University of California, Davis
IN-20: Grounds Certification

The landscapes of the University of California at Davis have been a resource for the campus community for over 100 years. As UC Davis grows and evolves, we strive to develop our campus into a living laboratory that encourages our community to observe and interact with the landscapes around them. As a Top 10 agricultural university situated in the Central Valley of California, UC Davis is a leading institution for research and public education about climate change and sustainability. Our climate change researchers are at the forefront of the field, specializing in ecological impacts and the role pollinators play in our world. We also have an engaged student body who are testing and applying academic research under the mentorship of University faculty and staff.

The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden spans the campus’s 5,278 acres and includes the historic Arboretum – a 90 acre living museum comprised of demonstration gardens and scientific collections – as well as the Putah Creek Riparian Reserve – a rare stream and grassland ecosystem managed for teaching, research, wildlife and habitat protection.


ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation:

The UC Davis Arboretum received Arboretum Level IV Accreditation in August 2017; the certification will remain in effect through August 2022. Level IV is the highest level of accreditation. The UC Davis Arboretum’s collection comprises 33,000 plants representing more than 2,500 species and varieties from Mediterranean climate areas throughout the world. The collections represent an enormous repository of information on plants that grow and thrive in California's Central Valley, where extreme summer heat, drying winds, heavy soils, and often poor water quality pose challenges to gardeners.

During the late 1950's and ‘60's, extensive taxonomic collections, most notably of oaks, acacias, and eucalyptus, were established, and the Arboretum's curatorial record-keeping system was instituted. In the 1980's and ‘90's the Arboretum established several demonstration gardens of California native plants and drought-tolerant flowering shrubs and perennials. These continue to be developed as sites for horticultural trials of new plant selections and demonstration gardens illustrating landscape design, cultural techniques, and plants appropriate for low-water-use gardens in the arid West.


California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) Certification:

The UC Davis Student Farm has 21.5 acres of land certified by CCOF (certified since 2002) growing a wide diversity of both annual and perennial crops. The farm focuses on sustainable agriculture and food systems, in-field experiential learning and supports student exploration, creativity, initiative, and leadership. They also have plantings of flowers and herbs that help support beneficial insect populations on the farm.


Bee Campus USA:

UC Davis became a certified Bee Campus in July 2019. The Arboretum’s established collections like the Mary Wattis Brown Garden of California Native Plants and the Australian Collection provide great food and shelter resources for pollinators. The newly-established Environmental GATEway features habitat gardens, including a hummingbird garden, insect pollinator gardens, a stormwater management system and bioswale. The Arboretum and Public Garden’s new Habitat Horticulture Learning by Leading™ undergraduate student internship team focuses on pollinator gardening and urban habitat corridors in these collections.

Through a partnership between the Arboretum and Public Garden and the Williams Lab in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, UC Davis has access to the latest research in pollination ecology, specializing in bee biology with an emphasis on foraging behavior and plant/pollinator interactions. The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center highlights the importance of both honey and pollination to the well-being of consumers through education and research and through its vision, to help make UC Davis the world’s leading authority on honey bee health, pollination and honey quality. The UC Davis Bee Campus USA Program also partners with the UC Davis Student Farm. CALPIRG, UC Davis’s premier student public interest activism group, works to protect the environment, provide hunger relief, and promote civic engagement. The CALPIRG bee team tables to bring awareness to the Bee Campus USA certification.


Tree Campus USA:

UC Davis has been participating in the Tree Campus USA program for over a decade. In April 2019 UC Davis hosted a tree planting event, coordinated by Carbon Neutrality Initiative Fellow Eileen Hollett and the Office of Sustainability. The event took place over the course of two days when 33 volunteers planted California native trees – 8 western redbuds and 4 valley oak trees along the eastern border of the campus. Along with raising awareness, this event helped UC Davis retain its title of a Tree Campus USA, which requires that the university sponsor a yearly, student-involved tree planting event.

UC Davis Tree Campus Article: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/blog/cool-campus-challenge-creates-shade

UC Davis Bee Campus Website: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/bee-campus-usa

UC Davis Bee Campus Article: https://www.publicgardens.org/news/article/uc-davis-blossoms-next-bee-campus-usa-nation

UC Davis Aroboretum Website: https://arboretum.ucdavis.edu/

CALPIRG Website: https://calpirgstudents.org/chapters/uc-davis/

UC Davis Student Farm Website: https://asi.ucdavis.edu/programs/sf

UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center: https://honey.ucdavis.edu/

Williams Lab at UC Davis Website: https://williamslab.ucdavis.edu/