A joint application for an Urban Greening grant filed by the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, led by director of GATEways horticulture Emily Griswold, and the City of Davis to green the Downtown Davis Parkway, has been recommended for full funding by the California Natural Resources Agency. The recommendation is up for approval by the Strategic Growth Council at their May 10th meeting, and if approval is given, the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden and City of Davis could be granted $891,304 to carry out improvements of pedestrian and bike connections from the Davis Commons parking lot into the Arboretum and campus.

The restoration includes adding improvements to approximately 3.5 acres of a remnant section of Putah Creek for wildlife habitat, reconfiguring a section of bike trail to improve bike/pedestrian access with new wayfinding signage, adding more visitor-friendly elements to the Arboretum GATEway Garden, and installing bio-swales and pervious concrete to catch parking lot run-off. One of the areas slated for improvement courtesy of the Greening Grant is the currently unused portion of land between Davis Commons and the Australian Collection of the Arboretum at the east end (see photo above).

Out of the 24 applicants recommended for funding, three proposals tied for the top score – Davis was ranked #1 along with San Diego Canyonlands and the LA Conservation Corps.