Curtis Marsh walked down a trail at the Rotary Arboretum in west Lawrence, as his two sons skipped along next to him.

Near Clinton Lake, the arboretum doesn’t receive a lot of traffic, but those who know about it enjoy its quiet beauty.

“It’s an awfully pretty place,” Marsh said.

His young boys, Conner and Carson, stopped and pointed at two waterfalls. Marsh explained to them how the water flowed between two ponds.

Meanwhile, Brad Finkeldei watched his two young girls, Chaney and Raegan, run around in the grass and try to catch moths with nets.

“Daddy, I caught a bug,” said Chaney, 3.

Brad Finkeldei and Curtis Marsh are members of Lawrence Rotary clubs that created the arboretum in 2005, in conjunction with the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department.

On Saturday, the arboretum got a little more attention than normal during an open house, where the public was invited to learn about gardening methods and to become acquainted with the site.

“People drive by it all the time and see it, but they don’t know what it is,” Brad Finkeldei said.

Located between the YSI Sports Complex and the Clinton Lake Softball Complex near the intersection of 27th Street and the South Lawrence Trafficway, the arboretum has several ponds, trees, shrubs, plants, park benches and a gazebo. It’s a place where people can take nature walks, get ideas for landscaping and learn about the trees and plants that grow best in Kansas.