My Conservation Story
I have been an avid gardener since the age of ten. Even then, I recall understanding the importance of growing and nurturing native plants. I was already in awe of California’s lush topography, and knew that a balanced ecosystem was key to survival for all its members.
As an adult, my concern over climate change was ever-increasing. What could one person do that could possibly make a tangible impact? I began studying arboriculture, and fell in love with California native trees, taking a particular interest in the towering oaks indigenous to the area.
It is estimated that about one in every hundred acorns makes it to adulthood as an oak tree. Native oak trees have been in decline due to climate change, wildfires, development, and disease. Starting out as good family fun, we would forage for acorns every fall, treating and storing them until they germinated and were ready to plant.
This quickly turned into a lifelong passion and, since our acorn project started almost a decade ago, my family has planted well over 25,000 acorns in the Santa Monica Mountains. Today, I am on a mission to re-introduce thriving oak groves to Los Angeles’s urban green spaces, one acorn at a time.
For each piece of art I sell, an oak sapling will be planted in its honor.
