What would you do every day if you were a Horticulturist and Arborist for an extensive garden system? When watering trees, do you soak the trunk? Just how large is the Balboa Park system? What is an arborist anyway? How does a fairly recent college graduate become the Horticulturist and Arborist for the City of San Diego?
These questions, their answers (and many others) were included in the April Women’s Event Luncheon. It was a glorious sunny day as approximately 45 women and men gathered upstairs in the Commodore’s Room for a delicious luncheon, great opportunity drawing prizes, and a very interesting and informative presentation by Ms. Magen Shaw of the City of San Diego, Horticulturist and Arborist for Developed Regional Parks.
Magen Shaw grew up in north San Diego County enjoying camping, the deserts, hunting wild flowers, beaches and, of course, the weather. When not planning and restoring gardens, she enjoys travel, her Golden Retriever and visiting the zoo to hang out with the plants.
Following high school, she attended San Jose State University where she earned a degree in Environmental Studies in 2014, ran a small non-profit, the Environmental Resource Center, and was the student ambassador to the San Jose State Sustainability Board. She has been a consulting arborist and biologist state-wide and in 2017 worked on a project at San Diego’s Balboa Park. She learned of her current position a few months later, interviewed for the position and was selected. In addition to her expertise in Environmental Management, she is also a certified arborist (expert in the care of trees), which is an excellent credential to have if your major workplace is Balboa Park, Mission Hills Park, Presidio Park and other parks around San Diego. Magen also sits on the board of the California Urban Forest Council, representing the entire San Diego region’s urban forest.
Did you know? Balboa Park is actually larger than Central Park in acreage and the two are considered sister parks. Many of the 15 gardens date back to 1915 and the Panama Exposition while others have been restored or created since then. Some of the gardens showcased were the Alcazar Garden; the Botanical Building behind the Lily Pond which holds 2500 permanent plants as well as a rotating group of plants; the Cactus Garden created by Kate Sessions and tucked behind the Balboa Park Club building; the Desert Garden, created in 1976 containing over 1400 cactus and succulent specimens; the Inez Grant Parker Memorial Rose Garden (maintained by an award winning loyal team of volunteers called “The Rose Corporation”); and, Marston House Rose Garden, planted in 1927, as well as a number of others.
Currently, portions of Florida Canyon Native Plant Preserve are under restoration and a General Development Plan for Palm Canyon is in the works. Zoro Garden, which was originally a nudist colony and also a gold mine, will be planted with milkweed and other plants beneficial to butterflies and The Friends of Balboa Park will host a butterfly release party in the garden during the month of May. Ms. Shaw’s photo presentation is posted on the SDYC Women’s Event page. [need the web address] Additional information regarding the trees in San Diego County is located on the Internet at https://www.opentreemap.org/sandiegotreemap.
Oh, and by the way, when watering trees, water at the edge of the canopy of the tree, also known as the dripline, not at the trunk.
Thank you to Magen Shaw and thank you to all those who contributed to the Opportunity drawing for Operation: Holiday Helping Hand as we raised $400.
Coming soon: Our Love the Pearls luncheon this year is May 16th. Don’t miss it!