The Arboretum and Public Garden holds a special place in the hearts of many of our students. They appreciate the beauty of our campus and the feeling of relaxation and reflection that they get from being in the Arboretum.

Despite the high winds and long-lasting storms, our campus fared the latest weather event well until about 7 pm last night (December 11, 2014) when a large stone pine came down on Surge II located west of the Silo.

Whenever possible Arboretum and Public Garden staff collaborate with a wide range of professors across campus to incorporate our outdoor spaces into student learning.

No one is complaining about the rain, let’s make that clear! But, when you get as much as we have lately, without much of a break in between, it can wreak havoc on a campus the size of ours with the number of trees that we have. Luckily our Arboretum and Public Garden teams work year-round maintaining our trees and landscapes in preparation for weather events like these.

Now we have another accreditation to be proud of — for landscape management and operations on the Davis campus. The best-in-the-nation accreditation is from the Professional Grounds Management Society, which evaluated UC Davis Grounds and Landscape Services’ principles and practices for “attractive, healthy, sustainable and high quality” grounds.

In Fall 2014, students in Lecturer Elizabeth Boults Landscape Architecture 1 created site-specific installations throughout the UC Davis Arboretum.

Would you like to spend more time outdoors? Would you like to learn new skills? Are you looking for a way to fulfill a New Year’s resolution to give back to the community? Consider volunteering with the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden! It’s a rewarding place to spend your time with lots of fun, food, and camaraderie!

UC researchers study a variety of plants at the UC Davis Plant Science field research station to test plants' ability to thrive with different levels of water.

On September 18, 2014 we hosted a 1-day “Convert Your Water-Hungry Lawn to a Drought-tolerant Landscape” workshop sponsored by the California Native Grassland Association. Participants received in-depth information for converting high-water-use conventional lawns into beautiful low-water-use, attractive, native, and climate-appropriate landscapes.

GARBAGE NEEDED! On Sunday, November 16 from 1-3 p.m. the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is hosting our first ever Go Green Drop-In Day at the trellis in the Arboretum GATEway Garden behind the Davis Commons Shopping Center.