Makeover Returns UC Riversides Picnic Hill to Former Glory

Eucalytpus trees saved from invasive beetle and new plants beautify the area

By Ross French on March 18, 2014

Violet Vargas and Jami Holland of the UCR School of Medicine enjoy lunch on Picnic Hill on a recent afternoon. Photo by Ross French

RIVERSIDE, Calif. Since the campus opening 1954, and possibly even dating back to the days of the UC Citrus Experiment Station, Picnic Hill at the University of California, Riverside was a go-to destination for students, staff and faculty, and their families, to spend some quiet time with friends, have a bite to eat, or just taking in the scenery. The hidden gem of green space with picnic tables and a beautiful stone barbeque pit has a great view of the Box Spring Mountains and a lush canopy of shade-producing eucalyptus trees. Located just east of the School of Medicine Research Building, the park was considered by some to be one of the best kept secrets on the campus.

Picnic Hill is indicated by the red arrow.

(Former UCR Athletics Director) Frank Lindeburgh would help organize family picnics on Picnic Hill, located behind the old Citrus Experiment Station, recalled Ann Straubinger DeWolf (67) in an article in the December 2000 issue of the UCR Magazine Fiat Lux. There would be a big barbecue, games, and lots of ruckus as we kids would scramble over the boulders. My family would also picnic there after church at least once a month.

Assistant Vice Chancellor for Housing, Dining and Residential Services Andy Plumley, a 1982 graduate of UCR, said he had many memories of Picnic Hill and called it a great destination for special barbeques for many hall communities. Its a nice place to get away without going far.

But Picnic Hill had suffered a decline in recent years, with several factors, including outdated irrigation and an infestation of Eucalyptus Long-Horned Beetle Borers, combining to turn the once lush space into a mess of dirt and leaves, with unkempt and old tables, according to Violet Vargas, a senior analyst with the School of Medicine who was eating lunch with colleague Jami Holland on a recent afternoon and who has been a regular lunchtime visitor to Picnic Hill since 1990.

The trees had become overgrown and the shrubs and turf were stressed, explained Raymond Bolles, senior landscape supervisor for UCR Physical Plants Grounds Department. The hill suffered and became a victim of lack of attention and maintenance due to reduction in staff as labor resources were diverted to other high traffic areas of the campus. Not many people frequented the hill. It did not feel like a comfortable space. It was old and tired, needed a kickstart or face lift.

In September 2013, members of the grounds crew began looking at the hill and working on ways to return the hill to its former beauty. The first challenge was to get rid of the insects that were threatening to kill the 50-plus-year-old eucalyptus trees. After confirming the species of insect that was attacking the tree with UCR Professor of Entomology Tim Paine, pest control crews began a chemical treatment of the trees. But that was only half of the problem. The irrigation and maintenance of the trees also had to be addressed.

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Makeover Returns UC Riversides Picnic Hill to Former Glory