As we prepare for our annual spring fundraising campaign, we wanted to give you an update on how vital community donations are. Last year, the UC Davis and regional communities came together to support the Trees for Tomorrow campaign, ensuring that our campus continues to thrive with a diverse and resilient tree canopy. Thanks to generous donations, dedicated volunteers, and passionate student leaders, we have made remarkable strides in planting new trees, enhancing campus landscapes, and creating opportunities for hands-on learning.
In partnership with UC Davis' Department of Entomology and Nematology distinguished expert, Dr. Emily Meineke, we have started laying the foundation for the creation of a Phenology Garden to examine how alterations in water availability affect interactions between plants and herbivores, like insects.
The expansive Japanese Zelkova (Zelkova serrata), which has graced the banks of Lake Spafford in the UC Davis Arboretum since the 1960s, grew to serve as a popular gathering place for picnics, wildlife viewing, family photos and more until the recent discovery of a large crack in its trunk. Experts studying the issue determined it is in danger of breaking apart and poses a significant hazard.
GATEways Horticulturist Rachel Davis recently spoke to CBS Bay Area about some of the efforts the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden team is taking to prepare campus landscapes to the changing climate.
UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden staff and Learning by Leading™ students are planting climate-ready trees to cultivate a resilient and diverse urban tree canopy for the future.
Tyler Kern, the first UC Davis campus urban forester and part of the Arboretum and Public Garden team, is devoted to managing and maintaining the university's urban forest. As certified arborist, Kern has worked on numerous projects in his career aimed at supporting flourishing environments and is bringing his expertise back with him to Davis.
The Arboretum and Public Garden is working closely with the campus planning leadership at UC Davis to develop a 70-year UC Davis Living Landscape Adaptation Plan (LLAP) that will allow us to transition the landscapes of UC Davis to a climate-ready campus.
