DATE: Monday, April 7
TIME: 5:30 p.m.
PLACE: Bike Tunnel (Far east edge of the Arboretum) SEE MAP
TRANSPORTATION: Please consider carpooling, walking, or biking to this event

Join the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden and the City of Davis for the dedication of the community-created mural brightening the walls of the bike tunnel joining a newly-restored section of the Putah Creek Parkway with a newly-constructed portion of the UC Davis Arboretum.

For the last six weeks, thanks to a grant from PG&E obtained by the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, Caryl Yasko, Community Built Association member and nationally-recognized muralist, collaborated with Davis community members to design and paint this passageway. The name of the work “I am Quercus,” inspired by the Arboretum’s heritage valley oaks (Quercus lobata), turns the tunnel into a canopy of oaks with images pulled from public drawing and brainstorming sessions.

In addition to the new mural, the Putah Creek Parkway will also be home to a series of four new community-created art benches.  Lead artists and Community Built Association members Tom Arie-Donch and Donna Billick will be on site to show their progress in constructing sculptural and functional ferrocement benches inspired by the native plants and animals of Putah Creek.

Be one of the first community members to see these latest additions to the public art collection of the City of Davis, hear about the evolution of the project as well as the innovative landscapes surrounding it, and be treated to light refreshments. In addition to speakers from the City of Davis, the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, and the Community Built Association, Jack—a red-tailed hawk similar to the raptor featured in the mural—will be on hand to help educate visitors about this raptor species commonly found in the area. Jack is a resident of the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine’s California Raptor Center.

The event is free; parking is free and available nearby (SEE A MAP). For questions call the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden at (530) 752-4880.

LEARN MORE: Davis Enterprise article dated April 6, 2014

CLICK HERE to see a PHOTO GALLERY of the community-created mural process.