By Cindy Weiner, Butte County Master Gardener, July 1, 2016.

Many people think Chico has the most beautiful campus in the California State University system, due to its attractive landscaping and riparian corridor along Big Chico Creek. Because of the age of the campus (founded in 1887), much of the landscaping is traditional in style, with expansive lawns, eastern trees and an abundance of azaleas and roses. Also, as Michael Alonzo, Supervisor of Grounds and Landscape Services, says, “Nice landscaping is an important recruitment tool for the university, even during the summer, when many parents and potential students visit the campus.”

While this more traditional style is beautiful, it is not particularly well-suited to our Mediterranean climate with hot, dry summers, and therefore requires irrigation several months of the year.  But there are many areas on campus where native plants are featured in the landscaping, and these areas are multiplying in tandem with changes in the built environment of the campus.  New plantings of natives and compatible non-native, water-smart plants are generally added to complement new buildings (such as, most recently, the new Arts and Humanities Building) or where lawn has been removed. According to Alonzo, the goals for landscape remodeling projects are sustainability; bringing harmony to the campus; blending the contemporary look with the more traditional look of older plantings; clustering plantswith similar water requirements together in an effort to conserve water (an approach known as hydrozoning; and educating visitors about the “new” (sustainable, water-wise) California landscaping.

The riparian corridor along the creek contains many mature native plants. This area was overrun with invasive plants such as privet, catalpa, and Chinese trees of heaven, until members of the Chico Creek Stewardship Committee and the student Arboretum Club took on the project of clearing then replanting it with natives propagated by students. Beginning in the early 1990s, this project took more than twenty years to complete.  Some of the trees and shrubs growing here are valley oak, western sycamore, Oregon ash, box elder, black elderberry, redbud and spicebush.

The Creekside Education Garden is on the south side of Big Chico Creek just west of Sylvester's Café. Developed in the spring of 2011, it contains native species historically found adjacent to riparian zones and used by the Mechoopda and other local Indian tribes. Signs indicate the common name, scientific name and sometimes the Mechoopda name of these plants. Deergrass, California wild rose, valley gum plant, and showy milkweed are some of the plants grown here.

The Phenology Garden is located in the raised planting bed at the east entrance to Holt Hall. Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life events related to climate conditions, such as flower blooming or bird migration. Planted in 2014, it is used by students to participate in research involving long-term data collection. It contains primarily native plants that require no supplemental water once they become established. Foothill penstemon, alum root, snowberry, sticky monkeyflower and western dogwood are some of the plants in the Phenology Garden.

Just a short distance away, at the northeast side of Holt Hall, a new garden was planted this spring to replace a former
lawn. Designed to resemble a forest understory layer, it contains giant chain fern, bigleaf maple, western dogwood, redbud and western columbine growing under existing mature trees. 

Two large planting beds between the new Humanities building and the Performing Arts Center were also installed in the spring. These contain shade-loving natives such as coffeeberry, evergreen currant, bearberry, Oregon grape and creeping mahonia planted in long swathes.

A new planting area combining both natives and non-natives will replace some of the lawn between the Acker and Shurmer gyms and Yolo Hall and will be installed in the fall. Keep an eye on these new areas to watch these gardens grow and mature.