UC Davis has been named “Tree Campus USA” for the fifth* year in a row by the Arbor Day Foundation! The Tree Campus USA program recognizes college and university campuses that effectively manage their campus trees, develop connectivity with the community beyond campus borders to foster healthy urban forests, and strive to engage their student population utilizing service learning opportunities centered on campus, and community forestry efforts.

Our Grounds and Landscape Services supervisor team received an honorable mention award in for their outstanding “Campus Community Contributions”  by the UC Davis Staff Assembly’s Citations of Excellence Committee! They were celebrated at the Citations of Excellence Award Ceremony on May 21, 2014.

Unless you are familiar with all the methods used to ensure that the campus’s stormwater is as pollutant-free as possible, you may have wondered why we bother spreading straw around empty lots. Spreading straw mulch, moistening it, then crimping it into the dirt is one of the ways we can protect exposed soil during the winter months, prevent erosion, and improve stormwater quality—all legal responsibilities that need to be complied with and monitored regularly—especially on a campus of our size.

Grounds and Landscape Services removed a gray pine tree from the Arboretum that was located at the corner of California Avenue and La Rue Road. The tree was in decline and posed a safety hazard due to its potential to fall. According to Warren Roberts, Superintendent Emeritus of the Arboretum, the pinecones were also a concern; if a pinecone were to fall from that height it would do as much damage as a bowling ball!

Thanks to a partnership with Tree Davis, UC Davis Grounds and Landscape Services has secured a grant to receive 100 trees.

ARM employee Nelson Randolph is the winner of the first ever Safety Star award.