Blog & News Articles

Blog & News Articles

Image of volunteers and students in the pollinator garden.

Our Top Facebook Posts of 2019

  • by Sydney Odman
From strides toward a more pollinator-friendly campus to live shots of larvae caterpillars at work, check out our top Facebook posts of 2019. Click on the box to view the full post! 
Image of Levy Hernandez working to improve the environment in LA.

Learning by Leading Program Impact | Levy Hernandez

Below is a letter written to staff at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden from a former Learning by Leading™ program participant, Levy Hernandez, who was inspired to share more about the impact the program had on his choice of career and his desire to improve the environment around his home town.

Seasons Greetings!

Resolve to get outside, make a difference

  • by Scout Mata
The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is looking for volunteers! This could be your chance to not only work with nature, give back to the community and connect with new people, but also receive expert instruction and an opportunity to be involved hands-on projects that improve the local and regional environment. Deadline to apply is Friday, January 17, 2020.
S.E.E. Putah Creek interns walk together collecting seeds in the reserve.

Removing Invasives, Replacing with Natives

  • by Indigo Wang
Wrangling invasive species, searching for seeds, and maneuvering chainsaws, it’s just another day on the job for the Arboretum and Public Garden’s Learning by Leading™ S.E.E. Putah Creek team. This quarter has been a busy one for the team dedicated to restoring and managing the UC Davis Putah Riparian Reserve. 
A bough of mistletoe hangs by a ribbon over a doorway.

Why we kiss under a parasitic plant, mistletoe!

In ancient cultures throughout the northern hemisphere, the time around the winter solstice has long been a season of celebration, feasting, and thanksgiving. On the far northern reaches of the Roman Empire, people like the Teutons and Celts had their own winter rituals centering wheat, oak trees and mistletoe.
A potted winter daphne

The Central Valley garden in winter

In California’s Central Valley, the onset of winter’s cool, wet weather marks the beginning of the growing season for California native and Mediterranean climate plants. Comparable to early spring in colder, continental climates, this is the season when root growth begins and summer drought-adapted plants emerge from dormancy, leafing out and, in some cases, bursting into bloom.
A picture of one of the picks.

Taylor’s Pollinator-Friendly Picks

  • by Taylor Lewis
The Arboretum Teaching Nursery is here for you at the turn of the year to bring you another edition of “Tried and True and something New.” Find some perennial favorites that are sure to brighten up your garden as the weather warms.
A picture of Kendal Hicks.

Learning by Leading™ Alumni Profile: Kendal Hicks

Kendal Hicks joined the Learning by Leading™ program in 2017 and served as the co-coordinator of the new Waterway Stewardship Internship. Along with her mentor, Nina Suzuki, and fellow co-coordinator Tiffani To, Kendal developed the internship from scratch, creating curriculum, hiring interns and naming the internship!
A picture of the detour.

Detours Lead to Exciting Upgrades

The Mary Wattis Brown Garden of California Native Plants on the south side of Lake Spafford will be temporarily closed this winter for a major path upgrade. If all goes as planned, the garden will open again in the late spring or early summer.
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