In the foreground, two student interns smile and pose with a shovel, while in the background, several other students work on planting a landscape on a long patch of dirt between La Rue Road and the sidewalk
Sustainable Horticulture student leaders with their team converting a bare strip of land to a drought-tolerant garden as part of our Living Landscape Adaptation Plan for Climate Change.
A group of six students hold a box full of lettuce, standing in the Good Life Garden at the Robert Mondavi Institute.
Edible Landscaping team with produce they grew on campus to donate to the student food pantry.
Two students smile, wearing waders and standing in the Arboretum Waterway
Waterway Stewardship team student leader with staff mentor and floating island she helped design to improve water quality in the Arboretum Waterway.
In the foreground, students squat, preparing to plant a sapling
Urban Tree Stewardship team students leading climate-ready tree planting efforts across campus.
In the foreground, several students smile, pausing while installing a deck
Learning by Leading students build green infrastructure they designed for the Landscape Lab GATEway Garden.
A student helps a group of children with an oak tree themed activity in Shields Oak Grove
GATEways Outreach team student leads an activity for UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day in the Peter J. Shields Oak Grove.
Two student interns get the attention of a large group of students in the Arboretum.
Museum Education team students lead tours and activities they designed for K-6 groups in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
A dozen people, including several student interns, stand in the Arboretum Teaching Nursery as a student intern leads a discussion.
Nature Rx team students lead planting activity for the UC Davis Staff & Faculty Health and Well-Being Program.
Just south of Shields Library, a group of over a dozen people stand in a circle listening to someone speak.
Learning by Leading™ students speak to Community of Practice partners from across North America during a Learning by Leading™ Immersion Visit at UC Davis in March 2019.
A student intern presents a poster on the Arboretum waterway enhancement program to two people.
Learning by Leading students participate in donor stewardship activities; an Arboretum Ambassador student speaks to donors about our $8M Waterway Enhancement Project.
Tracy Qiu, Carmia Feldman, Kathleen Socolofsky, and Michelle Provasnik pose with APGA award plaque
Left to right: Tracy Qiu, doctoral candidate, Corcordia University; Carmia Feldman, assistant director, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden; Kathleen Socolofsky, assistant vice chancellor and director, UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden; and Michelle Provasnik, CEO, American Public Gardens Association (APGA) pose with a plaque for APGA award for Program Excellence Award for the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden's Learning by Leading program.

Learning by Leading Program Wins Top Honors

  • by Katie Hetrick

The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden's Learning by Leading™ program has been awarded the prestigious Program Excellence Award by the American Public Gardens Association, or APGA. The accolade recognizes the innovative and impactful nature of the program, which has been instrumental in shaping the future of environmental and public garden leaders.

Kathleen Socolofsky holds an award, standing in the center of a group of seven people in front of a stage.

Director Kathleen Socolofsky Wins Lifetime Achievement Award

In addition to the Learning by Leading program excellence award, the Arboretum and Public Garden's Assistant Vice Chancellor and Director Kathleen Socolofsky received the American Public Gardens Association's lifetime achievement award.

Learn more about Kathleen's legacy

Launched to engage students in hands-on environmental leadership roles, the Learning by Leading™ program – built on the belief that students learn best through leading – offers a unique blend of applied training and personal development. Students take on significant and growing responsibilities, from urban tree stewardship to habitat restoration, all while gaining invaluable, real-world experience.

Students, with support from their staff mentors, identify problems, and then design and lead impactful projects to help solve those problems and address needs. Student projects have included designing and building floating wetlands to tackle water quality issues, converting high-water campus landscapes into drought-tolerant gardens, and planting and caring for climate-ready trees resilient to future climate projections. These projects make real impacts on the campus and align with the UC Davis strategic goals to prepare students for the global challenges of our times.

Almost 1000 students have engaged since it was created in 2008. Participants like Annika Peterson and Marjorie Rhodes have not only enhanced their academic learning but also paved the way for their future careers in environmental management.

"The Learning by Leading program’s design of tight-knit cohorts and focus on hands-on field work make it a great space to explore informal and formal leadership roles, practice key communication and collaboration skills, and gain valuable technical experience," says Annika Peterson, now a Tree Care Program Manager at Friends of the Urban Forest.

YouTube play button overlaid on a still from a video

Learning by Leading Video Overview

The American Public Gardens Association created this video overview to share why Learning by Leading™ received its 2024 program excellence award.

Watch now

Marjorie Rhodes, now a Habitat Restoration Project Manager at Laguna Canyon Foundation, echoes this sentiment. "Learning by Leading was one of the best highlights of my time at UC Davis…the program helped me grow a strong foundation…and aspire to be a leader in my field!”

The program's success extends beyond UC Davis, with testimonials from partners like the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, Smithsonian Gardens, Cornell Botanic Gardens, University of Central Florida Arboretum, Humber Arboretum (Toronto), and most recently the Botanical Garden of the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria in Brazil. Each highlights the program’s transformative impact on students and staff alike. 

"Implementing the Learning by Leading program has been one of the most impactful efforts we've made," said Jenny Cruse-Sanders, director of the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Sonja Skelly, Director of Education & Academic Initiatives at Cornell University said, “Providing opportunities for real-world learning projects, fostering community and campus connections, and having longer-term relationships with students have been a few of the ways LxL has positively impacted our students, gardens, and Cornell University.”

Gifts from funding partners such as the Excelerate Foundation have been crucial in expanding the program's reach and success. "The Learning by Learning™ Program is a brilliant academic innovation…Our ongoing support recognizes the continuing development of the Learning by Leading program in new and wider-reaching directions," notes Ernie Lewis from the Excelerate Foundation.

As the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden continues to nurture the next generation of environmental leaders, the Program Excellence Award from APGA stands as a testament to its commitment to innovation and excellence in environmental education.See the complete Learning by Leading award submission

Read additional student testimonials

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Environmental Education

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Learning by Leading Awards American Public Gardens Association