Adventures in the Native Plant Program of the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanic Garden—
garden development, educational programs, field work, seed collecting and seed banking, post fire observation.
July 21, 2022
7:00–8:00 PM (Via Zoom)
By Brett Hall
California Native Plant Program (NPP) Director, UC Santa Cruz Arboretum
View the presentation here.
Brett has worked with the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum for nearly 47 years and held many positions there over the years, building collections, developing gardens, working with students; all the while collaborating with many friends and organizations.
The NPP stewards a seed bank for native plants under the umbrella of the Center for Plant Conservation (CPC) and the California Plant Rescue network (CaPR). We are active participants in both programs making long term conservation collections following CPC guidelines, tracking maternal lines and conducting viability and germination trials. Additionally, we work in vegetation mapping surveys with CNPS and CDFW and as of late, post fire plots and surveys. The NPP staff and students are land stewards for a large portion of the Arboretum charged with safeguarding wild life including habitat protection for red legged frogs, many small mammals, reptiles and snakes and many many birds. Some of the animals we protect feast and reside in our gardens. Among these are deer, wood rats and rabbits!
Brett works with staff and students building collections from the wild through seed collections, cuttings and divisions, working out best methods for success in propagation and culture. They track provenance with the goal to establish collections in ecologically related plant associations in garden displays, concentrating on central coastal and northern California regions. The NPP has successful educational programs with year-round undergraduate Interactive Ecology interns and a ten week, California Naturalist Program once a year during Spring. We also host the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program under the leadership of the Program Steward who works closely with the Amah Mutsun to foster tribal participation in the development of the native plant gardens.