Work on the Trans-California Pathways Project at California State University, Stanislaus is almost complete and soon the school will be home to a variety of plants located throughout the state.
The project began 30 years ago, with Dr. Wayne Pierce’s vision of an outdoor classroom capable of teaching about the different kinds of plant life found throughout California, from the Central Valley to Sierra Nevada Mountain Range. 
Dr. Pierce and his students took the first steps in making this dream a reality and planted 300 Oak acorns in the area now set aside for the project’s advancement. These Valley Oaks can now be seen in their more mature states along the Monte Vista side of campus, heading towards Geer Road. 
The project came to a standstill when Dr. Pierce passed away in August of 2008. His wife Donna Pierce, a longtime champion of the school, decided to take over and see his vision come to fruition. 
Donating money and time, she helped to raise the funds necessary to begin work on the project to be located in the southeastern corner of the school. As soon as the weather begins to cool down, the school will begin planting, hopefully in early October, with a groundbreaking planned for later in October. 
The class of 2012 also helped make this project a reality by choosing the Trans-California Pathways Project as their class gift. Together they raised funds through the “Leaf Your Mark” project. 
“It’s an awesome idea,” Farm Saevang (graduate student, Criminal Justice) said. “It sounds like it’ll be helpful to Biology majors and I’m excited to see it finished.”
The project, however, will be in its infancy stage for a while. The plants representing valley grassland, foothill woodland, lower elevation coniferous forest, and upper elevation coniferous forest will all be planted young and nurtured into their mature state. To date, over $210,000 has been donated for the project and $40,000 is needed to reach completion.
“I think it’s amazing that it started two or three generations ago, and now this generation gets to pay it forward for future generations,” Shannon Nichols (Interim Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving) said.
To donate or learn more, visit: csustan.edu/tcp