The Cal State Fullerton Arboretum held its third Evening Stroll: After Hours at the Arboretum event of the year Friday to welcome attendees with live jazz music, fruit tasting and a variety of children’s activities for one last summer hurrah.
Kymberly Pietsch, president of Friends of the Fullerton Arboretum, a volunteer based support group, said they have these events four times a year with this one being the last in the summer series before the cooler Southern California weather sets in.
“We have them during the summer because it’s still light. So people can come to the arboretum in the evening,” Pietsch said. “They can come after the heat of the day has passed and enjoy the evening light and stroll among the gardens.”
The group holds events and does outreach for the arboretum. It’s events like this that Pietsch hopes bring more awareness to the arboretum.
“We want more students, especially students, to know about the arboretum, to come and visit it and to use it, to enjoy it and to use it for their enrichment,” Pietsch said.
Director of the arboretum, Joya Salas, also shares this sentiment in hopes that Titans take advantage of the fresh and free environment.
“It provides a really nice respite for students, and we have like a million benches,” Salas said. “We’re improving our Wi-Fi soon, so hopefully more students come.”
Outside of events like this one, the arboretum offers a place where people can learn about nature and relax. Seasonal flower fields bloom among the 26 acre space and feature rare and ripe fruits that are harvested every Thursday. Additionally, Salas said the arboretum has a huge propagation program and plants for sale.
Friday’s event took place from 5-7 p.m. and offered a live jazz band from the CSUF School of Music. As Salas has only been director for four months, this was her first After Hours at the Arboretum event and denotes the special environment that this event fosters.
The Engaging Environmental Experiences Program (E3), is the internship program the arboretum offers CSUF students. Members provided samples of valencia orange, white sapote, orient pear, jaboticaba and pomegranate — each harvested from the arboretum. Samples of the arboretum’s wild water were also available.
“One thing that we’re kind of famous for, it’s very silly, but it’s our wild water,” Pietsch said. “We have this special recipe of water with different herbs and fruit from the garden that go into the water and it makes something very delicious.”
At the children’s garden, volunteers Debbie Williamson and Terry Stevenson educated kids about the arboretum and animals living there, while encouraging them to explore.
“So that’s what we were talking about, the red ear sliders, those are the turtles that are in the pond over there,” Williamson said. “They’re invasive species, not supposed to be there.”
Arts and crafts tables were set up for the children to participate in, furthering the education of the arboretum while partaking in kid-friendly activities.
“So over here we are just making little ‘I spy’ telescopes or monoscopes,” Stevenson said. “We want them to use them to explore the children’s garden.”
CSUF students were also able to enjoy the evening’s festivities. Anjali Black, a first-year psychology major, and Carver Diaz, a first-year biology major, decided to attend after hearing about the event from a professor.
“When we first got here, we tried the fruit. It was all really good,” Black said. “The tea that they had, I don’t remember what it was called, that was delicious.”
Black and Diaz weren’t the only students to enjoy what the event had to offer as a plethora of other Titans found their way to the arboretum.
“I really like how they use the things that they grow here to make the drinks and have the fruit samplings,” said fourth-year studio art major Zarina Ortega. “I think that’s really cool.”
This night’s After Hours at the Arboretum didn’t just provide a rare opportunity for people to visit the arboretum after close, but a chance to enjoy nature and learn more about the environment and its offerings.