Among Her Oaks, Atkinson Park, Santa Maria, CA, USA

“The human history of California began in the shade of her native oaks.”

   The oak trees in Santa Maria Valley and beyond have served plants, animals, fungi, all the kingdoms of life for millennia. The oak groves play a huge role in an ecosystem that sustains many forms of life, from rarely seen species like the nocturnal Arboreal Salamander to the infamous Poison Oak brush.  The acorns of the Oaks were one of the main sources of food for natives in California including the Chumash. They found these trees sacred for all that they offered. Later, when the Spanish arrived in California, Oak wood served as fuel for the wood-firing kilns that Adobe bricks were baked in. These bricks built the Spanish Missions and Father Junipero Serra’s first sermon in California was given under a wreath of oak. The Spanish brought cattle and in the late hot summer months when the grass was dry the cows browsed the leaves of the low branches as they still do to this day. The oak groves were a map for the Spanish, indicating fertile lands proper for settling.  In turn, our major cities are where they are now, largely due to the original location of the Oak trees. Still today the Oaks are a major part of the culture here in Santa Maria and the surrounding areas, local hikes take you under their wonderful canopies and of course you cannot have a famous Santa Maria style BBQ without the Oak wood. Therefore, this mural is a dedication and a celebration of the Oaks in this region that provide so much and ask for very little in return.