Community Engagement

People walking among fall foliage in the Arboretum

2023 Holiday Guide

As the cool, crisp weather rolls in and seasonal items deck the aisles of stores, we've got the holidays on our minds.

The Arboretum and Public Garden has resources and inspiration this holiday season for spending quality time by yourself or with loved ones, for giving back through volunteering, for gifts, for preparing for spring planting and more in our 2023 Holiday Guide. 

Image of Carmia Feldman and Melissa Cruz Hernandez at the inaugural Gather and Give event to benefit Girl Scouts.

Girl Scout Patch Program Recognized

  • by Chiara Zavala

The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden received recognition at the Girl Scouts Heart of Central California, or GSHCC, inaugural annual fundraising event, “Gather and Give,” on October 20, 2023 at the Old Sugar Mill, in Clarksburg. The memorable evening celebrated the essence of what it means to be a Girl Scout, emphasizing the importance of programs that enhance the well-being and leadership growth of girls, while raising funds to make it possible for more underserved girls to participate in Girl Scouts.

People clearing space in the Arboretum

Preparing for ‘The Phenology Garden’

  • by Katie Hetrick
In partnership with UC Davis' Department of Entomology and Nematology distinguished expert, Dr. Emily Meineke, we have started laying the foundation for the creation of a Phenology Garden to examine how alterations in water availability affect interactions between plants and herbivores, like insects.
Person in a small trench working on irrigation

Apply by Nov. 2, 2023: Irrigation Specialist

Help maintain UC Davis' gorgeous campus landscapes and hardscapes by planning and repairing its irrigation systems! Apply to be an irrigation specialist at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, where every career employee receives extremely competitive health and retirement benefits including:

Person pruning a tree on a roadside median, the UC Davis water tower rising in the background

Apply by Oct. 28, 2023: Tree Maintenance Supervisor

 

Oversee the maintenance of the gorgeous campus urban canopy that serves the entire UC Davis community, from students to squirrels. Apply to be a tree maintenance supervisor, where every career employee receives extremely competitive health and retirement benefits including:

Drying concrete in the aisle between rows of plants

Nursery Improvements in Progress

This summer, we’ve turned our efforts to upgrading outdoor areas of the Arboretum Teaching Nursery. Smooth concrete now covers the major path arteries that customers use to navigate the nursery. We’ve also enhanced the smaller paths with hexpave and gravel.
Person kneeling, looking at the roots of a plant in the Arboretum

Apply by Sept. 12, 2023: Gardener Groundskeeper

Help the UC Davis campus looks its best all year round by performing a diverse range of tasks, from cultivating plant materials and designing specialized landscapes to supervising interns and volunteers as a gardener groundskeeper at the UC Davis Arboretum, where every career employee receives extremely competitive health and retirement benefits.
Volunteer group photo

‘Pollinator Squad’ Volunteer Team Spotlight

  • by Ann Filmer

Selecting climate-ready plants and appropriate plants for insect pollinators and hummingbirds is a major goal of Rachel Davis, GATEways Horticulturist for the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. The ‘Pollinator Squad’, her group of 15 volunteers, meets weekly to develop and manage the Habitat Gardens, including the meadow basin; the Hummingbird Garden; an Insect Pollinator garden; and the bioswale which runs through the meadow basin.

Group of Arboretum volunteers at Annie's Annuals

Volunteer Field Trip to Annie’s Annuals and Perennials

  • by Ann Filmer

Two of Abbey Hart’s volunteer teams took a field trip to Annie’s Annuals and Perennials Nursery in Richmond last month. The goal was to see the broad variety of plants that the nursery grows and sells — annuals, perennials, native plants, landscape plants, herbs and vegetables, etc., — and to allow the volunteers to purchase plants. Some of the Arboretum volunteers had been there before; for others it was an eye-popping first-time experience.

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