As part of the UC Davis Arboretum Waterway Flood Protection and Habitat Enhancement Project, a new volunteer team – the Arboretum Waterway Caretakers – was established in spring 2024. Under the leadership of Nina Suzuki, Waterway Steward for the campus’s Arboretum and Public Garden, the new volunteer team will oversee the planting of three acres of bare ground adjacent to the waterway, as part of the Arboretum Waterway Enhancement Project.

“Our volunteers and students will be planting 23,000 sedge and rush plugs on the banks of the waterway,” said Suzuki. “It’s a challenge, but the adventurous and diverse crew is not reluctant to jump into the mud, slopes, or water, with waders of course.”

The Waterway team will also be seeding much of the area, and planting and caring for 550 trees and shrubs. Suzuki and the three current volunteers – Richard Evans, Pam Schemmer, and Ellie Kaplan – will gradually increase the team size to 10 or more volunteers, which syncs with the Arboretum Waterway Flood Protection and Habitat Enhancement Project. The team works from the east end to the west end of the Arboretum, along the banks of the waterway – a 1.5 mile stretch. They meet weekly, caring for existing plantings and will soon help to establish new plantings.

Construction of the waterway is expected to finish in late 2024, although the volunteer team will have ongoing work to expand and maintain the plant habitats. They weed, prune, and irrigate plants, but with the waterway construction, they also helped clear areas for construction, and helped with fish relocations. Due to the workload, they are getting help from the Arboretum and Public Garden’s Learning by Leading^TM student intern teams, and will soon get assistance from the California Climate Action Corps fellows, who plan to recruit Saturday volunteers for some big planting days.

The Waterway Caretakers like the diversity, they like doing useful work in many different locations, and they like working outside. Each member also has their own knowledge base which they share amongst the team. They especially like the opportunity to give back to the community and the university.

Arboretum Waterway Functions

The Arboretum Waterway has multiple functions – along with being a stormwater detention basin, which helps avoid flooding on campus, the plants on the banks help with erosion control while filtering out sediment and nutrients. The plants themselves have a utilitarian function – 900 acres of campus drain to the waterway, and the plants on the banks keep the banks stable, and filter water that flows in. 

Habitat is another primary function of the waterway.  Riparian habitat supports a greater diversity of wildlife than any other habitat type in California. In addition, there haven’t been emergent marsh plants in most of the waterway, so this new wetland habitat will eventually attract new birds to the area. 

“The habitat value is really important,” said Suzuki. “This part of the Arboretum runs through many of the surrounding plant collections, including local California native plants. The Arboretum Waterway banks will have a local native plant understory and overstory matrix – a diverse plant structure for this area.”

Who Benefits

The Arboretum has a regular community of walkers every morning, and they share what they’re seeing with the Waterway Caretakers, in addition to their asking questions about what the team is currently doing. They also appreciate the educational signage which explains what is happening as the project proceeds. The walkers are always eager to learn updates and ask questions.

New people from other areas who have never been through the Arboretum also have enthusiastic questions about what they’re seeing in the waterway areas, along with what plants are being established.

“We need to continue to add more interpretative signage about the function of the waterway,” noted Suzuki. “Where water enters, where it leaves, and how it functions, is critical information for campus members, visitors, and external partners.”

“What’s really interesting about the waterway project,” added Suzuki, “is that it’s a valuable riparian and wetland habitat, and it’s in this very urban area, so we expect it to be a demonstration project for other waterways, other ponds, and for people in urban spaces.”

Tours have already been given to federal agencies and City of Sacramento Parks and Rec staff. It will serve as a good demonstration site for how these multi-function waterways serve stormwater functions, habitat functions, aesthetic visual and relaxation functions, and, of course, bringing people in to experience a native habitat that’s readily accessible. 

Joint academic research at UC Davis related to the waterway is also occurring – such as research on the Northwestern pond turtle, California’s only native freshwater turtle. This state species of special concern lives in the Arboretum Waterway as well as Putah Creek. Several UC Davis courses are also using the Arboretum Waterway for hands-on learning by students. All of this research and education will have use in areas well beyond UC Davis.

The Arboretum Waterway Flood Protection and Habitat Enhancement Project, along with the Climate-Ready Gardening Project, both being developed at UC Davis, continue to strengthen UC Davis as a core research and learning site for government and other agencies, along with educational organizations, well beyond California.

Looking Forward

Nina Suzuki graduated from UC Davis with a degree in Landscape Architecture, along with expertise in Restoration, and started work on this project seven years ago. One day, with the help of the Arboretum Waterway Caretakers, they expect to see a mature riparian habitat in the Arboretum waterway. “A multi-story riparian corridor, with natural systems, provides so much value,” she noted. “Improved water quality is another goal for the future.”

As a long-term goal, Suzuki, her volunteer team, and other Arboretum and Public Garden staff also envision developing a boardwalk that would go out into the middle of the waterway from the north side, then across to the south side of the waterway, near the boat house lake. This would allow people to experience the waterway and the wetlands from within the waterway, which is very different from seeing the waterway from the edge. 

“This would be a great component of a mature waterway – bringing people into it!” noted Suzuki.