At the GWC Native Garden, volunteers periodically present the Oak Award to individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Garden’s development and ongoing stewardship. Below is a list of past recipients honored with this distinction.
Rod spent more than two decades as the Gardens Co-Director using his vast imagination and sharing his vision of what the Garden could be. He was an individual of engaging character, contagious humor, and inspiring leadership who was largely responsible for making the Golden West College Native Garden a truly unique place on campus.
Rod’s accomplishments as Co-Director of the Garden are far too numerous to list but his efforts are seen throughout the Garden. Always an ambassador for the Garden, Rod inspired GWC faculty, staff, and garden visitors. After he retired, his regular presence in the Garden was missed but his legacy continued inl the pathways he laid out, the amphitheater he built, and the grove of Engelmann Oaks he planted. The graceful grove of Oaks is now known as the Rod Wallbank Oak Grove.
Don was a chief source of inspiration and direction for the Biology Department and a warm friend and stalwart supporter of the GWC Native Garden from its beginning in 1975. A faculty member in the science department, Don was there when the idea of a garden was originally suggested and for many years, both as a faculty member and as Department Chair, backed early Garden development and later its expansion.
Don also encouraged Garden Co-Directors to use a free hand in designing the Garden and its features, pushed for funding from the Biology Foundation Account (when the Garden had no other real funding), and helped restore and reopen the hothouse. Don prompted other faculty to utilize the Garden in their class curriculum, gave valued advice and encouragement to Garden staff, and happily played in the dirt during annual planting parties. Don has definitely helped make the Golden West College Native Garden what it is today.
