The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden’s Hummingbird GATEway Garden was created in partnership with the UC Davis Hummingbird Health and Conservation Program to not only exhibit the many species of plants that attract and create a good habitat for local varieties of hummingbirds, but also to educate visitors about the importance of the hummingbird population and the work being done at UC Davis to support them.
Did you know hummingbirds move much faster and over considerably larger areas than insect pollinators do? With their fast wings, compact size and slender bills, it's no wonder that these tiny birds play such an important role in our environment. Unfortunately, due to climate change, habitat loss and a variety of other human-caused influences, researchers consider nearly 15% of hummingbird species vulnerable to extinction.
“Striking!” That’s the word Don Crosby uses to describe the changes he’s seen in the Arboretum during his almost 60 years of involvement as a volunteer, donor, and advocate. When Don and his wife Nancy arrived in Davis in 1961 for Don’s appointment as faculty leader of a new department, they were immediately drawn to the Arboretum by their shared love of plants. Both played key roles in nurturing the growth of the gardens, programs and people of the Arboretum over decades.
What’s all the buzz about pollinators? Find out Sunday, May 20 from 1–4 p.m. at “Pollinator Discovery Day” in the UC Davis Arboretum’s Hummingbird GATEway Garden (located just north of the Arboretum Teaching Nursery on Garrod Drive). Attendees at this free event will learn about a variety of pollinators including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, how the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden supports their habitat needs throughout its campus landscapes and how everyone can to do the same at home.
Your support for the Learning by Leading program helps us develop the environmental stewards of tomorrow. Also, ten percent of your gift to the Arboretum and Public Garden Annual Fund goes to the Friends of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden Endowment which provides long-term support for our free, all-ages environmental education programs.
On the west side of the UC Davis Arboretum, close to its teaching nursery and near the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, is the largest Arboretum garden expansion in decades. The area features a variety of demonstration gardens and landscapes that highlight ecological solutions to common urban impact problems including water pollution, ground water depletion, and pollinator habitat loss.
