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. 

Image of Elizabeth Hursh '22 placing a hummingbird feeder in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden as part of an ongoing research project.

Students keep our landscapes alive with pollinators

Elizabeth Hursh ’22 is happiest when surrounded by hummingbirds, bees and other busy pollinators in the Arboretum and Public Garden. Their presence means she’s doing her job right.

As a Co-Coordinator with our Learning by Leading™ Habitat Horticulture program, Elizabeth is helping transform landscapes into gorgeous garden habitats, with an emphasis on sustainable practices and plant-pollinator interactions.

Image of Sustainable Horticulture students installing a landscape on Putah Creeek Drive.

NOW HIRING 20+ Student Landscape Assistants for the Summer

 The Arboretum and Public Garden team maintains all of the campus landscape. As part of our "Campus Recommissioning" effort to prepare for the return of students, faculty and staff to in-person instruction this fall, we are recruiting summer student employees to work throughout campus on landscape maintenance and improvements.

Image of Zoom meeting with the 2021 Pinkerton Prize awardees and Bret Hewitt, the founder of the prize.

2021 Pinkerton Prize Winners Announced

The Pinkerton Prize for Outstanding Student Contributions to the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden was created in the early 1990s by Bret Hewitt and his late wife Deborah Pinkerton, the first environmental education employee at the Arboretum and Public Garden. The prize honors exceptional Learning by Leading™ students participating in our environmental education programs. The 2021 award winners were Aliciá Ayala, Anita Shahriary and Laura Gomez.
urban tree stewardship interns planting a tree on campus

Urban Tree Stewardship

Urban Tree Stewardship

This urban forestry-oriented program focuses on improving the longevity and resilience of our campus tree canopy. Interns will propagate trees in the nursery, plant and care for young trees in the campus landscape, and implement maintenance and monitoring plans designed to assess the sustainability and climate tolerance of trial tree species in an urban environment.

Image from the video reading of Bests are the Best.

Children's Pollinator Books Read Aloud

Students participating in our Learning by Leading Habitat Horticulture program read children's books about pollinators. These videos were created during the COVID-19 pandemic as a way for kids (and adults!) to learn more about the importance of pollinators as we all sheltered in place. 

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