 |
 |
 |
|
| |
History of the UCR Botanic Gardens
The Gillett Directorship, 1967-1973
On July 1, 1967, Dr. George W. Gillett was appointed Professor of Botany at UCR and Director of the Botanic Gardens. He succeeded Dr. Vasek, who turned over a project he had managed to get off the ground despite severe constraints of funding and personnel. One more employee, Mr. Norman Sheppeard, was added to raise the operational staff from one to two full?time people for installing and maintaining the plantings.
From his experience as Director of the Lyon Arboretum at Honolulu, Professor Gillett was keenly aware of the problem of inadequate budgetary support for the UCR Botanic Gardens before he accepted the position. In his first annual report, he pointed out that the desired rate of future development of the Gardens could not be accomplished without a concomitant increase in support budget. To this end, he proposed (unsuccessfully) that the UCR Botanic Gardens be made a separate, more fiscally accountable and readily visible line item in the Division budget. Professor Gillett's pointed pleas for more adequate support did result in impressing Vice Chancellor Thomas Jenkin, who made some special funds available to the Botanic Gardens.
During his tenure as Director, Gillett's basic problem was maintaining adequately an expanding planted area with a static maintenance staff. Also, seed accessions were larger than the ability of his staff to adequately germinate and propagate them. Throughout Gillett's 6-year tenure, he had only the two full-time staff employees he started with in 1967, plus (in some years) the equivalent of about 1/2 a full-time employee as casual student labor. Further, the scarcity of ordinary tools, propagating supplies, and other necessary materials and facilities for the planting and maintenance of botanical collections were very troublesome handicaps. Added to these difficulties, a sharp freeze, followed by a flood, together with pest damage, set the Gardens development program back severely during his first year at UCR.
The austere support conditions experienced by Professor Gillett are reiterated in most of his annual reports. For example, his 1968-69 report states, "Because of the excessive load of operational responsibilities necessarily assumed by the less than minimal force of only two men assigned to the maintenance of 37 acres of garden and the execution of propagation work in the greenhouse, very little weeding or other intensive maintenance could be accomplished. It is therefore necessary for us to live with the appearance of unkept Botanic Gardens, an appearance that belies the status of the Gardens in the long-range development ... of the campus." His 1972-73 report states, "This year the work force of the Botanic Gardens consisted of two full-time employees, ... for the maintenance of 20 acres of (planted) gardens. ... No botanic garden I have known operates on so little. In spite of a long history of painful austerity, the morale of the two men at the Gardens, Mr. Dennis Kucera and Mr. Norman Sheppeard, has shown few signs of the stress that would be expected under such trying, unreasonable circumstances. Both men continue their devoted care of the collections, performing physical obligations that far exceed reasonable demands."
Despite all these difficulties, Professor Gillett and his staff managed to establish a large number of plant collections invaluable in the support of botany and related research and teaching programs at UCR. Among these were some collections of special interest to UCR professors, such as a mint collection (Professor R. Scora), a subtropical fruit collection (Professor W. B. Story), citrus relatives (Professor W. P. Bitters), grass collection (Professor V. B. Youngner), and cotton family (Professor B. L. Johnson), an ethnobotany collection significant to southern California Indians, and others. The late Mr. Waldo Small, a local nurseryman, donated a number of unusual trees and shrubs which added to the landscaping of the Gardens. During a sabbatical leave in Australia, Professor Vasek sent back seed which formed the basis of the various collections of Australian plants. Similar seed accessions from South Africa sent by botanic gardens and some private contributors resulted in the beginning of the South African collections. In these efforts, Professor Vasek's collecting zeal and Professor Gillett's extensive worldwide contacts were of great value.
The physical facilities within the Gardens were improved significantly during Professor Gillett's stewardship. University records (the Office of Architects and Engineers) indicate that the main improvements were providing an electric power supply (1969), a new automated irrigation pump (1970), an asphalt road from Parking Lot 13 terminating at the headhouse (1970), four parking spaces at the main gate (1970), walks, footbridges, irrigation system improvements, and improved utilities (1972). A topographical map was made in 1972. In 1969, additional lathhouse space was constructed. A small headhouse, the first building to be constructed in the Gardens, was located adjacent to the lathhouse. Occupied in 1970, the headhouse provided space for records, an office with telephone, a toilet for staff, storage space for tools and supplies, and bench space for potting, etc. The dam, which established the pond in Alder Canyon, was constructed in 1972, as were two foot bridges.
By 1969, the Gardens were giving significant support to teaching through class visitations and supplying class materials. Also, a start was made in the public service area by conducting a few tours for special interest groups in the community.
By 1970, there were 11 research projects being conducted using plantings in the Gardens. An example was the work of Professor Rainer Scora, in cooperation with others, on screening various plant extracts for tumor-inhibiting and other medicinal effects. By 1973, a number of other research projects had been added. Among these were: control of mosquitos by the use of Tilapia fish by Professor E. F. Legner, chromatographic studies of the Rose family, and ecological studies of Adenostoma by Professor Vasek and of Bidens by Professor Gillett.
The main thrust of the development of the Gardens under Professor Gillett's leadership was to provide for the teaching and research needs at UCR. In this area, he made a very significant contribution toward the accomplishment of a basic objective of the Gardens. In the last year of his tenure, Professor Gillett requested (but did not receive) funds to provide staff to keep the Gardens open to casual visitors and others during weekends, thus expanding its public service function and increasing its visibility. However, he was somewhat ambivalent about opening the Gardens to the public because he felt that a University of California facility of this sort should be kept up in a manner more in line with its high standards, and this was not possible with the support available to him.
Professor Gillett relinquished the Directorship of the Botanic Gardens effective July 1, 1973, and began a sabbatical leave. From his untimely death on January 4, 1976, following extensive heart surgery, it may be surmised that Professor Gillett had been in less than good health for some time.
|
