Blog

Stories of Trees, People and Community: Celebrating the Friends 50th Anniversary

By utilizing the Friends’ personal archives, memories, and newsletters, we were able to create a dynamic Story Map detailing the history of trees throughout the historic, 100-acre Arboretum. This map specifically highlights our largest tree collections, the Peter J. Shields Oak Grove and the T. Elliot Weier Redwood Grove, as well as other notable trees throughout the collections.

NOW HIRING 20+ Student Landscape Assistants for the Summer

 The Arboretum and Public Garden team maintains all of the campus landscape. As part of our "Campus Recommissioning" effort to prepare for the return of students, faculty and staff to in-person instruction this fall, we are recruiting summer student employees to work throughout campus on landscape maintenance and improvements.

2021 Pinkerton Prize Winners Announced

The Pinkerton Prize for Outstanding Student Contributions to the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden was created in the early 1990s by Bret Hewitt and his late wife Deborah Pinkerton, the first environmental education employee at the Arboretum and Public Garden. The prize honors exceptional Learning by Leading™ students participating in our environmental education programs. The 2021 award winners were Aliciá Ayala, Anita Shahriary and Laura Gomez.

Wyatt Deck Update: Demolition Begins, Turtles Win

A number of turtles in the Arboretum Waterway that compete for the best places to bask above water, so students in our Learning by Leading™ Waterway Stewardship program are incorporating some of the deck's planks into their latest floating island project.

Volunteers get green light to come back!

Last week, during National Volunteer Appreciation Week, we were thrilled to once again welcome community volunteers back to the landscapes and nursery. This comes after our Arboretum and Public Garden volunteer program was put on hiatus over a year ago due to pandemic-related campus health and safety restrictions.

Visitor Parking Changes

UC Davis Transportation Services has a new way for visitors to pay for parking with the ParkMobile app, available for download on both Apple and Android operating systems.

Who is the Wyatt of Wyatt Deck and Pavilion?

On the south side of Lake Spafford, nestled among heritage trees and a sprawling California buckeye, sits a unique, multi-tiered deck constructed from redwood to honor the grove nearby. The open-air location, enjoyed by thousands every year, retains a history with an extended local family – the Unger-Yackzans.

Student Job Opportunity: Student Horticulturists

We are hiring two Student Horticulturists for spring quarter, with potential to extend into summer and beyond. Students will help with horticultural garden work, focusing on plant collection health and safety. Use your gardening skills to enhance visitor experience and gain experience working outdoors.

Student Job Opportunity: Putah Creek Natural Reserve Technicians

The Putah Creek Natural Reserve Technicians will work with Arboretum staff within the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve and the Campus Naturalized Lands to execute a wide variety of natural resource stewardship tasks associated with the ongoing management and maintenance of the these diverse public spaces.

Student Job Opportunity: Mulch Squad Apprentices

The UC Davis Arboretum is hiring 2 Student Mulch Squad Apprentices for spring quarter, with potential to extend into summer and beyond. Students will help with essential outdoor garden work, focusing on weeding and mulching the Arboretum gardens with wood chips. Help us make the Arboretum shine!

A New Era of Nature Rx

If you Google things to do in Davis, it’s not surprising to find that time and again the Arboretum and Public Garden is at the very top of the list. With the well-being of our community in mind, we have been broadening and expanding the reach of Nature Rx, a theme of programming that aims to connect the campus and local communities to the healing power of nature.