Learning by Leading

Learning by Leading

We believe that students learn best by leading. In this innovative environmental restoration and education program, leadership skills and real-world experience combine to help our students address the earth’s most important environmental issues. The Learning by Leading™ internship program offers quarter-long and school year-long internships in which students work in a team to solve real-world problems in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. 

Shirley Maus

California foothills collection renewed

Thanks to an endowment created by Shirley Maus —longtime Arboretum supporter and volunteer — you will notice a renewal of our California Foothills Collection. Shirley’s ancestors resided in the foothills region of California since about the time California became a state in 1850. One side of her family lived north of the Consumnes River in the El Dorado area, the other side came from south of the river in Amador. With that history, it’s easy to understand why Shirley has always taken a particular interest in this collection.
Image of Learning by Leading students restoring a landscape along Hopkins Road.

Restoring UC Davis landscapes one acre at a time

“Learning by Leading” Habitat Restoration and Naturalized Lands Management interns have completed a multitude of projects across campus focused on the provision of native wildlife habitat and the improvement of our campus stormwater quality.
Learning by Leading interns working to maintain the Good Life Garden.

UPDATE: Good Life Garden

Students are growing edible plants in the Good Life Garden, which will be donated to the UC Davis Food Pantry for students in need.
Taylor Lewis

Learning irrigation from the top down

Taylor Lewis, nursery manager, had a vision for how to create a unique tree irrigation system that would suit the conditions at the Arboretum Teaching Nursery, then worked with his student staff and interns to create it.
Taylor Lewis and Christina Elms

Leading by Learning: Inspiring students one plant at a time

UC Davis Arboretum Teaching Nursery Manager Taylor Lewis leads a motivated group of nursery propagation interns who are excited to apply the concepts they learn in class to the soil around them. Each student is responsible for an area in the nursery; they are given the opportunity to experiment with different care and maintenance techniques, and then, evaluate what works and what doesn’t. According to his students, the internship provides them with valuable experience that they don’t get in a classroom.
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