Fullerton Arboretum Final 

Report 
05.11.2017 
─ 

Rayna Sundberg-Martinez 
Katia Dreschke 
Rachelle Araghi 
Leticia Alvarez 
 
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Introduction 

Overview of Project  
Fullerton Arboretum’s mission is to “Provide our visitors the opportunity to gain knowledge and
appreciation of the plant world through collections that preserve and promote stewardship of
worldwide plant diversity and regional agricultural heritage. Serve faculty, students and the broader
community through education and scholarly activities.” (Fullerton Arboretum, 2016)
Using both qualitative and quantitative methods of research, we have been able to see the wide variety
of guests and members that visit the Arboretum on an average weekday, as well as get a strong idea of
the way in which the Arboretum is utilized by members of its community.
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Relevant Background information  

The Fullerton Arboretum has a unique history that dates back to the garden being a part of the Gilman
ranch, where orange trees were harvested. As Orange State College (later California State University,
Fullerton) saw that this particular part of land was in rapid decline, serious discussions began to arise
over what was going to happen to the land. A huge campus effort came together and began to advocate
for preservation of the land, rather than a new parking lot, which had been discussed. Through the
student and faculty tenacity, Friends of the Fullerton Arboretum was created and thus the pursuit of
development heightened. With major pressure from the university and activist groups, the Fullerton
Arboretum was opened on October 21, 1979.
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Product/Service​: ​Fullerton Arboretum is a 26 acre collection of more than 4,000 plants and animals,
which helps the community to recognize the world’s plants and the importance of protecting our earth’s
plant life. They are a non​profit conservation, education, and research institution. They provide a
multitude of educational programs about the biodiversity of plants to students of all ages as well as the
local community.
Pricing:​ To visit the arboretum, it is completely free. If you would like to become a member of the
arboretum prices range from $45 -​$500 depending on what type of membership you may select. Each
membership comes with a reciprocal pass that allows you into other gardens all around the nation.
Higher membership passes grant invitations to special member events and receptions.
Place/Distribution situation​: ​The arboretum is located in Fullerton, CA., on the CSUF campus. The
reciprocal garden membership perk allows admission to over 250 public gardens across the United
States and Canada.
Promotion, Marketing, Ad, PR program: ​Promotion and advertising is particularly low in the Fullerton
Arboretum, as there is not enough funding to do so. They have social media pages like Facebook and
Instagram. Much of their marketing and promotion is through email flyers and newsletters. The
arboretum is currently known as “fullerton’s best kept secret” in which they do not want to be. There is
very little signage around the CSUF campus leading to the arboretum. Advertising is also limited to
pamphlets, which are not always the most effective way of broadcasting.
Competitors
When CSUF and City of Fullerton 1976 agreement of the “Joint Exercise of Powers Agreement
between the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Fullerton and the Trustees of the California
State University,” (fullertonarboretum.org, 2016) was put into place, the Fullerton Arboretum has
since been a well-established botanical garden recognized across the nation. However, in order
for the arboretum to maintain its progression and livelihood solely depends on an increasing
generated revenue from the public.
According to IBISWorld, charging entrance fees and offering vendor contracts to
balance lower budgets is still not enough to keep this industry thriving, “IBISWorld
anticipates industry revenue to decline by an annualized 0.1% to $12.8 billion over the
five years to 2016,” (ibisworld.com, 2016) which is why competition is scarce for
Orange County garden goers​ especially if they want to have the best experience and
see consistently new botanical exhibits.
For this reason, having the best experience at the Fullerton Arboretum is essential in
order to beat out ​other​ well known botanical gardens in the local region, or in this case,
any botanical garden in Southern California as they all could be CSUF Arboretum’s
competitor.
Some local arboretums in the Orange County region that impose a threat to Fullerton’s
Arboretum are University of California, Irvine Arboretum and Sherman Library and Gardens.
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University of California, Irvine​ Arboretum

Only 20 miles from CSUF Arboretum, this botanical garden can be CSUF biggest
competition as far as ​educational​ ​ purposes ​, because it is also another local university
implementing in conservation of threatened botanical species.
On their website, they are promoting “the study and research” from Ayala School of
Biological Sciences which their mission states, “to encourage and assist teaching and
research” for the UCI Arboretum (arboretum.bio.uci.edu, 2016).
​ ccording to their website, their future mission is to sustain life of threatened plant species,
A
“the UCI Arboretum is concerned with the conservation of rare and endangered species, and we
grow a number of rare, threatened and endangered species both for our displays and genetic
conservation as vouchered living material, but also for re​introduction into natural habitats to
supplement existing wild stocks”. In addition, to maintaining a thriving garden, for educational
and research gain, UCI Arboretum can be used for, “common garden experiments” for
undergraduate and graduate students. UCI Arboretum website does not seem as active and up
to part (community engagement), whereas CSUF Arboretum website looks lively and well engaged
with the public. Their website does not include whether they have special events such as
weddings.
Sherman Library and Gardens
About 30 minutes from CSUF campus, the Sherman Library and Gardens is another
major player that imposes a concern in revenue and traffic delays for CSUF Arboretum.
One powerful benefit Sherman Library and Gardens has above CSUF Arboretum is their
very own “coastal garden cuisine” offered at “Café Jardin”. The café offers lunch,
Sunday brunches, and scheduled afternoon tea​ located in their “central flower gardens.”
The website claims it’s all outdoor seating and depending on the weather, they will
accommodate seating arrangements for inside (slgardens.org, 2016).
For this reason, CSUF has lost a huge advantage over Sherman Library and Gardens. Having a
café at CSUF Arboretum could generate major revenue and traffic for the university and City of
Fullerton.

Weaknesses and Threats

The lack of additional financial support from the city of Fullerton and from the community, has limited
the continual growth of the Arboretum. There are many gaining opportunities this garden has to offer,
however it all comes down to funding and donation services. Without the proper marketing and
financial contribution, the Arboretum loses community momentum that would keep the garden alive
and thriving.
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Value of Research Report

The image that the Fullerton Arboretum is trying to convey is that of their mission statement, to be an
educational outpost about plant biodiversity and agricultural heritage.
The main goal of the Fullerton Arboretum is to not be “Fullerton’s best kept secret” any longer. They
want to gain traffic and thus gain donations in order to expand and develop the arboretum. Another
goal is to increase membership and the number of active members. They do not want members to join
for a year as a type of donation, they want their members to be involved in events and volunteering. The
Fullerton Arboretum would also like to partner with CSUF campus more, getting students and faculty
involved in their mission.
Through this research report we have been able to gain the information and insight needed to help he
Fullerton Arboretum reach their ultimate goal.

The purpose of this research is to gain understanding and knowledge about why people come to the
Fullerton Arboretum and how they connect with their surroundings while there. Through our different
research methods, we as a team are hoping to gain new insight about the arboretum guests and their
motivation, feedback, ideas, and needs in order to create a more narrowly tailored experience. The
ethnography assignment allowed us to hone in on what types of people and groups were coming to the
arboretum, while the interview allows us to hear their needs and thoughts in a more meaningful way.
We can understand why visitors are making certain decisions and how they affect the Arboretum as a
whole. The interview process allows us to gain understanding of the arboretum’s guests in a more
personal way, rather than factual. Through the survey, we were able to get mass answers to direct
questions that may represent the arboretum more universally.

Explanation of Research Problem and Research Questions  

Overarching research questions asked:
● Who are our guests? Who are our members?
● What motivates them to visit and join? What exhibits and sights do they value the most?
● How do people hear about the arboretum? What can be done to increase awareness of the
Fullerton Arboretum?
By asking these questions we were able to better understand the Fullerton Arboretum visitors,
members, and volunteers. These questions also allowed us to pinpoint what makes the arboretum
unique and special while also considering drawbacks. The arboretum is so unique because it is a place of
serenity and nature in an otherwise chaotic city setting. It is a breath of fresh air in a world that is not
always in touch with nature. It offers both a relaxing setting that can be used for social activities,
exercise and inspiration. There are definitely improvements that the Arboretum can work on such as
visibility, which is their number one threat to both visitors and donations to the arboretum.
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Methodology 

Research design
Our research began through a situational analysis of the Fullerton Arboretum. This research gathered
general information about our topic, and allowed us to begin formulating questions that would narrowly
tailor our research in the future. We covered the 5 C’s: company, customers, collaborators, competitors,
and climate, as well as SWOT and PEST analyses.
Individually, we each conducted an ethnographic study centered on the recorded manner in which
visitors, volunteers, and employees conduct themselves at the Fullerton Arboretum. With this period of
observation, we were able to set aside pre-existing ideas and grasp a better understanding of the wide
variety of guests and members that utilize the Arboretum on an average weekday. The observation
study focused on patterns and habitual practices of the guests, members, and volunteers of Fullerton
Arboretum. Through the ethnography assignment it allowed us to record and analyze data in order to
see recurring patterns and demographics of the people that visit the arboretum. This ethnography
assignment will utilize quantitative research methods in order to detect patterns and the different ways
people experience the arboretum. Because of its open nature, being that it is open to the public, many
different people from different walks of life experience the arboretum through their own identity and
perspective, which makes this subject extremely interesting to cover.

As a research team we generated a number of survey questions to be entered into a qualtrics survey
database. Questions varied among the three categories:
● Who are our guests? Who are our members? Who are our volunteers?
● What motivates them to visit and join? What exhibits and sights do they value the most?
● How do people hear about the Arboretum? What can be done to increase awareness of the
Fullerton Arboretum?
In addition, we each conducted face-to-face interviews at the Fullerton Arboretum which allowed a
much more personal insight to guest motivations. We followed the general interview guide
methodology in our interviews which allowed us to each conduct a somewhat structured interview
through asking predetermined questions we came up with together, while at the same time sustaining a
relaxed manner by asking various follow up questions throughout the interview conversation.
During our interviews, we utilized a semi-structured order. We had a set of questions that I felt were
easy to get the conversation started, as well as keep it on track. We felt that they were significant
enough to my research to ask all of my participants. Because the questions were open ended, which
allowed for any type of answer to be accepted, we were able to play off of what the interviewee said in
order to formulate thought provoking follow-up questions. Our subjects answered all questions to the
best of their ability and in a manner that they thought seemed to be most beneficial to our research. In
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other words, they did not really stray off the topic of the Arboretum. Through the free-flowing
conversation, our participants brought up topics that we originally had not thought about, allowing for
other insight to be expressed in the form of formulating more diverse questions. Because we had visited
the Arboretum more than a few times, we were able to relate to our participants and have similar
insight because we, too, could be seen as a guest of the Fullerton Arboretum at one point in time. Being
a guest of the arboretum as well as the participants allowed them to open up more about shared
experiences while visiting the garden. The open-ended questions allowed for our interviewees to feel
more comfortable about their responses and open up to a greater extent, as they didn’t have a set of
parameters to answer by. Throughout the interview process, many of the questions we were asking,
linked with another and got wrapped up in the earlier questions, eliminating the second one completely.
This seemed to work out fine length wise because of the follow up questions being asked—none of our
interviews were long and overly drawn out to where the participant may have been exhausted from the
questioning.  

Sample design for Qualtrics 

Sample Size​: 279 respondents  
Questionnaire Design​: 29 questions- a majority of the questions in the survey were based on 
a likert scale. If there answer was not present, there was a column for “other” to further 
explain their response through an open ended response area. 
Source of Data Collection​: Primary Data Survey 

Data collection and field work 

Interview #1
Introduction
The purpose of conducting interviews with guests at the arboretum is to get a better understanding on
who the Arboretum’s guests are (demographically), their experience at the gardens, what needs to be
worked on in order to attract more traffic at the arboretum, and ultimately increase donations,
membership, and volunteer participation.
Prior to the interview, conducting the situation analysis and surveys helped our group steer towards the
most appropriate questions to ask guests in order to have an in-depth understanding on:
1. ​Why hasn’t there been an increase in new arboretum memberships?
2. ​Why there’s been a decrease in donations?
Finding the potential reason(s) behind these questions, first began with a situation analysis, followed by
survey questions that correlate to the issue(s), and interviewing of guests, because we want to how
guests interact within the grounds and how they feel about the arboretum- which can help us conclude
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why the arboretum is experiencing a decline in participation of new memberships, donations, and
volunteers.
Methodology
Procedure​-The interview took place Monday April 10, 2017 at 2:22 pm. I approached a woman and her
two children near the stream under the trees and introduced myself as a CSUF student and was
conducting research on the arboretum for my communications research class and a part of this research
involved interviewing guests of the arboretum. She agreed to the interview.
Materials​-I gave her a consent form (last page) regarding our discussion and that it will be tape
recorded, she glanced and quickly signed it- I told her that signing the consent form meant that
everything I ask her will be “on the record” about her experience(s) at the gardens unless she insisted
for me not to proceed. She nodded in agreement.
Overview​-I continued to speak to her in a standardized open ended style interview, so I can allow the
participant to express how she feels without restricting a time to her response. However I didn’t stick
strictly to the interview questions, as they were altered depending on the response she gave.
The questions and responses given were as followed:
Demographic Questions:
- Name: Mandy Gomez (f)
- Ethnicity: Italian, Mexican, and White
- Age: Mid 30’s
- Occupation: part-time pre-school teacher and stay at home mom
- Resident location: Orange, CA.
Interview Questions and Responses​:
· ​Is this your first time visiting the arboretum?
-No it’s not, I usually come with my family. My husband works full time and I have a more flexible
schedule so I like to take the kids- my son really enjoys it.
· ​Adding: If you don’t mind me asking, how old are your kids?
-My son is 3 and my daughter is 7 months.
· ​Adding: What does your son enjoy most about being here?
-Well…… he likes the nature, the pond, the stream… this is usually where we lay out and have a picnic.
· ​Adding: So you’re usually prepared when you come?
-Yes, I need to make sure my son has his snacks and juices- it just depends how long we stay.
· ​How long do you normally stay when you visit?
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-It depends, I have little ones so whenever they get fussy, so no more than an hour, but when I don’t
have the kids with me, I can stay a couple hours- reading and relaxing.
· ​How often do you come to the arboretum?
-It depends, usually a day like this would be nice- I don’t like coming when its cold- so a good day like
this would be ideal. This isn’t my first time here, I’ve been about 5 or 6 times…Not sure, but I try my
best to make it out here when my son wants to go.
(note: it was a warm sunny day, about 73 degrees)
· ​So a majority of the time your son asks you to take him?
-Yes, plus it’s good for the kids to be out in the nature and explore, he loves it.
​· ​What do YOU enjoy the most about the arboretum?
-Its relaxing, my son really likes the pond and the ducks, I enjoy laying out by the stream. It’s just
relaxing, it’s good to get a way for a bit. Oh and I really like that it’s free and right off the freeway. I know
that if they charged I most likely wouldn’t make it out as often as I do with the kids. Plus it’s not as busy
as other parks…. I actually like that theirs hardly anyone here when I come. I have a better eye out on
my little ones and don’t have to worry much about my son venturing off.
· ​What is something you could change about the arboretum?
-It would be nice if they had a coffee stand. I picked up my coffee on the way here because I knew I
needed it and they don’t sell it here, but other than that, they do a great job maintaining the place so I
wouldn’t change much, but it would be nice to have coffee or tea…. (looking around)…
· ​Is the arboretum a convenient location for you?
-Yah, it’s about 10-15 minutes away from Orange, so it’s not too bad of a drive.
· ​How did you hear about the arboretum?
-Well I wanted something I could do with the kids that’s in the area, so I yelped gardens- and this was
the first couple suggestions that came up. Actually when I told my mother in law about it, she said she
heard about the gardens through the AAA travel guide she gets delivered and it was a section on “same
day trip” I believe, so she knew about the gardens before I even took her the first time.
· ​Does she come to the arboretum with you only or with others?
-​Yah she comes with me most of the time, I think she’s only been once by herself. I’m not too sure. But
she enjoys it.
· ​What other arboretums have you visited?
-I actually never been, but my mother in law enjoys going to gardens, she actually told me about one in
Costa Mesa, I don’t know if you know which one I’m talking about- but it has restaurant in there…. Well,
shes been, and she said she really likes it and they have an outdoor patio with a rose garden. We
actually may head out there for her birthday later this month.
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· ​By any chance, did you notice the donation box in the front of the Arboretum near the entrance?
-I have… but the box doesn’t look like it’s safe to keep money in there… it looks like anyone can take
the money... so that’s actually why I don’t donate, I actually always tell myself I want to donate at least a
few dollars but I always forget when I’m making my way out of here. My mother in law does donate
though, a couple bucks here and there- nothing big.
· ​Adding: Well I know that you visit the gardens often, were you aware of the arboretum
membership program?
-No, I didn’t know…
· ​Adding: Would you be interested in learning more about the membership?
-No… I don’t have time for that, I mean it’s nice to get out and visit… but I wouldn’t want to join, I’m
sure there are dues and meetings, right? I’m already apart of the HOA I barely have time for …so it
wouldn’t be ideal for me.
[End of interview. I thanked her for her participation off record]
[Interview ended at 2:41 pm]
Limitations- ​Based on this interview, I didn’t feel as if I had her complete attention as she was concerned
with her son jumping in the stream and how she kept referring back to her mother in law rather her own
scenario. In addition, this interview was from only one perspective (small sample size), rather from a
larger group of responses from other guests – which could give us a better break down of what recurring
themes took place in the interviews.
Data Analysis
What caught my attention the most in this interview was when the interviewee mentioned how she
didn’t think it was “safe” to put money in the donation box, because it didn’t “look” a particular way.
She always mentioned that she “forgets” to put money on the way out because that’s not on her mind
when she’s leaving the arboretum. In addition to the donation box, she mentioned that on her way in-
she stopped by Starbucks because she already knew there wasn’t a café at the arboretum and it would
be “nice” to have it.
In addition, we can understand that the participant didn’t have “time” to participate in the membership
program, she wasn’t fond of the appearance of the donation box-which gave her a reason to forget, or
not make it a priority to donate on her way in or out of the arboretum, and because there was no coffee
stand at the arboretum, she purchased her coffee prior.
Conclusion
Based on these responses, the arboretum is losing money on what could be quick fixes, such as the
appearance and security of the donation box, also, because there is no additional donation box facing
guests who are making their way out of the arboretum. However, as far as building a café in the
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gardens- it’ll take a lot more money from the school, donations, and memberships to make that happen,
however in the long run it would be financially beneficial for the arboretum and convenient for guests.

Interview #2
Introduction
I approached this Interview Assignment intending to acquire more information on the guests that the
Fullerton Arboretum receives. I aimed to find out what prompted these guests to visit, and what about
the Arboretum would compel them to visit again. Together, my group members and I came up with a
number of open-ended questions we decided were suitable to ask those we would see visiting the
Arboretum. Through conducting various interviews, we hope to attain deeper insight on how the
average guest feels about their visit, with which we can then offer the Fullerton Arboretum ways to
enhance the guest experience.
Methodology
Overview
The general interview guide methodology my group members and I used, allowed us to each conduct a
somewhat structured interview through asking the predetermined questions we came up with together,
while at the same time sustaining a relaxed manner by asking various follow up questions throughout
the interview conversation. We chose this method predicting that the broad questions we approached
each of our interviews with, would allow our interviewees to provide us with more in-depth rather than
direct answers about their experiences and viewpoints on each given question. The adaptability of a
general interview guide is beneficial to our situation in the way that it provides participants with a more
relaxed feel, which can ultimately result in more genuine answers. However with such flexibility, a
limitation we could easily encounter is straying away from the topic at hand. It is easy to keep a flow of
back and forth communication but it is also important to remember the focus of the interview.
Participant
I interviewed Julia, a first-time visitor at the Fullerton Arboretum. She commuted from Tustin just for the
day, after hearing about our Arboretum from a friend. She has visited the Huntington Botanical Gardens
and was interested in finding a garden in Orange County, which is when a friend told her about the
Fullerton Arboretum.
Procedure
When I arrived at the Fullerton Arboretum on Tuesday April 11th, it was around 2:15pm and a beautiful
75 degrees and sunny. I walked around for a while taking into consideration the people I was seeing. I
specifically looked for those who seemed as if they were just at the arboretum for a visit. I saw some
older couples who looked very engaged with their surroundings, studying Arboretum brochures and the
nature around them. I decided not to approach these visitors as them seemed very enthralled and
absorbed in what they were doing. I saw a few adults with children, which I considered approaching
however then came to the conclusion that they may feel preoccupied with watching their children and
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not be able to fully engage in the interview. As I walked around a bit more I saw a young woman walking
at a leisure pace, who seemed fascinated by the plants surrounding her. She took a few photos of the
flowers lining the path and I figured she would be a great person to interview. I approached her asking if
she was just here at the Arboretum for a visit, to which she replied yes excitedly. I continued by
explaining to her how I am a student at Cal State Fullerton, putting together a research study for one of
my classes, and she gladly agreed to answer a few questions.
Materials
There were no materials given to the participant during this interview.
Question Guide
1. How often do you come to the Fullerton Arboretum?
2. What prompted you to come today?
3. How did you find out about the Fullerton Arboretum?
4. What collections or aspects did you enjoy most?
5. If you could change anything about the Fullerton Arboretum, what would it be? Why?
6. Is the Arboretum in a convenient location? Did you travel far to get here?
7. Do you think you’ll come back again after today? Would you bring people with you?
Summary
As I began interviewing Julia, she explained to me how she absolutely loves to visit various
gardens, she explained, “It is a perfect way to spend a free day.” Living in Tustin and having a car, allows
her to get from one place to another without much trouble. There is always traffic to consider but being
that Tustin is not too far from Fullerton, Julia stated, “It was not much trouble at all.” I asked her what
prompted her to come today and she went on to tell me that she had recently been to the Huntington
Botanical Gardens, and wanted to find more gardens in the surrounding cities. She mentioned to many
of her friends how much she enjoyed the Huntington Garden and a couple of these friends
recommended she look into visiting the Fullerton Arboretum, so she did exactly that.
I asked Julia what aspect she enjoyed most today, and with a smile on her face she explained, “The
blooming flowers, the irises, they are everywhere I look, but what is missing is signs. I didn’t see many
signs, to tell me what is what.” She jumped right into my next question, to which I responded by telling
her that missing signs are one of the main things my research classmates and I have noticed as well. “But
other than that, I really like this garden. I’m very glad I came,” she followed up. Her last statement
segued well into my question of whether or not the Fullerton Arboretum is in a convenient location for
her. She responded saying, “Yes it was not a far distance for me to come, and the garden is beautiful, so
very much worth it either way. But maybe some parking for just arboretum visitors would be nice,
separated from university parking. Also, though, if I didn’t have Google Maps I may have had some
trouble finding this.” We went on to discuss how weekends are an easier time to visit when it comes to
parking, and signs displaying and promoting the arboretum around the city of Fullerton would also be a
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great addition. Julia blissfully told me that she will be back soon with friends. As our conversation came
to an end, I asked Julia if she wouldn’t mind signing a consent form, and she had no problem doing so.
Analysis of Data
After looking back at the information I obtained during my interview with Julia, one theme that
became apparent to me was that the Fullerton Arboretum has the potential to do very well in the spring
and summer months, with the amount of blooming flowers and beautiful weather to come ahead. Julia
had almost all positive things to say about her visit, she was delighted to be able to tell her friends about
her experience and was enthusiastic about making her way here again. Through this interview process, I
was able to uncover a few critiques from Julia that my group and I will be able to introduce to the
Arboretum employees, along with approaches to resolve these problems. Ultimately the Fullerton
Arboretum needs to increase their amount of publicity, whether it is creating billboard signs in Fullerton
and the surrounding cities, or online announcements through school and city websites, there are a lot of
ways to go about maximizing publicity to increase visitor rates. Designated arboretum visitor parking is
something that would increase the number of out of town guests, and by acquiring visitors from farther
cities the Fullerton Arboretum will receive a wider range of recognition and continually growing visitor
rates.

Brief analysis 
In both of these interviews, we concluded that the donation box needs to be facing guests who are both
entering the arboretum and leaving it, there needs to be more signage on campus and in the community
that directs visitors to the arboretum, more advertisements and marketing tactics to increase visitors
and memberships, in addition to a cafe- where guests are able to purchase coffee, tea, and small bites
during their visits.
Through our survey we found that most people are likely to visit on a weekend, either individually or
with one other person. This was supported by our interviews because most were accompanied by
another friend/spouse/relative. While we did not conduct the interviews on the weekend, some of the
respondents said that they had previously visited on a weekend.

   
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Results/ Discussion of Findings 

Tables and Charts from Qualtrics Survey 

 
62% participants of the Qualtrics Survey were members. 

 
51% of participants in the survey visit the Arboretum to purchase plants. 
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48% of participants usually visit the Arboretum alone. 
 
 
 

 
Placement of signs, promotion of events, and exhibits were ranked the highest according to our 
survey responses. 
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32% of visitors of the Arboretum tend to visit the gardens on a weekend, rather the weekday. 
 
 
Q18- How did you first hear about the Fullerton Arboretum? 

 
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Recommending to visit the Arboretum was ranked at 31% from family and friends, where media 
and “other” was nearly split. 
 

 
33% of respondents visit the Arboretum at least once every 2 months.  

Interpretation of Data 
After concluding our data through ethnographic studies, face-to-face interviews, and survey responses
using Qualtrics we can determine that our results seemed to vary across all platforms. The qualtrics
survey was definitely more from a member and volunteer perspective. Of the respondents, 61.59% were
members, 20.29% volunteers, and 35.51% visitors of the arboretum. Through question 5 of the qualtrics
survey it can be concluded that the respondents top 3 reasons for visiting were: purchasing
plants(50.97%), walking the trails (49.81%), and special events (46.33%.) But, during the interviews we
conducted, a good percentage of the respondents were visiting the arboretum in order to spend time
with others, more used as a social setting. Another differing aspect from the survey was that of signage.
Almost all of our interviewees expressed problems of not enough signage, but in the survey results,
most respondents said signage was “good” and “very good.” This could be that people who are on the
email list are more invested in the Arboretum, spending more time there, and thus know the area in a
better way than those visiting for the first or second time. When asking how did you first hear about the
arboretum, the interview answered seemed to be well aligned with those of the survey. Our interview
participants expressed similar findings, through word of mouth or newspaper/magazine articles.
Surprisingly, many had heard about the arboretum through the AAA magazine, ​Westways​.
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Research Limitations 
Some limitations we’ve encountered in our research is the lack of diversity of the participants in the
Qualtrics survey. These participants were individuals who’ve provided their email to the Arboretum,
whom we presume have already visited the arboretum at least once and because of that reason, this
automatically creates a bias or skewed responses. In addition, there was various results from our
ethnographic reports, individual interviews, and surveys that had pertained the same questions and
because of this we were getting various responses which contradicted a uniqueness in our research.
During our in-the-field research, it also was limited to people who were there at the exact same time as
us. Meaning a different day may have yielded a more diverse group of people to choose from. During
our interviews, the sample size was rather small, being that we all only interviewed a few different
people. Their ideas and thoughts are not exactly a true representation of what the population may feel
about the arboretum. Most of the interviews conducted were not long enough to gain true insight as to
why the guests felt as they did. Another limitation was that much of our research was conducted on
people who were already aware of the arboretum. The ethnography and interviews were conducted at
the arboretum itself, and the online survey was only sent out to those familiar, in addition to the survey,
it is uncertain whether each individual who received the survey actually responded which can be a major
limitation to our analysis and conclusions.  

Recommendations 
Ultimately the Fullerton Arboretum needs to increase their amount of publicity. Creating billboard signs
in Fullerton and the surrounding cities as well as producing and sending out online announcements
through school and city websites are two ways to maximize publicity and increase visitor rates.
We have noticed parking to be a reoccurring issue for Arboretum visitors. Designated arboretum visitor
parking is something that would increase the number of out of town guests, and by acquiring visitors
from farther cities the Fullerton Arboretum will receive a wider range of recognition and continually
growing visitor rates.
Improving the appearance of the donation box as well placing additional boxes at more of the entrances
and exits will increase the number of donations the Fullerton Arboretum receives each day.
Adding a cafe inside the Arboretum will not only be financially beneficial but will also attract a much
wider variety of visitors, as is gives people an ultimate destination when coming to the Arboretum. A
cafe would cause visitors to spend a little more time in the gardens and could easily result in more
publicity through social media posts. When responding to the “wouldn't it be nice if…” question in our
interviews, a few people explicitly said that they would love to have refreshments or a place to get some
snacks/coffee.
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Some additional activities that we recommend to increase guest involvement both during the week as
well as on weekends include themed walks within the Arboretum trails, farmer and flea markets, and
promoting study sessions to increase repeated traffic.
Most of our interviewees said that there was an issue with signage in the arboretum itself. They stated it
was hard to get around and figure out where they were exactly. They were interested in finding out
more about certain plants as well. We think it would be a great idea to create an app that allows people
to know where they are in the arboretum and maybe find out more about the plants surrounding them.
The application would entice a younger generation to come to the arboretum, but also satisfy those who
may need assistance in how to get to certain areas and learn more about their favorite plants.
Upon the issue of a lack of student involvement in the arboretum, we suggest partnering with CSUF ASI
(Associated Students, Inc.) which plans many events around campus and often engages freshman in the
CSUF student experience. They promote and plan events that drive awareness to certain topics all
around campus, and have a lot of freshman volunteers. Through an ASI partnership, more students can
become aware of the arboretum and its potential and possibly spread the word to others about their
services.

What existing knowledge did your research tell you that you didn't already 
know?  
The information gained through conducting primary and secondary research, face-to-face interviews,
and survey all pertained different information, because they directed towards a limited sample that
skewed our end results. However, we were taken aback by how many followers the Fullerton Arboretum
has on Instagram with roughly 2,100 followers. With that vast amount of follower count, the arboretum
has a greater advantage in engaging a younger generation in the community in order to get more
visitors and membership participation for the garden.
It was also surprising the amount of publications that people found the arboretum through. While Yelp
is mostly known for food and restaurants, a great number used yelp to find out about the arboretum.
Along the same lines, the amount of people finding out about the garden through ​Westways​ was
shocking because it was not a conventional way to usually find out about things. It was surprising that
AAA included them in their places to go section, as we thought they usually have more exotic places.
Another surprising piece of data was how many students do not take advantage of the arboretum. Their
main demographic was senior citizens and as the age range got younger, the visibility of that group to
the arboretum also got smaller. Because of the proximity, one would think that students would utilize
the arboretum as a place to study or exercise.