Hewitt-Pinkerton Initiative Fund

The Hewitt-Pinkerton Initiatives Fund Endowment was created in 2011 through the philanthropic vision of Bret Hewitt and Deborah Pinkerton. They established the fund to support the GATEways (Gardens, Arts and the Environment) Project initiatives of the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, with a special emphasis on realizing the potential for the Elizabeth Mary Wolf Environmental Learning Center as a major community engagement hub inside the Arboretum Teaching Nursery.

The Hewitt-Pinkerton Initiatives Endowment provides critical support to help Arboretum and Public Garden leaders and volunteers communicate with partners, potential donors and campus administration about the impact of the UC Davis GATEways Project and the innovative Learning by LeadingTM Student Internship Program. Past projects funded by income from the endowment have included: a GATEways “Look Book” highlighting ten years of work accomplished on the GATEways Project, and the momentum and future visions for the Learning by LeadingTM Program; participation in a national conference to share the UC Davis Living Landscape Adaptation Plan for Climate Change, resulting in award of a major grant to fund our work in climate-ready gardening education; and outfitting the Elizabeth Mary Wolf Environmental Learning Center for diverse community programming.

Peter Raven, National Medal of Science Winner and MacArthur Fellow says the GATEways Project is..."something that has not been done anywhere else before. This work is so important: everyone all over the world is wondering how to re-form the way people live and re-form how they make connections to the natural world... UC Davis can be a global leader to guide us in how we might best adapt to climate change at all levels: international, national, and local."

Thank you for considering a gift to the Hewitt-Pinkerton Initiative Fund Endowment.