UC Davis Arboretum & Public Garden » Campus Planning & Community Resources

Homestays needed for international scholars

Katie Hetrick — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:58:20 +0000

If you have some space in your home between June 14 and July 7 (or even a part of that time), and you enjoy getting to know people from around the world, please consider helping host one or two of the Society for Conservation GIS scholars (SCGIS)! This summer between 17 and 25 young adult international visitors will be coming to Davis to attend specialized GIS training provided by the Society for Conservation GIS (SCGIS). These international scholars (usually between the ages of 22 and 40) were selected from a global pool of applicants. They will be in the US for about five weeks, and for three of those weeks they will need housing in Davis. This will be the fourth summer that the Davis community has hosted the SCGIS scholars. Scholars will be in class at UC Davis (in a computer lab) 8-10 hours per day, sometimes including Saturdays, and will often eat meals together after class. SCGIS will provide them with funds to cover the cost of their food, but because of a limited budget, SCGIS cannot afford hotels. After leaving Davis, the scholars will be attending the Esri International User Conference in San Diego (July 8-12) and then the Society for Conservation GIS annual conference in Monterey (July 14-18). Most will then head home. This is a fantastic opportunity for cultural exchange. Lifetime friendships often develop between host families and scholars, and these often include invitations for host family members to visit and stay with the scholars in their home countries. The countries represented by scholars this year (tentatively) include: Uruguay, Laos, DR Congo, Nigeria, Brazil, China, Mexico, Armenia, Philippines, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Argentina, Zambia, Japan, South Africa, and Indonesia. There are also at least four advanced scholars who may be coming from one or more of these countries: Russia, Cameroon, Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay, Madagascar, China, Argentina, and Canada. It is best if scholars can stay in a guest room (1 or 2 scholars per room), but even a sofa bed in the living room can work if that's what you have. Your commitment beyond a place to stay is minimal, but there will be opportunities to join the scholars for some meals and parties throughout their stay. If this sounds interesting to you, please contact Steve Blum (email: sb17@aol.com or phone: 916.715.4597) or Karen Beardsley (kbeardsley@ucdavis.edu). They will be happy to discuss this in more detail, so please let them know if you have any questions! Also feel free to pass this along to others you know who may be interested.

Downtown Davis Parkway Greening Project: Community Meeting Recap

Katie Hetrick — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:23:45 +0000

Didn’t get a chance to attend the community meeting about the Downtown Davis Parkway Greening Project? Interested in how it all played out? On Saturday, March 2^rd thirty-four community members and stakeholders met to tour the project and discuss the new design. Participants broke into two groups and toured the future California Native Plant Garden (located between the east end of the Arboretum and the Davis Commons parking lot) and a portion of Putah Creek Parkway (which goes under the railroad tracks and connects north and south Davis). The group then gathered to provide feedback on the proposal. And, as often happens here in Davis, a lively discussion ensued! Both pedestrian and cyclist interests were well represented, as were concerns about circulation connections, long term maintenance of the site, project signage, wildlife diversity, and ongoing community involvement. Overall, participants were excited about the proposed improvements and eager for the process to get underway. For those of you who were able to make it to the meeting, thanks for your feedback! It’s an invaluable part of the design process and a resource that we will continually return to as we finalize the construction documents. Look for construction of the California Native Plant Garden to begin this summer! Notes and exhibits from the meeting: Site plan with notes from workshop Summary of workshop comments To read more about this project, CLICK HERE. Check out a SLIDESHOW of photos from the event.

Jack Dangermond, president and founder of Esri, shares vision and launches pilot project with Arboretum and Public Garden

Katie Hetrick — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 16:10:35 +0000

(Readers: please note that this article was used as a promotional piece/press release and refers to a talk that has already taken place.) Remember when you used to need 10 cents to make a phone call outside your home? The nostalgia of questions like this and others is no longer reserved for older generations. The advent of digital books and music, smart phones, and social media have opened our world to whole new professions, networks of communication, ease of access to media and information that were unheard of just 5 years ago. What technology will change our lives next? Jack Dangermond, president and founder of Esri, one of the world’s foremost geographic information system companies, is going to let us know. In an extraordinary talk—arranged in partnership with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Science’s (CAES) Agriculture Sustainability Institute (ASI) and Information Center for the Environment (ICE), and as part of the Arboretum and Public Garden’s commitment to inviting thought leaders to campus—the UC Davis community of students, faculty, researchers and staff are invited to take a guided tour of a new ecosystem of tools available to GIS (Geographic Information System) users Friday, April 26 from 3-4:30 pm in the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) Ballroom. Dangermond’s talk titled, “GIS as a Platform: What it Means for GIS Users,” will inform the audience of recent and transformative changes to GIS technology. Not familiar with GIS? Think you are not a GIS user? Don’t allow yourself to be thrown off by a technical abbreviation. Once the domain of highly trained technical experts, GIS tools, as well as the once difficult to locate data necessary to explore interesting and important questions, are now available anytime, anywhere, and to anyone. If you’ve used a mapping program via the internet, used a smart phone to access location-aware content, or tracked a Fed Ex package…you are a GIS user. GIS is a tool that integrates hard data like a location or an address, with new ways to manipulate that data so it tells a story. Your story might be how you get from point A to point B, or, your story may be infinitely more complicated, like communicating the effects of climate change. If you've got a story to tell and you understand the power of location in telling that story, then this talk is for you. You will leave this engagement with ideas for communicating to your audience in ways you did not think were possible without a team of technical experts and data entry specialists, and that is just the beginning. Date: Friday, April 26, 2013 Time: 3-4:30 pm Place: UC Davis ARC Ballrooms MAP Admission: FREE RSVP: Carrie Cloud at crcloud@ucdavis.edu DOWNLOAD THE EVENT FLYER Visit to serve as launch of Esri-UC Davis pilot project Dangermond's UC Davis visit will also serve as the launch of a ground-breaking Esri-UC Davis pilot project. Dangermond’s passion for supporting conservation science combined with the Arboretum’s leadership and wide-reaching effort to bring GIS tools and education to public gardens, parks and zoos worldwide, has led to Esri selecting UC Davis and its Arboretum and Public Garden as the site to build a suite of cloud-based mobile GIS tools to manage their organization and campus collections. The new tools that result from this work will be shared with botanical gardens and zoos around the world, to help them understand and protect the earth's biodiversity as well as educate their 50 million visitors about critical issues in conservation science. “Over the past 10-years, the UC Davis Arboretum’s curatorial team has secured over $850,000 from a variety of federal grants and donations—not only to map and manage our own collections—this funding has enabled our team to become a leader worldwide for educating other public gardens about the advantages of adopting and integrating this technology into their work flows,” cites Kathleen Socolofsky, assistant vice chancellor of the UC Davis arboretum and public garden. “We are thrilled that this work has highlighted our operation and that our effort will lead to the development of a new suite tools designed to assist our campus to harness the power of GIS.” “With this commitment, Esri is not just supporting the development of tools for UC Davis and its Arboretum and Public Garden. Their goals are much larger,” Mary Burke, director of collections, UC Davis arboretum and public garden, “One of the world’s largest engineering and software development firms is now taking on the cause of public gardens. We are thrilled! The suite of tools that they develop here will be used to support the entire public garden community and one day, we hope, national park conservation efforts.” Dr. Steven Greco, associate professor of landscape architecture, has taught multiple graduate seminars on GIS and assisted in the Arboretum’s effort to secure their GIS-focused federal grants adds, “We’ve accomplished a great deal, but there’s so much more to be done. With UC Davis at the forefront of the development of this powerful suite of tools my hope is that urban planners and ecologists everywhere will be better-equipped to devise ways for natural systems and humans to co-exist equitably and prosperously.” A team from Esri is scheduled to begin this project in May. We will keep you updated on its progress and outcomes as the pilot is currently scheduled for completion this summer.

Animal Science GATEway Garden update

Katie Hetrick — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:41:33 +0000

Have you seen the UC Davis Animal Science GATEway Garden? Be sure to stop by when you get a chance to check out the newly-planted beds and to enjoy the peaceful surroundings, that is, if the nearby donkey is not braying! You may feel as though you are trespassing because there is a gate at the entrance, but it pushes right open to give visitors a closer glimpse of the animals, and, once the interpretive signage is installed, an educational look at the research being conducted here. Take note of the farm equipment re-purposed by creative Animal Science crew members; there's a bench viewing area created using old wagon wheels, another seating area that makes a squeeze chute look inviting (see photo at the left), planters made from feeding troughs, and a picnic bench fashioned from a hay feeder. Under the large valley oak at the center of the garden you will find a selection of California natives known to thrive in this tree's shade. Large sandstone rocks brought in from the upper reaches of Putah Creek provide visual definition and serve to separate the planting areas within the raised beds. As the plants radiate out from the oak you'll find a mix of selections native to the southwest and high-desert including a variety of grasses typically consumed by domesticated animals raised in these areas. Notice the lack of landscaping west of the oak tree? That's a placeholder for a large teaching deck yet to be installed. READ MORE about the history of the creation of this garden here. VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS

Arboretum Drive now open to bikes and pedestrians

Katie Hetrick — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 22:53:00 +0000

The construction involved in the creation of the newest portion of Arboretum Drive is complete and almost of all of the landscaping installed on this pedestrian and bikeway-only path formerly known as Old Davis Road. In order to ease car congestion near the core of campus, "new" Old Davis Road leads visitors from the UC Davis freeway exit all the way to the City of Davis while the new Arboretum Drive (formerly Old Davis Road) is reserved for bikes and pedestrians. Does none of this make sense to you? Read more about this project and the road changes here. One of the most exciting parts of this transformation was the creation of an Arboretum entry plaza near the campus's front door, just past the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, in addition to an attractive brick walkway leading visitors into the Mary Wattis Brown Native Plant Garden. The plan is for plazas and pathways like this to appear throughout the Arboretum. Narrowing the road and creating a thoroughfare for bikes and pedestrians opened up a significant area in need of landscaping. This portion of the project was managed by Stacey Parker, UC Davis Arboretum GATEways horticulturist. Her volunteers teamed up with other Arboretum volunteer gardening teams to create a landscape worthy of this high-profile entrance and transition seamlessly to nearby gardens. This project also included a new entrance and exit from the UC Davis Arboretum's T. Elliot Weier Redwood Grove and improved transitions from Arboretum pathways to the road. If you haven't been to this area of campus in a while, it's worth a trip just to enjoy a stroll along this new portion of Arboretum Drive without having to worry about car traffic. CHECK OUT OUR SLIDESHOW of photos documenting the progress of this project.

UC Davis receives Tree Campus USA distinction for fifth consecutive year

Katie Hetrick — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 23:35:10 +0000

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. What does it take to be named a “Tree Campus USA”?

Campus Tree Advisory Committee
Campus Tree Care Plan
Campus Tree Program with Dedicated Annual Expenditures
Arbor Day Observance
Service Learning Project

Congratulations to our Grounds and Landscape Services team for taking care of our trees and keeping them a priority for our campus and the environment!

Update on stormwater quality improvement projects

Katie Hetrick — Sun, 14 Apr 2013 18:36:07 +0000

Thanks to a partnership with UC Davis Environmental Health & Safety, new landscapes throughout campus are growing in areas once eroded by seasonal run-off. The projects are not only improving the campus landscape aesthetically, they are improving our stormwater quality and expanding our collection of low-maintenance, native grasses. Funding for these projects comes from EH&S which budgets for stormwater and other environmental impact enhancements on an annual basis. Both Sue Fields and Brent Cutler have been working with Andrew Fulks, director of the UC Davis Putah Creek Riparian Reserve and campus naturalized lands, to identify areas for these types of improvements. VIEW SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS Read more: Partnership with campus Environmental Health & Safety improves landscape and stormwater quality Landscape improvements in west end of Arboretum to improve stormwater quality

Boy Scout troop helps install trail to connect Arboretum with North Fork Trail

Katie Hetrick — Sat, 13 Apr 2013 19:08:48 +0000

On Saturday, March 23, 2013, boy scout volunteers from Troop 111 and Eagle Scout candidate Dale Shafer helped staff from the Arboretum and Public Garden's Putah Creek Riparian Reserve build the first 800 feet of the North Fork Trail on the old channel of Putah Creek.

Together this team graded the trail, set 80 posts in place, and strung rope the entire length. Andrew Fulks and JP Marié were able to secure both the rope and the posts from the Solano County Water Agency at no cost. This trail is the first segment of what will eventually be a connection to the Arboretum and West Village. VIEW SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS

Media coverage of shovel drive and plant sale

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 21:46:25 +0000

Ellen Zagory, UC Davis Arboretum director of horticulture was quite the rock star on local television leading up to and on the day of our first public plant sale on April 6. Getting coverage of both our shovel drive and the plant sale created a ton of buzz that translated into a fantastic day of fundraising for the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum. If you missed any of the media, we've put together a recap below. CBS Good Day Sacramento LINK TO LIVE SPOT Another piece appeared on the evening news, but we haven't tracked that one down yet. FOX 40 The link on the Fox 40 website already appears to have been removed. Below is a link to a YouTube video shot by Katie Hetrick, director of communications for the UC Davis Arboretum & public garden. CLICK HERE ABC News 10 Ellen appeared in the studio on Saturday morning. CHECK IT OUT HERE! This one takes a while to load...give it a chance...hopefully something will appear. What is up with NBC? We hope to get them next time!

Print Promotions

29 March 2013 Davis Enterprise: "Dig in! Shovel donations sought for city/campus art project" 3 April 2013 Davis Enterprise: "The scoop on a sculpture of shovels: It's about stories" 4 April 2013 Davis Enterprise: "Plant sale Saturday benefits Friends of the Arboretum" 6 April 2013 Sac Bee: "Seeds: UC Davis Arboretum presents Durable Delights"

Durable Delights showcased at spring plant sales

Katie Hetrick — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 23:37:24 +0000

Gorgeous and hearty plants that shine without much polish! DIY home landscapers interested low-water, easy-care landscapes do not want to miss the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum plant sale this Sunday, April 28 from 9AM-1 PM at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery. In addition to the community-beloved Arboretum All-stars—100 tough, easy-to-grow, reliable plants, tested in the arboretum for sustainability—this sale will feature 30 unusual and interesting plants that arboretum horticulturists are calling Durable Delights. “The best plants are ones that demand little of our time, but offer a big return in form, color, flower and durability, hence the Durable Delight name,” explains Ellen Zagory, director of horticulture for the UC Davis Arboretum. Zagory adds, “While wholesale nurseries offer their customers plants in an alluring variety of colors and forms, over the years our team has learned what consistently grows here in our Valley and persists despite our hot summer, cool damp winters and sometimes heavy clay soils.” “Some of these plants may need shade in the Central Valley, but many are able to stand up and sparkle with little irrigation in the hot summer sun,” explains Lisa Fowler, nursery manager, UC Davis Arboretum. Beyond Durable Delights and Arboretum All-stars, customers will find a huge array plants specifically chosen for their suitability to our area’s unique growing environments, trained sales people available to make recommendations as well as stunning demonstration plantings to inspire ideas and design possibilities. Can’t attend on Sunday? You’ve got one more chance. Saturday, May 18, the nursery will be open to the public for the last time this spring season from 9 AM – 1 PM. For more information, visit the Arboretum’s website: http://arboretum.ucdavis.edu. Durable Delights: The List (Click here to download a .pdf; Adobe Acrobat required.)

Agave americana ‘Variegata’, striped agave
Delosperma cooperi, cerise hardy ice plant
Leucophyllum frutescens ‘Compactum’ and ‘Green Cloud’, cenizo
Muhlenbergia dubia, Mexican deergrass
Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Mozart’, Ed Carman’s rosemary
Saponaria × lempergii ‘Max Frei’, hybrid soapwort
Bupleurum fruticosum, shrubby hare’s ear
Achillea ‘Coronation Gold’, coronation gold yarrow
Salvia clevelandii ‘Winnifred Gilman’, Winnifred Gilman Cleveland sage
Anigozanthos ‘Amber Velvet’, The Velvet Range™ kangaroo paw
Perovskia atriplicifolia ‘Little Spire’, little spire Russian sage
Dasylirion wheeleri, desert spoon
Iberis sempervirens, evergreen candytuft
Muhlenbergia capillaris, pink muhly
Bouteloua gracilis ‘Blonde Ambition’, blonde ambition blue grama
Salvia chamaedryoides, Mexican blue sage
Teucrium fruticans ‘Azureum’, azure bush germander
Beschorneria yuccoides, Mexican lily
Geranium × cantabrigiense ‘Biokovo’, Biokovo cranesbill
Epilobium canum ‘Sierra Salmon’, Sierra salmon California fuchsia
Carex oshimensis ‘Evergold’, variegated Japanese sedge
Viburnum tinus ‘Anvi’, spirit viburnum
Ajuga reptans ‘Catlin’s Giant’, Catlin’s giant bugle
Origanum ‘Marshall’s Memory’, Marshall’s oregano
Glandularia aristigera (Verbena tenuisecta), moss verbena
Garrya elliptica ‘Evie’, Evie’s silktassel
Chondropetalum tectorum, small Cape Rush
Quercus tomentella, Island oak
Miscanthus sinensis var. condensatus ‘Cosmopolitan’, cosmopolitan silver grass
Juncus patens ‘Elk Blue’, elk blue California gray rush

Donate your old shovel, see it transformed into art

Katie Hetrick — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:01:00 +0000

Dig in! The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden offers the public, along with their old shovels, a chance to leave a permanent mark on our community as they seek to collect 400 used spades, gardening trowels, shovels of all kinds, for use in a campus and city outdoor art sculpture scheduled for completion this fall. The location and timing of the shovel drive will coincide with the Arboretum’s spring plant sales (see dates and location below).

The Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum will only be collecting shovels for the installation at their spring plants sales, however the City of Davis will be collecting weekdays through the end of May at their Parks and General Services Department building.

Drop off your used shovel during the dates and times listed below:

SHOVEL DONATION LOCATIONS:

Public Plant Sales UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery CLICK HERE for a link to driving directions. SATURDAY, MAY 18 from 9am-1pm More information: Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum Spring Plant Sales City of Davis Parks and General Services Department 1818 Fifth Street, Davis WEEKDAYS from 8 am - 4 pm Through the end of May

MORE INFORMATION:

Davis Enterprise article: The scoop on a sculpture of shovels? It's about the stories by Cory Golden DOWNLOAD DIG IN! USED SHOVELS SOUGHT FOR CITY/CAMPUS ART SCULPTURE by Emily Griswold & Katie Hetrick

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Chris Fennell http://cfennell.org

Taking out turf and trading up: landscaping the La Rue Road median

Katie Hetrick — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 19:48:31 +0000

(Note: This content also appeared in the Davis Enterprise on March 6, 2013.) The change was gradual—the grass once blanketing La Rue Road median between Russell Boulevard and Garrod Drive faded then disappeared completely in the winter of 2011 leaving a large strip of bare earth exposed along the high-profile UC Davis campus beltway. The change left many wondering, “What is going on there?” Like many community residents forced to question the feasibility of managing their landscapes, UC Davis budget cuts required campus leadership to get creative and transform high-water, high-maintenance lawns to attractive, low-water, easy-care landscapes to reduce operations and maintenance costs. “For such a bland-looking landscape, the hours and resources spent caring for the median just didn’t make sense,” Bob Segar, assistant vice chancellor of campus planning and community resources. “Regular maintenance like mowing required our teams to re-route traffic a couple times a month, not to mention the amount of water required to keep the grass green and fuel to run the equipment.” UC Davis will be taking on more of these types of landscape conversions as the result of a reorganization merging the campus’s professional outdoor design, care and operations staff from the Arboretum, Grounds and Landscape Services, Campus Planning & Landscape Architecture, Civil and Industrial Services and the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve and Campus Naturalized Land into the UC Davis Arboretum & Public Garden. “Taking out turf and designing a landscape to take its place is not as easy as it may sound,” Cary Avery, associate director of grounds and landscape Services. “Just getting rid of the Bermuda grass took about a year—it’s tricky. Bermuda’s extensive root system and winter dormant period meant we had to give the grass at least two growing seasons followed quickly by herbicide application and removal. We didn’t want to risk it coming back to roost in our new landscape.” Yesterday, after almost a year and a half of planning and preparation, we can now begin to appreciate the final transformation. Teams from the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden planted the first third (from Hutchison Drive to Garrod Drive), of the almost 50,000 square foot area with plants evaluated by staff horticulturists and landscape architects to be regionally-appropriate for this space as well as suitable for our unique valley conditions. Landscaping for the rest of the median is scheduled for completion in early fall. Andrew Fulks, director of the putah creek riparian reserve and campus naturalized lands, emphasized the water savings. “The shift from overhead pop-up spray irrigation to a sub-surface drip irrigation system will reduce our water use substantially. Once we have run the system for a few months in the summer we’ll know the exact amount of savings, which we can use to project future campus-wide efforts at water reduction.” Ellen Zagory, director of horticulture for the arboretum selected the plant palette, “These plants demand little of our time yet offer a big return in form, color, flower and durability. They’ll stand up and sparkle even with little irrigation in hot summer sun.” “Our goal is that this project will serve as a best practice case study of lawn removal for institutional landscapes everywhere,” Kathleen Socolofsky, director and assistant vice chancellor for the arboretum and public garden. “We are documenting our process and will report back on our resource savings from less labor, fuel, emissions and water use, as the landscape matures.” For home gardeners interested in transforming their lawns into more sustainable landscapes, UC Davis Arboretum plant sales are a great resource. The sales feature a broad variety of low-maintenance, drought-tolerant plants and are staffed by expert volunteers and staff horticulturists who can help advise customers on landscaping projects. The Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum Member Appreciation Sale will be this Saturday, March 9 from 9 am-1pm at the UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive across from the veterinary medicine teaching hospital. “This sale is for Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum members, but anyone can join at the door. Members receive 10% off their plant sale purchases at all sales, an additional $10 off their purchase at the March 9 sale, free or discounted entry to hundreds of public gardens nationwide as well as discounts at local nurseries. The benefits far outweigh the cost,” Suzanne Ullensvang, resource development manager for the arboretum. “Members of the Davis Botanical Society are also welcome and receive the same discounts.” Links for more information: PLANT SALES and MEMBERSHIP LAWN REMOVAL and DESIGN TIPS LINK TO SLIDESHOW OF PHOTOS

Lawn removal and design tips from the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden Team

Katie Hetrick — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 19:46:16 +0000

CARY AVERY, Associate Director, UC Davis Grounds and Landscape Services: "If you are trying to get rid of Bermuda grass, don't rush the process. Spray it with an herbicide, wait for it to die, remove it, then, if you can, give it another growing season to pop-up and repeat the steps above. You'll be glad you did." ELLEN ZAGORY, Director of Horticulture, UC Davis Arboretum: “Davis residents have a leg-up in the lawn-removal process living so close to the Arboretum Teaching Nursery. The plants we’ve selected for this conversion are available at our plant sales. Attractive, low-water, easy-care, region-appropriate plants, that’s our specialty…no need to reinvent the wheel! We’ve removed a lot of the guesswork typically associated with this kind of project.” ANDREW FULKS, Director, UC Davis Putah Creek Riparian Reserve and Campus Naturalized Landscapes: “Leaving a bare patch of dirt in your yard for a season or two while your grass dies can be difficult. Consider spreading wildflower seed over the area in the meantime, like we did on La Rue Road. The growth will provide a season of color and beauty as well as deliver necessary nutrition to your soil.” MATT FORREST, Irrigation Supervisor, UC Davis Grounds and Landscape Services: “We switched our irrigation delivery in the median from spray to sub-surface drip line. Now, instead of measuring water use by gallons per minute, we’ll measure water use in gallons per hour! We’ll be providing moisture in the soil where the plants need it most instead of wasting water by spraying it into the air.” CHRISTINA DE MARTINI REYES, Landscape Architect, UC Davis Campus Planning and Landscape Architecture: “Designing the median of a busy street requires a whole different way of looking at landscapes. The goal is to deliver engagement without distraction and consistency without monotony. For me the key to achieving this goal was incorporating one of the central valley’s most versatile native trees, the valley oak. It unified the median while allowing the landscape beneath to shift in pattern and composition.”

City of Davis, UC Davis Arboretum seek community input on greening project

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 22:44:49 +0000

(Content from City of Davis and UC Davis Arboretum joint press release.) The City of Davis and UC Davis Arboretum will host a community meeting on Saturday, March 2nd from 1:00 to 3:00 pm to gather public feedback on planned improvements to the Putah Creek Parkway and the east end of the Arboretum. The improvements will include new native plantings, removal of invasive plants, new pathways and benches, habitat enhancement for wildlife and pollinators, wayfinding and educational signage, and safety and visibility enhancements. For the first hour of the event, from 1:00 to 2:00 pm, participants will walk the site with project designers. The site walk will begin at the back of the Davis Commons (Whole Foods) parking lot. Starting at 2:00 pm, the second hour of the event will be a community design workshop held in the meeting room of University Park Inn and Suites at 1111 Richards Blvd. The City of Davis, the UC Davis Arboretum, and a number of partners have recently been awarded an Urban Greening Project Grant of $891,304 from the California Strategic Growth Council. The 5-acre project area includes 3.5 acres along the Putah Creek Parkway, where a bike path west of Olive Drive connects the bike tunnel under I-80 with the bike tunnel under the railroad tracks. This greenbelt follows the remnant north fork channel of Putah Creek which will be restored with native plantings as a unique natural habitat area near downtown. The project also includes 1.5 acres at the east end of the Arboretum near Aggie Village and the Davis Commons shopping center. This will be the site of a new California native plant garden focused on plants native to the Putah Creek watershed. The project will also fund the reconfiguration of bike and pedestrian paths to improve access and circulation and the installation of bio-swales and pervious concrete to capture parking lot storm water run-off. Most of the construction for the project will occur this summer with planting following this fall. By spring of 2016 – the grant deadline for project completion – the new plantings will be well-established and installation of signage will be complete. The project is the result of an innovative collaboration among the City of Davis, UC Davis Arboretum, UC Davis Administrative and Resource Management Division, Yolo County Resource Conservation District, TreeDavis, Putah Creek Council, Fulcrum Capital, Cunningham Engineering, and private landowners to create a vibrant green space and a dynamic educational resource that will serve as a model for communities throughout California. The ultimate success of the project will depend on community support, both upfront during the design process and in the long run through volunteerism and donations. According to Joe Krovoza, mayor of Davis, “The Strategic Growth Council’s funding of this project is a testament to what can happen when diverse governmental agencies, non-profits, and private companies collaborate to improve our community. This project will become the heart of where the City intersects with the UC Davis Arboretum. The fusion of city greenbelts with the Arboretum will become a phenomenal example of bicycle and pedestrian corridors, drawing users for commuting, recreation, education, and the arts.” The project site is strategically located at a hub of bicycle and pedestrian circulation where routes to the Arboretum, downtown Davis, the UC Davis campus, and South Davis intersect. The project will include several major elements: The Putah Creek Parkway is a key bikeway linking South Davis with the UC Davis campus and downtown Davis. The project will improve wildlife habitat by removing invasive, non-native plants and trees; removing trash and rubble from the site; planting native riparian plants; and installing nesting structures for native pollinators. Interpretive signs will identify native plants and their habitat value and explain the history of the site. New pedestrian trails and benches will provide better access and comfort for visitors. A California Native Plant Garden will be an inviting space and major entry into the Arboretum from downtown. Teaching patios with themed plantings and interpretive signs will educate visitors about the regional flora and fauna, the history of the Putah Creek watershed and its current management, and how to create sustainable landscapes with native plants. A sculptural gateway element, funded by the City of Davis Municipal Arts Fund, will mark entry to the project site from downtown. Lighting along the garden's major circulation corridor will improve user safety. According to Assistant Vice Chancellor and Arboretum Director Kathleen Socolofsky, this grant “presents a great opportunity to share the wealth of the Arboretum’s innovative gardens and programs with more people in the community. This project reflects our vision for the City Arts GATEway, the section of the Arboretum that intersects with downtown Davis, as part of the UC Davis GATEways Project (Gardens, Arts, and The Environment).” The project will also implement green parking lot retrofits to demonstrate best practices in storm water infiltration and treatment. The garden site abuts a parking lot that serves the Davis Commons retail center. Parking lot runoff will be diverted into a “rain garden” biofiltration feature. In several parking stalls near the garden entry, asphalt will be replaced with a pervious, more reflective surface to help reduce urban heating. Interpretive signs will inform visitors about the use of pervious surfaces and vegetation to reduce and filter surface runoff. Circulation improvements will ensure safe access to the Arboretum and the Putah Creek Parkway for bicycles and pedestrians. Improvements will include realigning pedestrian and bike paths and installing wayfinding signage, to create a visible and accessible connection from the Arboretum to downtown Davis and the city-wide bicycle circulation system. Funding for the project comes from voter-approved Proposition 84 (the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2006), which included $90 million for urban greening projects. In the second round of funding, the agency received 261 project concepts requesting $232 million; 54 applicants for large projects were invited to submit full proposals. Of these, 24 were funded, for a total of $15,337,825. The Davis project was ranked #1 in a tie with two other proposals out of the 24 large projects funded. The California Native Plant Garden is partially funded by grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Stanley Smith Horticultural Trust, the Stuart Foundation, the Thornton S. and Katrina D. Glide Foundation, and the Rotary Club of Davis, and by the UC Davis office of Campus Planning and Community Resources. Information: Emily Griswold, Director of GATEways Horticulture and Teaching Gardens, UC Davis Arboretum, ebgriswold@ucdavis.edu, (530) 754-8038.

Arboretum Drive construction update

Katie Hetrick — Thu, 14 Feb 2013 20:56:54 +0000

Construction on the new Arboretum Drive (formerly Old Davis Rd.) continues to progress. The new Arboretum entry plaza area on the west side of Mrak Hall Drive and Arboretum Drive is nearly complete. Concrete construction of a sidewalk with improved access entries located across the street from the main plaza began this last week in addition to the building of a new set of stairs leading down to the Redwood Grove from A Street at Arboretum Drive. This project is still on track for completion at the end of this March barring any rain delays. PHOTO SLIDESHOW READ MORE