At this dedicated greenspace on the UMBC campus, thirty oak trees grow in proximity to granite stones. As the stones sink and the oaks grow into an overhead canopy, the space changes. The growth beneath the grove consists of self-sustaining groundcovers, creating a designed but minimally maintained park. The Rock Garden features two benches, with a shelf underneath the seat housing a journal. Visitors are invited to read and write in these public reflection journals.
In a 2025 survey, UMBC and its community described this garden as a source of wellness, retreat, learning, and communal experience. Here, people participate in classes, art activities, mindfulness programs, and take time for contemplation. Through the responses to this survey, we learned that many of the park visitors referred to this space as "the Rock Garden."
The Rock Garden is associated with other regional installations of rocks and trees in Baltimore City produced under the Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership with Nature Sacred. These can be found in Carroll Park, Patterson Park, and the Wyman Park Dell. The Rock Garden is also interconnected with other UMBC green spaces. Just upslope from the garden, the Knoll is a small rewilded forest area creating a natural buffer from campus buildings. Beginning at the adjacent parking garage, the Herbert Run Greenway provides a nature trail used by both animals and people crossing the southeast part of campus and into CERA, another rewilded forest area.
This site was created as part of the Joseph Beuys Tree Partnership, supported by the NatureSacred foundation.
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