooke for helping Luzerne County Community College continue its mission of educating the community," said LCCC President Thomas P. Leary. "This arboretum provides new learning opportunities because it creates a living classroom for our students and visitors. This will help people learn more about native Pennsylvania trees and how they are part of the ecosystem."

Robert Bertoni, LCCC Board of Trustees vice chairman, said the arboretum wouldn't have been possible without the generosity of the Yeagers.

"This arboretum stands as a tribute to Brooke's memory and a testament to Libby's ongoing commitment to our College," Bertoni said. "Thank you, Libby and Brooke, for your unwavering dedication. And to all who join us today, thank you for supporting this magnificent addition to our community. Let us move forward with the same spirit of inquiry and respect for nature that the late Brooke Yeager so wonderfully embodied."

During the dedication ceremony, Libby Yeager spoke of how she and Brooke wanted to make a lasting impact by having the arboretum created on campus so that students and the community could learn more about native flora.

"Brooke would remind us that the original campus landscapers did us a favor, as they selected and planted mostly native plants," said Libby Yeager. "This selection of plants makes the college campus a great place to learn about Pennsylvania trees. One of Brooke's dreams was for the campus to continue to be an educational resource for future generations on the plants of Pennsylvania. As a teacher, he knew all the plants and he knew how to introduce them to his students. The design of the Arboretum was meant to make learning about plants a self-guided experience."

The new arboretum includes 42 identified trees. The LCCC Foundation also purchased a tree and installed a plaque in memory of Brooke Yeager. The College will place additional identification labels at other locations on campus in the future as additional phases continue.