The 70 to 80-year-old Timu tree will be preserved.

For generations, the gardens and greenhouses tucked along the north side of Fullerton College have served as more than just classrooms. They have been living laboratories, community gathering spaces, and carefully cultivated landscapes maintained by students who spent years learning the art and science of horticulture among the plants they helped grow.
Now, as California and the North Orange County Community College District move forward with plans for a new two-story STEM Vocational Center, many students, alums, and community members are expressing concern about what could be lost in the process.

Planning documents for the proposed facility describe a modern science and vocational education building intended to support programs in Anatomy and Physiology, Biology, Biotechnology, Nutrition and Foods, and Horticulture. The project is part of a broader statewide push to expand STEM education capacity at California community colleges and is currently listed in the district’s long-range capital outlay plans.

But the proposed project site includes the existing horticulture complex—an area with roots that stretch back nearly a century.

The horticulture program at Fullerton College traces its history to the 1930s, when Works Progress Administration funding helped construct some of the department’s earliest greenhouses. Over the decades, students helped build propagation houses, gardens, irrigation systems, and instructional growing spaces that evolved alongside Orange County’s agricultural history.

Today, the area remains one of the most distinctive spaces on campus. Mature trees shade pathways lined with student-grown plants, while greenhouses and nursery areas support hands-on instruction in landscape management, plant propagation, irrigation, and environmental horticulture. Seasonal plant sales have become popular community events, drawing residents from across the region.

District planning records acknowledge that portions of the horticulture facilities are aging and may no longer meet modern instructional needs. Still, many students and supporters worry the planned redevelopment could erase an irreplaceable part of the campus identity.

Some have questioned whether all of the existing gardens and mature plant collections can realistically be preserved or relocated during construction. Others fear the loss of open growing space that provides students with real-world agricultural experience, difficult to replicate in a traditional classroom setting.

The concern is not necessarily opposition to modernization itself. Many students support expanded STEM facilities and understand the growing demand for science and healthcare education. Instead, much of the anxiety centers on whether the college can modernize without sacrificing the character and living history of the horticulture program.

Campus planning documents indicate the project remains in the pre-planning stages, with construction tentatively projected to begin in 2026 and occupancy anticipated around 2028 or 2029. Final funding approvals and design details are still moving through California’s capital outlay process.

As those plans continue to evolve, so does the conversation surrounding the future of the horticulture gardens. For many students and longtime supporters, the question is larger than a single building project. It is about preserving a piece of Fullerton College history that has been planted, cultivated, and cared for across generations.

The 70 to 80-year-old Timu tree will be preserved.

The recently added greenhouse will be kept as it is.