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GREEN HAVEN IN DRY ZONE
The public can now discover the wonders of Dambulla’s unique arboretum founded and nurtured by British planter Sam Popham from the 1960s
This has been a strictly one man effort motivated only by a love of trees
-Raymond Fosberg, Botanist Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution

An arboretum is a place where trees are grown for study and display as a tree garden. The IFS-Popham Arboretum, Sri Lanka’s only dry zone arboretum was established over four decades ago on 7.5 acres of thorny scrub jungle in Dambulla which is in the geographical centre of our island, where history and culture merge amidst a natural landscape of water and mountains.

F.H. (Sam) Popham, a British naval officer turned tea planter and Smithsonian researcher started “planting” the arboretum in 1963 by clearing the scrub jungle and replacing it with trees native to the area. He soon realized that the seedlings released spontaneously by clearing the undergrowth grew successfully in comparison to those bought from outside nurseries.

In 1989, a further 27 acres were acquired and added onto the arboretum. And so today we have an arboretum that is a reminder of what the jungles of Dambulla once looked like. It is a haven, as Sam Popham said so poetically “…of more than 70 species of evergreen and deciduous trees. Here is their refuge…they are the descendents of the original dry jungle that grew all over our area of the massive granite rock temple of Dambulla. Now once more they have an abode of their own”. (Dambulla: A Sanctuary of Tropical Trees)
The arboretum is unique not only since it is the only one of its kind in the dry zone but also because of the method used in its creation and development, which has come to be known as the Popham Method. This is best described in the words of the man himself who wrote, “I have egged Nature on to call the tune; I have left the trees to get on with the task. They cope very successfully on their own, and my help is needed for the most part only in their formative years.

“They grow where their seeds fell…During early growth they are encouraged, by stem-pruning and crown lifting…thus they are the recipients of dendrological kindness and thoughtfulness which form the art of silviculture. Last comes thinning-out, a heart breaking task for one who brought them into being and nursed them through life to this moment when they must cease to participate”. Walking along the trails of the arboretum today one sees some of the finest trees of Sri Lanka’s dry zone forests including the world’s only true Ebony, Diospyros ebenum, the arboretum’s icon tree Satinwood or Buruta (Chloroxylon swietenia), Palu (Manilkara hexandra), Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) and Helamba (Mitragyna parvifolia).

The arboretum is also home to a wide range of animals, birds and reptiles. A small herd of spotted deer and mouse deer has made its home here. A large number of birds such as the endemic Jungle Fowl, the Bronze- winged Pigeon and the Grey Hornbill can be seen here.

Popham’s arboretum has received praise from around the world. Said Grenville Lucas, of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, “The sheer diversity of Dambulla Arboretum, makes it a valuable reserve for the country and the world at large. The foresight of Sam Popham should be an inspiration to others to ensure the natural wealth of this beautiful country is maintained in perpetuity”.

Sam Popham lived at the arboretum until 2001 in a cottage designed by Geoffrey Bawa. He gifted the arboretum to the nation, left it in trust with the Institute of Fundamental Studies (IFS) and then returned to his motherland in retirement. Professor Cyril Ponnamperuma, Director of IFS at that time fittingly wrote, “Your gift will be part of our heritage”.

The arboretum is now being managed for the IFS by Ruk Rakaganno, the Tree Society of Sri Lanka. The International Deontological Society has sponsored the labelling of trees.

The arboretum is now open to the public every day except on Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It is easily accessible along the road to the Kandalama Hotel. Guides have been trained to take visitors along the trails to discover and experience the ambience of an indigenous dry zone arboretum.
For information contact: 2554438 or rukraks@sltnet.lk

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