The Arboretum is an enormous classroom, rich with opportunities to learn about our local wildlife as well as plants from many regions of the world.
Perhaps the most important critters to know about are the ones that make it possible for us to have a diversity of beautiful flowers in our landscapes and to have many of the fruits and vegetables that we enjoy. We owe so much to the critters that are pollinators.
In Spring of 2017 a small team of Arboretum Volunteers and University of California Master Gardeners studied alongside the Arboretum's Director of Horticulture, Ellen Zagory, to learn about key pollinators—bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. We had great fun and learned so much over the course of several months of classroom work and field observation.
This initial team formed what has become the Pollinator Education team. The initial group went on to train additional Arboretum volunteers and UC Master Gardeners so that we could expand our educational outreach beyond the Arboretum Plant Sales. I hope you have visited our display tables and talked with us about the best plants to use in your garden to ensure that they will support a variety of pollinators across all the seasons. Perhaps you have also visited our information tables at special community events or read our educational materials on the Arboretum website.
It has been one of my greatest pleasures and rewarding experiences to partner with these talented, knowledgeable volunteers. I thank them for being plant nerds, being concerned about our natural environment, and finding joy in talking with others about the things we care about.