Dave Fujino, a horticultural consultant with more than 19 years business experience in the nursery industry, is the founding director of the California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH) at UC Davis.

“I am honored to have been chosen as the founding director for the California Center for Urban Horticulture,” Fujino said in accepting the position late in 2006. “I look forward to bringing my nursery experience and industry contacts to this position to build the best horticultural research, education, and outreach program for the state of California.”

“We are fortunate to have found someone with Dave’s background to lead this groundbreaking new center that will serve as a horticultural research and education hub for the entire state,” said Neal Van Alfen, dean of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. “He brings just the right mix of business acumen, academic foundation, and working relationships in government and industry to establish this new program. Californians are looking for more environmentally sustainable ways to take care of their home landscapes and public parks, and this new center will help make that happen.”

The CCUH has its roots at UC Davis but is structured as a statewide program to assist horticulture professionals, UC master gardeners, teachers and students from all school levels, garden clubs, and the general public. Faculty members at UC Davis initially proposed the idea for the center, pointing to an urgent need for horticulture education for California residents to address pressing environmental issues.

Residential demand for water continues to increase as the population of the state grows. Currently half of residential water use is in home landscapes. Surveys have shown that homeowners want information and greater access to water-conserving plants such as California natives and to improved irrigation technology.

Studies have also shown that contamination of urban streams is caused predominantly by pesticide runoff from residential landscapes and other urban areas such as parks. Because pesticide use in urban areas cannot be effectively regulated, any attempt to mitigate the problem will require voluntary efforts by citizens. Some regions – the San Francisco Bay Area, for instance – have adopted best management practices and educational programs for consumers and pest control professionals to reduce pesticide runoff.

There is also growing interest among public and private landholders to use more sustainable horticultural practices, protect wildlife corridors, support native insect pollinators, and conserve and protect natural resources.

The California Center for Urban Horticulture is taking shape with input from the grassroots level. An urban horticulture conference will provide an opportunity for stakeholder groups to identify specific research and training needs. A research and demonstration garden at UC Davis is also in the works to show hands-on techniques to reduce pollution from irrigation and storm water runoff in residential landscapes. The center will collaborate in its outreach with the UC Davis Arboretum and the departments of Plant Sciences and Landscape Architecture.

Urban horticulture has a substantial economic impact in California. Combined nursery production and garden retail sales totaled $14.6 billion in 2004. Horticultural crops rank second among agricultural commodities in California.

Fujino’s experience includes many years in senior level management with a large wholesale horticultural company. His expertise includes organizational development, operations improvement, information technology, strategic planning, marketing, research and development, training, fundraising, and other areas. He earned his bachelor’s degree in plant science at UC Riverside, and his master’s and doctorate degrees from UC Davis in environmental horticulture and plant physiology.

Fujino is the current chair of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers and the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Nursery Pest Advisory Task Force.  He also serves or has served on committees of the American Nursery and Landscape Association, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Nursery Growers Association, the State Water Resources Control Board, and others.

Loren Oki, a UC Davis Cooperative Extension specialist in landscape horticulture, helped lead the search for the new CCUH director. “We were impressed by Dave’s experience not only in participating in organizations but also in building and managing them. In addition, his extensive established network will prove beneficial to the operations of the center,” Oki said. “He will be a great strength and benefit to the establishment of the CCUH.”

Fujino can be reached at his UC Davis office – (530) 754-7739; dwfujino@ucdavis.edu.