Blog & News Articles

Blog & News Articles

Students keep our landscapes alive with pollinators

Elizabeth Hursh ’22 is happiest when surrounded by hummingbirds, bees and other busy pollinators in the Arboretum and Public Garden. Their presence means she’s doing her job right.

As a Co-Coordinator with our Learning by Leading™ Habitat Horticulture program, Elizabeth is helping transform landscapes into gorgeous garden habitats, with an emphasis on sustainable practices and plant-pollinator interactions.

2021 Holiday Giving Guide

Enjoy the Arboretum and Public Garden this holiday season by getting outside by yourself or together with family and friends, preparing for spring planting season with our many online resources, or fulfilling a new year's resolution to give back by applying to be a volunteer. All this and more can be found in our 2021 Holiday Giving Guide. 

Internship Opportunity: Urban Tree Stewardship

Earn units while helping to propagate and care for trees with a focus on climate tolerance and improving the longevity and resilience of our campus canopy as an intern for the Learning by Leading™ Urban Tree Stewardship Program.

Through this internship, students will learn about urban forest management and build field observation, project management and leadership skills as they transplant, maintain, monitor and assess trees and plan community engagement activities.

Arboretum Oak Expert to Speak on Panel hosted by Duke University

Emily Griswold, director of GATEways horticulture and teaching gardens will be speaking at an online event, hosted by Duke University alongside other leading oak experts. She will discuss how the Arboretum and Public Garden GATEways Project (Gardens, Arts, and The Environment) uses innovative programs and art installations to welcome a broad audience into the landscape, encourage environmental stewardship, and build an understanding of the tremendous cultural and ecological value of oaks.

Tyler Kern: UC Davis' First Campus Urban Forester

Tyler Kern, the first UC Davis campus urban forester and part of the Arboretum and Public Garden team, is devoted to managing and maintaining the university's urban forest. As certified arborist, Kern has worked on numerous projects in his career aimed at supporting flourishing environments and is bringing his expertise back with him to Davis.  

Building Blocks for Resilient Gardens

As we look to the future, we want to broaden our scope to support landscapes that are not just sustainable, but also resilient. Find plant recommendations and tips on how to build a resilient garden at home.

Round Up for the Friends!

When you shop at the Davis Food Co-Op in September you can support the Friends, too! The Davis Food Co-op has selected the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden as the recipient of this month’s Round-Up at the Register fundraiser!

Fifty years ago the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden helped save the Arboretum. For decades since then, they’ve supported our favorite local nature escape, its free family programs and the development of its student environmental leaders.

A Profusion of Poppy Confusion

The California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is a resilient and widespread species. At present, systematists may recognize 18 taxa within the genus, with ranges that extend into Utah, New Mexico, and northern Mexico. These taxa exhibit a rich nomenclatural history that can help explain how and why plants get their names, and how the early descriptions influence—and at times muddle—our current taxonomic outlook.