Gavilan’s Inviting, Living Classrooms
By Jan Janes
NEWLY INSTALLED NATIVE GARDEN THRIVES
Keeping the Williams tradition alive, a new native garden
has been planted. With guidance from instructors, students
worked this past year to clear an area on the east side of the
Life Science building. Drip irrigation was installed, then
covered with mulch. A variety of California plants were
planted and labeled, illustrating the variety of native
specimens.
Adjacent to the garden, planter boxes line the
slopeside trees, the contents of bins with varying
levels of composted material are turned, and
mounded beds hold an array of pots nurturing
plant and tree starts. Instructors use the area for
formal classes, students test their experiments and
the area attracts local wildlife.
A Western swallowtail butterfly (papilio rutulus)
finds nectar in the native gardens.
T
IMAGINE A MEADOW INSTEAD OF A LAWN
ucked into the eastern edge of the Santa Cruz coast
range, its trees almost obscuring its buildings from
sight along Highway 101, the Gavilan College
main campus enjoys a pastoral setting that embraces its
surroundings and nurtures native wildlife.
Wild turkeys raise their young, swallows arrive in the
spring, bales of turtles share the ponds with ducks, deer
wander down from the hills to graze. The campus offers a
living laboratory in which students observe, learn and inter-
act while studying life sciences.
The park-like setting is also a haven for the community’s
early morning runners and evening dog-walkers.
The original landscape was designed and planted by
Watsonville grower Ray Williams in the mid 1960s as the
new campus was constructed. He chose native and drought
tolerant trees and plants that would thrive in California’s
dry summer, Mediterranean-type climate. Chile, South
Africa and parts of Australia share similar
climates, and he propagated plants from those regions.
Mature trees originally planted by Williams can be
seen adjacent to classrooms and walkways throughout
campus. They are labeled with small signs indicating the
year of planting, scientific and common names, family and
geographic origin. The Gavilan College Arboretum opened
in 2013 and was renamed The Ray Williams Arboretum
at Gavilan College in 2014 to honor the landscaper whose
vision continues to grow.
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
Just beyond the new native garden, a four foot orange
web of fencing rose along walkways this spring. Delineating
slightly less than an acre of land, the existing grassy slopes
between the lower pond and the Life Science building will
be replaced with native grasses and plants.
The turf grass has been sprayed, mulched, then the
sprinklers turned off through Gilroy’s hot, dry summer, which
will prepare the site for meadow plants. Designed by land-
scape architect Tanaka Design Group and John Greenlee, an
expert in grass and sedge design, the area will be planted with
native grasses and plants in the fall, in tandem with the rainy
season and participation with students.
A sampling of plants in the meadow design includes
Artemisia californica, Ceanothus maritimus, Lupinus
albinfrons, Lavandula canariensis, Ribes malvaceum and
Juncus patens. Once established, the meadow will thrive
with seasonal rainfall
.
THE TRADITION CONTINUES
From the beginning, a landscape of sustainable plants
and trees shaped the Gavilan College campus. Almost 50
years later, the current faculty and students still follow
the footsteps of plantsman Ray Williams, expanding the
ecosystem and outdoor, living classrooms.
For a map and listing of trees in the Ray Williams Gavilan
College Arboretum, go to http://www.gavilan.edu/
arboretum/
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
gmhtoday.com
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