It’s a cold day at the end of November in front of Bidwell Mansion. The sky is gray and overcast, the ground is wet and there is water dripping from every plant and tree. But none of this stops Wesley Dempsey, the leader of this semester’s final arboretum walk, from energetically leading his small group through the twisting paths of Chico State.

In navy blue pants and windbreaker, black hat and blue earmuffs, Dempsey looks every inch the botany professor. His backpack is full of brochures and maps, and even the occasional bit of a plant.

As he stops and points to tree after tree, offering not only the Latin names but also how and why each tree and plant has gotten to where it is today on campus, such as the American chestnut trees, planted by John Bidwell all along the main drive up to the mansion.

This is the last of four arboretum walks for this fall semester, for a total of eight walks during the school year. The walks are for anyone who wants to attend, from Chico State students to Chico residents. The leaders of these walks, Gary Vercruse and Dempsey, cover a different group of trees with each tour so that those who attend more than one will be able to see new trees and learn different facts on each outing.

Chico State student Debbie Schuster, on her first tour, was very impressed with all of the history behind so much of the university campus.

“I think it’s fabulous that Bidwell took his wife for buggy rides along the same path that we walked on today, under the same trees,” Schuster says. “Where can I find someone like that?”

According to Dempsey the walks, which he has led for almost 15 years, are sponsored by the Arboretum Committee in order to help educate the public about the history of the arboretum and to create a greater appreciation for the plant life on campus. The Arboretum Committee was created in order to help the public understand why something is being done to a certain plant in order to avoid people overreacting.

“People get very emotional about these things here,” says Dempsey. “We don’t want people to start chaining themselves to trees.”

Dempsey even has to keep the Chico State gardeners from becoming too ambitious with the native California trees which don’t need water in the summer and will actually start to die if given too much. Other times trees that some gardeners think shouldn’t turn brown do and Dempsey must keep them from cutting them down.

“They’re just hibernating,” he says.

The arboretum, which basically is a place where woody plants are cultivated for study and enjoyment, is a very important fixture at Chico State. Some 30 to 40 classes, or almost 3,000 students, use it for education says Dempsey. In fact, Chico State is the only university in California to have its entire campus designated as an arboretum..

“It’s a horticultural historical resource for the whole state of California,” Dempsey says.

Local resident Gerry Ingco, a retired state and federal forest ranger, takes advantage of the walks in order to stay up to date on non-native plants.

“It’s so limited [in parts of California], but here you find so many plants that you can’t find anywhere else around these areas,” says Ingco. “I like to work with wood as well and it really helps to find out all this information about all these different kinds right here in Chico.”

The tours will start up again in the spring semester and more information can be found by searching for “arboretum tours” on the Chico State website. Or call Wes Dempsey at 530-342-2293 or Bidwell Mansion State Park at 530-895-6144.