UC SANTA CRUZ ARBORETUM DEDICATES TWO NEW BUILDINGS

"Horticulture II" and a new gift shop, "Norrie's," promise to cultivate further public activities at UCSC's unique site

NOTE: This press release is embargoed until Sunday, May 1, 1994. Because of budget limitations, the April 30 dedication is open only to the UCSC campus community and to others by invitation.

SANTA CRUZ, CA--Visitors to the famed Arboretum at the University of California, Santa Cruz, will be delighted by what has sprouted there since October among the fragrant and colorful plants. Two new buildings, funded entirely by private donations, will greatly enhance the Arboretum's programs for people both on and off campus.

The new buildings are a 2,000-square-foot expansion to the Horticulture Building and a gift shop, "Norrie's," near the main entrance. Supporters of the Arboretum and the university community dedicated the buildings in ceremonies on April 30.

"These are marvelous additions to the Arboretum," says Lorna Clark, president of the Arboretum Associates, a campus support group that raises funds and sponsors events. "They will open many new opportunities for us and will allow us to interact with the public in ways we have not done in the past."

The major expansion, called "Horticulture II," features a large multipurpose room for meetings, university classes, and public programs such as lectures and slide shows. An adjacent room houses the "Jean and Bill Lane Library"--named for former Sunset magazine publisher Ambassador L. W. "Bill" Lane, Jr., and Mrs. Jean Lane of Portola Valley, who donated $50,000 to the project. The building also contains two rest rooms and a kitchen area. An attractive arbor and patio connect Horticulture II to its smaller predecessor, Horticulture I.

The gift shop, named for the late daughter of donor Elspeth Bobbs, opens to the public on May 1 with a weeklong series of special events, concluding with a prize drawing on May 8. It carries plants, dried-flower arrangements, books, wood carvings, ceramics, paintings, and other items related to horticulture and the outdoors. Proceeds will help the Arboretum become an independent campus unit within five years.

Other major donors to the building projects included Thelma Hoffman and Elise Hoffman, Barbara Shields, and the late Albert Smith.

The UCSC Arboretum resides on 40 acres of sunny and gently sloping land on the UCSC campus. It holds what many regard as the foremost collections of Australian and South African plants outside of those countries. Many of these Southern Hemisphere species are not otherwise available for study in American botanical gardens and arboreta. Arboretum workers also focus on New Zealand plants, plants from around the Pacific Rim, and species native to California. A tranquil eucalyptus grove contains about 60 different types of eucalpytus trees.

In importing and cultivating the Arboretum's species, which now number more than 6,000, workers have emphasized both beauty and the important qualities of drought tolerance and pest resistance. Arboretum staff and volunteers grow many varieties of such plants and distribute them to nurseries and the public throughout central California and the state.

Visitors to the Arboretum can guide themselves around the grounds or can find help from volunteer docents on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday afternoons. In addition to the many striking flowers, shrubs, and trees, visitors particularly enjoy the hummingbirds and butterflies that the Arboretum attracts in droves.

UCSC professor Ray Collett has directed the Arboretum since its inception when the campus opened in 1965. Other current staff members include longtime manager Brett Hall, Harry O. Warren Curator Tom Sauceda, nursery manager Helen Englesberg, succulents manager Stephen McCabe, and horticulturalist Melinda Johnson.

The Arboretum Associates received major assistance in completing the building projects from the UCSC Foundation, a nonprofit public benefit corporation that promotes understanding of UCSC and encourages support for campus programs. According to Daniel Aldrich, assistant chancellor for University Advancement, the buildings cost $405,000--well below the cost of constructing them through normal university channels. To speed the process and save money, the UCSC Foundation leased the land and existing facility from the UC Regents, and now will lease the new buildings back to the Regents for twenty years. Construction took less than six months and benefited from the support of area contractors, vendors, and unions.

Aldrich credits the many donors, the strong partnership between the Arboretum Associates and the UCSC Foundation, and the commitment of Chancellor Karl S. Pister for the project's success. Within the Foundation, president John Halliday, past president Anne Levin, and chair of the capital projects committee Jack Baskin were instrumental. Says Aldrich: "All of these many contributions came together to enable this project to take place."

Editor's note: You may reach Ray Collett or Brett Hall at the Arboretum by leaving a message at (408) 427-2998. You may reach Lorna Clark at (408) 426-8750.

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