“It’s all about plants, everything comes back to plants.” At least that’s Karen Slinkard’s philosophy (and the Arboretum and Public Garden team tends to agree).

Karen — a two-time UC Davis alum, active Davis community member and Master Gardener — and her husband Stephen have made a generous donation to create an endowment fund supporting the Learning by Leading™ student internship program and also made a current use pledge to be used over five years, also in support of the program.

On her way to becoming a botanical illustrator, Christy Dewees developed a special bond with the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden that years later would lead her and her husband to create the Christine and Christopher Dewees Learning by Leading™ Fund.  

Long-term supporters of UC Davis, Phyllis and Alex McCalla, have pledged an estate gift to create the “Phyllis and Alex McCalla Arboretum Fund” to support future projects and improvements in the Arboretum and Public Garden. 

“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.