Published in Aptos Times, May 1, 2001
THE NEW CABRILLO ENVIROMENTAL HORTICULTURE CENTER AND BOTANIC GARDENS
Early this summer the Horticulture Department at Cabrillo College will begin construction on its new “Environmental Horticulture Center and Botanic Gardens.” Perched on an 11-acre view site above the campus, the new Center promises to become a major focus of horticulture education and community activity along the Central Coast.
The buildings of Center are being designed by Thacher and Thompson Architects headed by Mark Read and Tom Thacher. There are two clusters of buildings on the site. The south complex, with its fantastic view of the Monterey Bay, includes: a small gift shop and retail nursery; a large community room and kitchen for lectures, conferences and group meetings; instructor’s offices; a lab classroom; and a learning center-library. The buildings will be nestled among fountains and beautiful landscaping of local plants and rockery designed by Janecki and Assoc. Landscape Architects. According to Joan Janecki, “The project is an opportunity to create a design that serves as an example of the wealth of elements found in the Monterey Bay – including rocks, plants and natural cycles, a harmony of natural and regional site elements.”
The north complex has the nursery, nursery staff offices, a unique plant propagation classroom, shade houses, volunteers’ meeting room, computer operated greenhouses and a state of the art water recirculation system designed by Peter Haase of Fall Creek Engineering Co. The greenhouses are designed by Richard Merrill, Department Director and Michael Johnson of McCalif Growers Supply. They include the latest technologies of environmental controls, water treatment and power backup systems. In addition, all the nursery structures will be compliant with the ADA (American Disability Act) the first of its kind in the area.
The Department’s current plant collections will be greatly expanded with the new move. According to Ernie Wasson, nursery manager and garden curator: “Current plans include a 5 acre botanic garden north of the nursery that will feature the largest selection in the world of ornamental sages (Salvias), current on display at the present facility. The Salvia collection will become even more prominent when the college applies to become the national collection for ornamental sages. Other collections will include plants of the Mediterranean Regions of the world, and California Native Plants with special attention to plants native to the Central Coast.” Several theme gardens will also be at the Center including a Children’s Garden and several Natural Habitat Gardens for butterflies, hummingbirds and beneficial insects.
The Horticulture Department has long been a popular program for both career students and avid gardeners. With a current enrollment of around 600 students annually, the new Center will allow additional vocational pathways in Horticulture Therapy, Landscape Restoration and Re-vegetation and Arboriculture. Over the next several years, students will be able to participate in the actual site restoration of a typical Santa Cruz coastal and mountain terrain. “The new Environmental Horticulture Center will provide not only excellent horticulture education for Cabrillo students, but broad-based opportunities to study native plants and environmentally sound landscaping techniques for the community,“ says Robert Stephens, owner of Elkhorn Native Plant Nursery.
Construction of the buildings, roads, and utilities is being financed by $5 million in local and state bond revenues. However funds for furniture, communications systems, computers, instructional equipment and landscaping will have to come through private donations and grants. Towards this end, horticulture enthusiasts and community supporters have come together to form the Horticulture Center Campaign Committee under the direction of Melinda Silverstein, executive Director of the Cabrillo Foundation. The committee is lead by co-chairs Gayle Ortiz, of Gayle’s Bakery, and Joan DeNeffe. Committee members include Marcy Albert; Jesse Brown, Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau; John David, Prime Landscape; Renee Shepherd, Renee’s Garden Seeds; Rachel Spencer; John Hurd, President, Cabrillo College; Rich Merrill, Director Department of Horticulture; and Cathy Summa, Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Cabrillo. To date the Committee has raised over $600,000, through donations from community members, private foundations and a matching grant for the Community College Chancellors Office. Campaign donors include leadership gifts by the Max Koppes Family Trust; Bill Gilbert of Scarborough Garden Center; Donald and Diane Cooley; Stanley Smith Horticulture Trust; and Robert Stephens and Julie Packard. Additional major gifts were given by Joseph and Gayle Ortiz and Gayle’s Bakery; J. Arthur and Iris Rodgers; Rachel Spencer and Kevin Rooney; David and Marcy Albert; Joan DeNeffe; Golden State Bulb Growers; Santa Crux Farm Bureau; and the PG&E Foundation. Later this year the Department will initiate a public donations campaign to raise $150,000 for the landscape of buildings and public gardens.
According to Richard Merrill, Program Director of the Department of Horticulture: “The new Center is a dream come true for many of us at Cabrillo College. The essential message of horticulture is that the landscape is the teacher and the plants and the wildlife they attract give us the lessons to understand nature. More than ever, people are looking for a place where they can learn and reconnect with the environment. The Cabrillo Environmental Horticulture Center and Botanic Gardens will be such a place. I believe our supporters will help make this vision possible, so the Center will be a unique blend of education and community activity for generations to come.”