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Learning by Leading

We believe that students learn best by leading. In this innovative environmental restoration and education program, leadership skills and real-world experience combine to help our students address the earth’s most important environmental issues. The Learning by Leading™ internship program offers quarter-long and school year-long internships in which students work in a team to solve real-world problems in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.

group of interns from waterway stewardship harvesting tule

Arboretum Waterway Improved with Tule Transplants

by Indigo Wang
Tue, February 04, 2020

Student Leadership

Tule (Schoenoplectus acutus) offers wildlife habitat for birds and other animals, prevents erosion and adds to the aesthetic appeal of the landscape along the Arboretum Waterway.

UC Davis Arboretum and PUblic Garden Learning by Leading Sustainable Horticulture intern examining plants.

Sustainable Horticulture Selects Plants for New Low-water Landscape

by Indigo Wang
Thu, January 23, 2020

Student Leadership

The Arboretum Public Garden's Learning by Leading™ Sustainable Horticulture team is creating another low-water landscape along Garrod Drive adjacent to the Large Animal Blood Donor Facility.

Image of Plant Records and Mapping co-coordinator Elise Chu teaching new Learning by Leading interns the skills needed to accurately map plants.

Students Map Plants, Support Conservation Efforts

by Isabella E Beristain
Wed, January 08, 2020

Student Leadership

Students on the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden's Learning by Leading Plant Records and Mapping team learn how they can support international conservation efforts.

Students on the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden's Learning by Leading Habitat Restoration team work to restore a previously barren patch of land filled with plants that surround their man-made water way.

Restoration Project Proves Invaluable to Student Interns

by Isabella E Beristain
Wed, January 08, 2020

Student Leadership

Students on the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden's Learning by Leading Habitat Restoration team work to restore a previously barren patch of land filled with plants that surround their man-made water way.

Image of Learning by Leading Habitat Horticulture interns planting pollinator-attracting containers. Their goal is to educate the public about how the smallest gardens can support pollinators.

Pollinator-Attracting Container Plantings on Display for the Public

by Isabella E Beristain
Mon, January 06, 2020

Student Leadership

The Arboretum and Public Garden’s Leading by Learning™ Habitat Horticulture team is exhibiting their newly designed pollinator-friendly containers at the Arboretum Terrace Garden and Lois Crowe Patio in the Davis Commons.

Image of Levy Hernandez working to improve the environment in LA.

Learning by Leading Program Impact | Levy Hernandez

Fri, December 27, 2019

Student Leadership

Below is a letter written to staff at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden from a former Learning by Leading™ program participant, Levy Hernandez, who was inspired to share more about the impact the program had on his choice of career and his desire to improve the environment around his home town.

Seasons Greetings!

S.E.E. Putah Creek interns walk together collecting seeds in the reserve.

Removing Invasives, Replacing with Natives

by Indigo Wang
Wed, December 18, 2019

Student Leadership

Wrangling invasive species, searching for seeds, and maneuvering chainsaws, it’s just another day on the job for the Arboretum and Public Garden’s Learning by Leading™ S.E.E. Putah Creek team. This quarter has been a busy one for the team dedicated to restoring and managing the UC Davis Putah Riparian Reserve.

Partners from university-affiliated gardens across North America hear about the Learning by Leading™ program from student Aina Smart Truco (left).

To Boldly Go: Aligning Our Work with the Chancellor’s Strategic Plan for UC Davis

by Mary Burke
Mon, December 09, 2019

Student Leadership

Find out how the Arboretum and Public Garden is poised "To Boldy Go" and be a major engine to help deliver the Chancellor’s Strategic Plan.

Learning by Leading™ Alumni Profile: Kendal Hicks

Mon, December 09, 2019

Student Leadership

Kendal Hicks joined the Learning by Leading™ program in 2017 and served as the co-coordinator of the new Waterway Stewardship Internship. Along with her mentor, Nina Suzuki, and fellow co-coordinator Tiffani To, Kendal developed the internship from scratch, creating curriculum, hiring interns and naming the internship!

Program co-coordinators Chris Huang and Cameron Long take a break from planting a new plant to pose for a photo, kneeling with the landscape in the background.

Sustainable Horticulture interns shape campus

by Scout Mata
Thu, December 05, 2019

Student Leadership

From outside Bainer Hall to the Social Sciences Building (aka Death Star) courtyard, the Arboretum and Public Garden’s Learning by Leading™ Sustainable Horticulture interns have been hard at work weeding, mulching, pruning, deadheading and adding new plants in landscapes all over campus throughout fall quarter. As part of this internship students leave lasting changes as they shape campus by creating and maintaining sustainable landscapes.