From Fort Bragg to the Mojave Desert – a group of UC Davis students spent part of their summer analyzing the soils of California ecosystems. For graduate student Yuanxin Ji, the experience inspired him to craft a heartfelt song with lyrics about the intricate world of soils set to a catchy tune.

Red, ripe cherries hide in small clusters amid long leaves in the UC Davis teaching orchard. They’re sweet, juicy, beautiful. In area grocery stores, such delights cost up to $8 a pound, but these would have gone to the birds. They must be harvested by hand, and at the price of labor, they’re too expensive to pick, said orchard manager Victor Serratos of the Department of Plant Sciences.

Mary Jade Farruggia, a Ph.D. candidate with the Graduate Group in Ecology, is this year’s recipient of the Neal Van Alfen and James MacDonald Graduate Student Award for her outstanding academic performance and dedication to service and leadership.

This $7,500 award was established to honor the contributions of former dean of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Dean Van Alfen, and former executive associate, Dean MacDonald.

An aspiring astrobiologist has been awarded a Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship, the nation’s leading scholarship for undergraduates pursuing research in the natural sciences, mathematics and engineering.

Follow the Davis Rewilding Society on Instagram

When UC Davis student Madison “Madi” Burns joined the Davis Rewilding Society during her freshman year, it helped bring her future into focus. The second-year landscape architecture major said she has developed a much better understanding of the importance of native plants from her involvement with the student-run organization.

We are two months into the new year, and our college is thriving and alive with activity. This month has been busy for our college and the entire campus! As the days slowly lengthen, the number of prospective students coming to visit us grows. I love seeing groups of families on tours, threading their way through the Arboretum, past the Eye on Mrak, and along the bike path towards the Coffee House while listening to the guides give bits of information about why they love UC Davis. 

I was a plant girl. As an undergraduate student at UC Davis, I’ve spent my summers restoring wetlands with native plants, summiting peaks to study alpine cushion plants, and dissecting seeds in labs. Animals were never in the picture, and birds were no exception. So when I kept seeing “Bird ID skills needed” on botany position advertisements, I knew my plant-only class days were over.  

Dean Helene Dillard with the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will gather with fellow scientists, staff and students at the 2023 World Ag Expo in Tulare, Feb. 14-16, to chat with farmers, prospective students, alumni and leaders throughout the agricultural industry.

More than 100,000 people are expected to attend this three-day event, where 1,400 exhibitors display cutting-edge agricultural technology and equipment throughout 2.6 million square feet of show grounds.

A team of UC Davis doctoral and undergraduate students have something to celebrate as the fall quarter comes to a close. UC Davis sent a team to the Region 6 (southwest) Collegiate Soil Judging Competition, where groups are scored on their ability to describe and classify soils and landscapes.

There’s a type of olive oil that may lift spirits during the cold winter season. It’s called “olio nuovo,” which in Italian means “the new oil.” This oil is immediately bottled after the olives are harvested and milled, making it one of the freshest extra virgin olive oils you can get.