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. 

Andy Codd tending to edible plants

Andy Codd

Edible Landscaping Intern, 2013-14, Nursery Student Employee, 2014-15, Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems, 2015
Plant Propagation and Nursery Management

Plant Propagation and Nursery Management

The Learning by Leading Nursery Management team works with professional Arboretum nursery and plant sales staff to gain hands-on experience working in a nursery. Internslearn methods for propagating a great variety of plants, many of which are unusual in cultivation and are encouraged to choose the plants they work with and will gain experience in a range of nursery tasks, including irrigation, pruning, re-potting, and IPM/pest control.
svastra on sunflower

Habitat Horticulture

Habitat Horticulture

This team engages students in hands-on learning and community outreach as we transform our landscapes into urban habitat. We focus on climate-ready landscapes that support biodiversity, with an emphasis on plant-pollinator interactions. This team’s work is centered in the habitat gardens of the Environmental GATEway, located at the west end of the Arboretum and Public Garden.

Carly Feldman

Carly Feldman

Environmental Horticulture and Urban Forestry Nursery Assistant, 2015-17, Nursery Intern, 2014-15
Weirs under construction

Arboretum Waterway Construction Update 9.11.17

Four out of the five weirs for Phase 1 of the Arboretum Waterway Maintenance and Enhancement Project are complete, and the last weir should be finished by the end of September. This means we are very close to being able to return water to the channel and watch the water flow over the new weirs and through the wetland plantings.
Getting Down with Upcycling

Getting Down with Upcycling

Do you know what to do with old water or soda bottles, used cardboard & newspaper?   The Arboretum Ambassadors turned that question into an engaging sustainable craft-making workshop—Get Down with Upcycling.
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