Cultivating Community: The Replanting of Arden Lawn

This fall, Arden Lawn came alive with new growth and renewed purpose as students, faculty, and community members gathered to complete an important phase of its restoration. Timed with the fall planting season, the annual event transformed the space through hands-on work while deepening student engagement with environmental responsibility.

Planning for the replanting began months prior. Earlier in the year, weather conditions limited planting to shade tolerant species. By autumn, conditions were right to introduce more than 300 California native plants into the sunnier areas of the Arroyo as part of an ongoing rewilding effort. Extensive research and site visits helped ensure that each plant was placed where it could thrive and support the surrounding ecosystem.

Student participation was at the heart of this effort. On December 8, Arden was filled with activity as seniors and freshmen worked together during advisory time to complete the restoration. Peer mentors received training in advance and guided their advisory groups through planting, labeling species, spreading wildflower seeds, and removing weeds. In just half an hour, nearly two hundred students made a visible impact on the landscape.

The event was planned by Arden’s landscape designer Michele Antenorcruz and Environmental Sustainability Manager Laura Fleming, who collaborated closely to create an experience that balanced education with action. “Michele and I both love engaging students in environmental sustainability initiatives,” said Laura Fleming. “The Arden restoration is a legacy project and our hope is that by participating in the stewardship of Arden that students become even more vested in its restoration. It was a crazy endeavor to organize 200 students working together for only half an hour, but as Michele says, it was ‘good chaos’!”

That sense of energy was evident throughout the morning. Students dug into the soil, learned plant names, and captured the work through photos and video. With approval from administrators, the team also extended planting along the garden lot borders, expanding the footprint of the restored landscape even further.

For many students, the project reshaped how they view Arden and its role on campus. Bruce S. ’29 shared, “Before Arden Oaks, there was Arden lawn. When entering high school, I did not consider it a major emblem of Poly. The ground was dusty and compacted, and the area felt dead. But, after the ground was redone and the hügels were added, the place had a distinct atmosphere to it. We added plants that supported certain wildlife and that looked good together. With the reduced water runoff that the ground provides, along with its springiness and reduced risk of compaction, this atmospheric area wouldn't revert to its previous state. Its dynamic atmosphere now looms large in my mind. To me, the importance of the Arden project was that we, the Poly community, turned something modest into a fantastic icon of our own strength and resilience.”

Beyond the physical changes to the landscape, the replanting reinforced lessons in land stewardship, collaboration, and care for shared spaces. As Arden Lawn continues to grow, it stands as a living reminder of what can be accomplished when a community comes together with intention and purpose.