The Threatened Species Arboretum was established at the UP Institute of Biology (UPIB) in partnership with the geothermal company, Energy Development Corporation. EDC’s BINHI Foundation is a national greening initiative that has established multiple nurseries and arboretums across the country in an effort to protect our threatened tree species.

Inaugurated in December 2014, the one-hectare UPIB-EDC BINHI Threatened Species Arboretum contains around 70 species and functions as a living laboratory – educating visitors about our rich biodiversity while also serving as a gene and seedling bank for threatened trees. The arboretum was designed to depict several of the Philippines’ distinct forest formations, with each section containing different species suited to that formation. Other features of the arboretum include the fernery and a memorial to Leonard Co.

In 2020, the Threatened Species Arboretum (together with the Jose Vera Santos Memorial Herbarium) received the Gawad Tsanselor award for “Natatanging Programang Pang-Ekstensiyon” for its work in educating students, researchers, and communities about the country’s unique natural resources.