Learning by Leading Program Wins Top Honors
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.
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 (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.
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.
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