When Bonnie was choosing her law school, she visited King Hall at UC Davis, stepped out the south exit and was instantly in a realm of gardens and wildlife. She turned to her husband Lance and said, “I am coming here.” If she was going to study law, she wanted gardens to walk in to quiet her mind. And for three years the Arboretum provided peaceful breaks from the rigors of law school.

The UC Davis Arboretum has been her friend ever since, along with King Hall, and Davis became home. She graduated in 1991 and practiced law as a Prosecutor in Sacramento for eight years, along with teaching trial practice as an adjunct professor at UC Davis School of Law.

After 23 years in Colorado, Bonnie Schmidt recently returned home to Davis to retire and recover from Long COVID (also known as Long-haul COVID) in the serenity of the Arboretum gardens. She is happy and recovering her health after three long years, and she looks forward to many more years of giving back to the Arboretum and establishing wonderful friendships.

In addition to serving on the Friends Board of Directors for the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, Bonnie volunteers weekly with staff member Stacey Parker's gardening team in the Lake Spafford area, and has volunteered at recent plant sales. She is also a member of the Arboretum's Warren G. Roberts Legacy Society.

Bonnie has loved plants since her childhood, including the seaweeds in the ocean near where she lived, and her family's flower gardens. As an adult, she studied medicinal herbology extensively, including medicinal plants of the Sierra and Ayurvedic medicinal herbology.

Bonnie has had a diverse career – eight years as an Assistant District Attorney in Sacramento; teaching Trial Practice at King Hall; 23 years in Colorado working on low-income housing and on several political campaigns, including two presidential campaigns. She has served on numerous other Boards, both in Davis and Colorado (and she notes that she does not miss the cold winters of Colorado).