Andrea Serna 

she/her/hers 

• Urban Tree Stewardship Co-Coordinator 2023-25, Urban Tree Stewardship Intern 2022-23
• Major: Environmental Science and Management with a concentration in Ecology, Biodiversity, and Conservation, class of 2025

The Learning by Leading™ program has allowed me to follow my passion for teaching and studying the environment. All the knowledge I have accumulated from my time as an intern and co-coordinator has been passed on to others so they know how to care for our urban canopy, ultimately accomplishing our joint goal as a team. Through teaching, I have honed the skills and concepts of arboriculture I first gained as an intern. Additionally, my experience in the program has allowed me to find new passions, such as botany and fieldwork, as I fell in love with tree identification, planting, and maintenance. 

One of my favorite projects our team has worked on was the Lake Spafford tree planting. About two years ago, our community was devastated when the iconic Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata) tree had to be removed from the lake’s bank. It was an honor to organize and host a volunteer tree-planting event that sought to revitalize the space in a way that connected the beloved Zelkova with the new trees. We replanted a Zelkova tree and planted other species to expand the East Asian collection while being motivated by music from the student-run Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan drumming team. Their taiko drums have been traditionally made out of Zelkova wood, highlighting the remembrance of the iconic tree. 

My position in the Learning by Leading™ program fostered the development of my skills in planning, communication, decision-making, and adaptability, especially when our team would host tree planting events. Organizing and planning all the pieces to have a successful event would also rely on how I communicated with my team and spoke with volunteers. Before joining this program, I had limited experience with managing others as a leader, but now I confidently take on the responsibility and have fun with the challenge of problem-solving. Our team’s staff mentor, Emily Griswold, helped me develop these leadership skills through her guidance and support. Through regular check-ins and real-time support, Emily demonstrated decision-making and adaptability, teaching me the best way to develop these skills. My mentor has always provided a space for me to freely explore my ideas of how to achieve our team’s goals with constructive feedback, increasing my confidence to lead our group of interns each week. 

Through all the work the Urban Tree Stewardship team has accomplished, I have contributed to improving the urban canopy of the UC Davis campus. Every tree we have grown in the nursery and planted is a heat and drought-tolerant species that is resilient in the face of climate change. During our hot summer days, the trees we have planted will provide shade and cool people off. Moreover, our team has worked to prune and maintain the health of the trees for the safety of people on campus and visitors of the arboretum. We have been working on the Texas Tree Trials research project as well, which seeks to guide the Sacramento Valley Region to diversify its canopy with more tree species that are suitable for our projected hotter and drier climate. 

My career path has become clearer because of the Learning by Leading™ program. I want to become a certified arborist and apply my knowledge of arboriculture through restoration work. Furthermore, I want to continue teaching others about the environment, creating a space similar to the program where people can learn hands-on. I have grown immensely from the support and opportunities provided by this program, and I am inspired to pay it forward through my career.