The small town of Davis, California is best known for its agricultural advancements and the many community supported agricultures (CSAs) and city gardens. Davis prides itself on this accomplishment of being local and sustainable, while it also has a few great places to get in contact with nature in a more direct way.  Here are a couple places that you, as a citizen or a guest of Davis, can visit and enjoy.

Just west of Davis’s main campus lay the vast open space that is the central valley of California. Riding along a gravel road that follows the meandering dry creek bed, now diverted to prevent flooding, you can stare out to the endless rows of crops. Away from the buildings of main campus and the constant movement of the quad there is peace in the corn as it sways gently in the wind. Although this openness and freedom from humanity is present, mankind’s mark’s upon the land is a deep reminder of his altercations to the landscape. The tall oaks against the side of the classic and pastoral red barn stand tall as a remnant to the once flowing river. Currently the riverbed lays barren and completely void of vegetation, strands of rusty barbed wire divide them into sections where a riparian area once existed. In a sustainable farming method, the riparian areas are cherished for providing native beneficial species instead of drained and would normally be fenced off and protected from erosion and degradation. In addition to this single practice, nature would be used to take over the majority of the work and use the natural processes to keep everything in order. In addition, the highly industrialized and labor intensive monoculture method would be eliminated for a polyculture system of farming, using some species of plants as pest deterrents and others to affix nitrogen. In the end these practices not only have a physical reason for being there but an aesthetic reason as well.

Simplicity may be seen beautiful, with field upon field of corn, but nature is magnificence and in its complexity is breath taking. By employing even just a few sustainable agricultural practices a farmer could not only make a better long-term profit by paying less on chemicals and fertilizers but also gain the support of the urban neighbor. When you live next to a paradise of sorts, why pave over productive farmland with cookie cutter houses?

One of the most beautiful and scenic places in Davis, CA is the Arboretum.  Citizens of the town as well as University students come to the Arboretum to exercise, study, and/or simply enjoy its natural atmosphere. This public garden on the south side of the UC Davis campus consists of almost 100 acres of land and 3.5 mile paved path that loops around where, on a nice day, you will be sure to encounter plenty of people running or walking through. The path circles two miles of the north fork of Putah Creek running east to west. The Arboretum is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and is free of charge. Free public tours are given on weekends and some weekdays.

Established in 1939, the Arboretum is now home to more than 22,000 plants and trees that are all adapted to living in this California climate – cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers. It also showcases many different geographical areas from across the globe through its Mediterranean, South American, Mexican, and Australian/New Zealand Collections. There are very few plants actually native to the town of Davis, including the Valley Oak tree, and the California Fuchsia.

Valley Oak

California Fuchsia

There are also plenty of animals living in the Arboretum. You are sure to see mallard ducks, the bird highest abundance in this area, as you walk along the waterway. Other birds that may be sighted include the coot, pied-billed grebe, woodduck, ruddy duck, and if you’re lucky you may even see a green-backed heron waiting on the banks to snatch a small fish.

The water in this part of Putah Creek is fairly heavily engineered. The number one source that enters the creek is rainfall, but in the summer water is pumped in to keep too much algae from growing, and run-off from the university campus is also constantly flowing in. In many parts of the creek the water is stagnant and therefore only fish that can survive in warm waters with little oxygen, like common carp, Sacramento blackfish, fathead minnows, green sunfish and mosquitofish. There are also many turtles living in and around Putah Creek.

The Arboretum is a place to enjoy oneself in the presence of nature and also to learn about many different species both native and non-native to Davis. You can support the Arboretum by becoming a member of the Friends of UC Davis Arboretum and you can get more information on this environmental haven at arboretum.ucdavis.edu.

Here are some other hikes in the Davis area: