UC Davis Arboretum & Public Garden » Development

Arboretum annual appeal matching challenge deadline extended!

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 21:20:10 +0000

Dr. Eric Conn (pictured left) has seen how his contributions have made a difference at the Arboretum. Now he's hoping his gift inspires you to make a difference too. Give a gift to the Friends annual appeal, or make a tribute dedication in the Arboretum, and he'll match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to a total match of $30,000! What an easy way to make a greater impact with your giving. Plus we've extended the deadline for this special matching challenge to February 15, so everyone has a chance to participate. Why does the Arboretum need to ask for support in addition to memberships? The University provides basic support for the Arboretum each year but it's not even enough to fund staffing and care of the existing garden collections. Over 50% of the Arboretum’s annual budget must come from other community sources such as individual donations, grants, and other gifts. Given the fiscal realities of the University budget, community support for the Arboretum is more critical than ever. So, please consider these two ways to give this year. Both qualify for Dr. Conn's matching challenge. Annual Appeal: If you love the Arboretum we ask you to give generously to the Friends annual appeal, above and beyond annual membership dues. You should have received a letter from the Friends in late November about this year's appeal. Annual appeal contributions help fund the Arboretum in all areas of operations, everything from maintaining and enhancing the gardens to putting on public education programs for children and adults. Tribute Dedications: Many visitors ask how they can make a gift with lasting value to the Arboretum that also honors a loved one. There are several dedication options currently available. These range from unique Art-Science Fusion tiles and plaques in the Shields Oak Grove to hardwood benches in beautiful areas of the Arboretum. In addition to honoring a special person or event in your life, these gifts help us maintain the Arboretum for the enjoyment of everyone who uses them. To everyone who has recently made a gift, we extend our sincere thanks for your support this year. If you have questions about the annual appeal, tribute gift options or would like to make a gift, please contact Suzanne Ullensvang at (530) 752-8324 or sullensvang@ucdavis.edu.

Dr. Eric Conn offers UC Davis Arboretum first annual appeal matching challenge

Katie Hetrick — Mon, 17 Dec 2012 21:40:22 +0000

Dr. Eric Conn, a longtime Arboretum supporter and namesake of our Acacia Grove, has offered to enhance our annual appeal with a challenge pledge, enabling our members and supporters the opportunity to double their donations to our yearly campaign. We are incredibly thankful to him and hope that you'll take this special opportunity to double the impact of your support for the Arboretum. Give a gift to the Friends annual appeal, or make a tribute dedication in the Arboretum, and he'll match your gift dollar-for-dollar, up to a total match of $30,000! What an easy way to make a greater impact with your giving. Your gift of any amount will help support the Arboretum's innovative programs and outstanding gardens that touch the lives of people just like you. If you are interested in making a year-end gift for 2012 tax purposes, gifts by check must be postmarked on or before December 31, 2012. Or you may make a year-end donation by credit card through December 31,2012 via UC Davis’ secure website. Log on to http://giving.ucdavis.edu (click on “make a gift now” and select “Arboretum Enhancement Fund” under gift designation). If you have additional questions about making a contribution, please contact Suzanne Ullensvang at (530) 752-8324 or sullensvang@ucdavis.edu.

Arboretum jewelry now available at UC Davis Store downtown!

Katie Hetrick — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:00:29 +0000

UC Davis Campus Grown, an initiative whose mission is to transform unused assets into retail products designed to support and promote university programs and sustainability goals, has recently launched the Arboretum Collection. The UC Davis Arboretum holds one of the largest collections of oaks in the United States, including 128 native valley oaks (Quercus lobata) whose majestic, twisted limbs form the backbone of the Arboretum’s plant collections. To commemorate the Arboretum’s signature tree, Nancy Shapiro—metalsmith, jewelry designer and co-president of the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum—created the pins and pendants in the UC Davis Campus Grown "Arboretum Collection" from the leaf of an Arboretum-grown tree. Each piece is crafted using the lost wax technique and cast from fair-trade silver. The "Arboretum Collection" currently includes two types of jewelry—a silver valley oak leaf pin ($42) and a silver valley oak leaf pendant ($48). (Price includes eco-friendly packaging materials.) Supplies for this premiere launch are limited and currently sold exclusively at the UC Davis Store Downtown. Should they sell out, store staff will be taking names and notifying interested customers of new shipments set to arrive in plenty of time before the holiday season. For more information, visit the UC Davis Campus Grown website here. Retail sales location: UC Davis Store Downtown 630 Second Street Davis, CA 95616 Tel: 530-297-4450 Purchases of products in the UC Davis Campus Grown "Arboretum Collection" support the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum whose donations sustain the Arboretum’s innovative education programs and provide for the care, maintenance and growth of the inspiring plant collections. The UC Davis Store Downtown is also the exclusive retail sales location for UC Davis Campus Grown Salvaged Wood. Discover more about this line of products here.

Whole Foods partners with Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum to raise funds

Katie Hetrick — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 04:02:56 +0000

The Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum support group is the first recipient of Whole Foods' "Nickels for Nonprofits" quarterly donation program. It's easy to participate. Whole Foods' customers who bring in their own shopping bags are offered a $0.05 credit per bag. This credit can be applied to their final bill or donated to a nonprofit. This quarter the featured nonprofit recipient of this program is the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum!

If you have a chance to visit the store, be sure to bring your own shopping bags and support our Friends group! We are proud to be Whole Foods' premiere partner in this worthwhile program and look forward to transforming those nickels into support for our collections and educational programs. This program not only encourages a more sustainable grocery-shopping trip, it also creates a positive impact for nonprofits like ours! DON'T FORGET! If you grab lunch or a snack at Whole Foods, visit the Arboretum Terrace Garden and Lois Crowe Patio, a homeowner's showcase for garden design ideas. The space offers plenty of tables in an oasis-like environment complete with multiple water features.

National Public Gardens Day celebration

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 13:40:59 +0000

On Friday May 11, in honor of the UC Davis Arboretum's 75th anniversary and National Public Gardens Day, John and Lois Crowe hosted a "Spring Garden Party" to honor long-term Arboretum supporters as well as celebrate the wonderful transformations occurring throughout the Arboretum and campus via the UC Davis GATEways Project. Guests were treated to a cornucopia of hors d’oeuvres and refreshments while enjoying a perfect Davis spring evening set to the stylings of bluegrass band Mountain Laurel. Speakers John and Lois Crowe, Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph Hexter (See photo above.), Vice Chancellor John Meyer (Administrative and Resource Management), Assistant Vice Chancellor Bob Segar (Campus Planning and Community Resources), Kathleen Socolofsky (Assistant Vice Chancellor and Arboretum Director) all expressed their gratitude to Arboretum supporters for their dedication and spoke of the progress and potential of the UC Davis GATEways Project. Link to a photo slideshow of the Spring Garden Party

Shields Oak Grove Turns 50

Katie Hetrick — Thu, 03 May 2012 22:10:39 +0000

This is an excerpt from the UC Davis Dateline article. Read the full article here. Acorns from around the world have grown into a magnificent scientific collection and a monumental sight: the Peter J. Shields Oak Grove, dedicated 50 years ago this month in the UC Davis Arboretum. The university dedicated the grove on April 4, 1962, the day the grove’s namesake turned 100. Shields, one of the university’s founding fathers, died five months later. Last week, in honor of the grove’s 50th anniversary, the arboretum hosted about 50 people — including Jane Keller, Shields’ niece — for a celebration under the Persian oaks near the grove’s entryway. The arboretum grew the Persian oaks (Quercus castaneifolia) from acorns sent in 1964 from the Kew Gardens (the Royal Botanic Gardens) outside London. “They were among some of the first oak grove plantings and they have grown to an exceptional 90 feet tall,” said Emily Griswold, oak grove curator. The anniversary celebration brought together several people with strong connections to those Persian oaks and the hundreds of other oaks in the collection: people who were there at the beginning, or their descendants in a show of the grove’s multigenerational impact. People like Professor Emeritus Dick Harris, chair of the arboretum committee at the time of the grove’s establishment; his wife, Vera; and their son Dan, who played in the grove as a child. The grove's 50th anniversary comes the same year as the arboretum's 75th, allowing Assistant Vice Chancellor Kathleen Socolofsky, arboretum director, to revel in celebrating "with the people who created this place and continue its preservation." Read more about the Shields Oak Grove here. Link to a slideshow of the Peter J. Shields Oak Grove 50th Anniversary Oak Planting Ceremony.

Peter Raven lecture: “Saving Life, Saving Ourselves”

Katie Hetrick — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 20:27:29 +0000

Dr. Peter Raven, former director of the Missouri Botanical Garden (widely considered to be one of the top three botanical gardens in the world), will be speaking as part of the Storer Lecture series on Wednesday, January 18th.

Event Details

What: Storer Life Sciences Endowment Presents Major Issues in Modern Biology: Saving Life, Saving Ourselves Lecture by: Dr. Peter Raven, George Engelmann Professor of Botany Emeriti and President Emeritus Missouri Botanical Garden When: Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 Time: 2:00 PM Where: Conference Center Ballroom B (across from the Mondavi Center). Click here to see the location on the campus map. Cost: Free Click here to download the event flyer.

Arboretum 75th Anniversary kick-off celebration & endowment launch

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:59:31 +0000

On October 19^th, Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum Board President Nancy Shapiro along with her husband Howard, hosted a kick-off celebration in honor of the Arboretum’s 75^th anniversary. The evening was a wonderful way to look back at the history of the Arboretum with many of the people integral to its growth and look forward to a strong future as we embark on a campus-wide public garden project. We are so grateful for their generosity and leadership! During the program portion of the event, UC Davis Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph Hexter expressed his feelings about the important role that the Arboretum plays on campus, highlighting the restorative nature of the gardens, as a place for both reflection and recreation. Arboretum Director Kathleen Socolofsky ended the evening with a thank you to our long-time supporters, with a very special thank you to Superintendent Emeritus, Warren Roberts. Through his tireless love and devotion to the Arboretum, Warren was the inspiration for our new planned giving society, the Warren G. Roberts Arboretum Legacy Society, established to honor endowment and planned giving donors. The establishment of this society is an important first step to building a $50M endowment that will support the Arboretum for future generations. Thank you to everybody who helped make this very special night so wonderful!

Bret Hewitt and Deb Pinkerton pledge generous gift

Katie Hetrick — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 10:24:47 +0000

We are very excited to announce a generous endowment of $25,000 (built through a pledge of $5,000/year over five years) from our long-time friends and supporters, Bret Hewitt and Deb Pinkerton. In addition, they have pledged $10,000 in current use gifts over the next five years. These gifts are uniquely structured so the endowment will be used for new programs that support our GATEway initiatives (Garden, Arts and The Environment) and the current use funds will be used to build the GATEways program as the endowment grows. This creative gift will provide much-needed “seed” capital for new planning efforts, programmatic needs and/or capital projects. When making this gift, Bret and Deb said that they hoped their efforts would be an encouragement for others to get involved and support the Arboretum. Thanks, Bret and Deb – we so appreciate your support! Below is a photo of Bret Hewitt and Deb Pinkerton with Warren Roberts. currently the Arboretum's Superintendent Emeritus, in front of the Nature's Gallery Court installation at the United States Botanic Garden in Washington, DC.

First fall plant sale a huge success

Katie Hetrick — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 23:11:46 +0000

Last Saturday’s Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum Plant Faire & Sale attracted over 1,300 people--one of the best attended ever--with gross sales estimated to be well above $56,000; a remarkable feat considering fewer people are landscaping during this economic downturn. Designed as the launch for the 75^th Anniversary for the Arboretum, this plant sale singled out 75 favorites of the nursery’s 500 plus plant species as selected by volunteers, staff and community members. When the gates opened, customers were greeted with an inventory of over 17,000 plants, knowledgeable plant advisers, commemorative 75^th anniversary pins, live music, and children’s activities. Mark your calendars! The second and last sale of the Fall 2011 season occurs on Sunday, October 9 from 9 AM—1 PM at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive.

Nature’s Gallery Court Preview Party Report

Katie Hetrick — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 10:50:36 +0000

Special preview parties held on August 25 and September 10, offered Nature’s Gallery donors an insider peek at plans for the Nature’s Gallery installation. The 60+ guests attending each event enjoyed the chance to experience how the tiles were designed and created, walk the layout of the site, see the construction plans, learn about the design of the surrounding planting beds and mingle with other supporters and staff. Arboretum Director Kathleen Socolosky officially welcomed and thanked Nature’s Gallery donors and the exceptional partners and participants who made this project possible. On September 10, a number of donors in attendance also shared the personal stories of their tile dedications during the program. The wide range of stories was touching and varied - honoring living loved ones, memorializing family members, leaving a mark in a place they loved - and captured wonderfully the many ways that people feel connected with the Arboretum.