Beavers and their critical role in ecosystems and culture took center stage on April 20 at the Charles Paddock Zoo in Atascadero with the unveiling of a mural crafted by Chumash artist John Khus.
This mural has been made possible through the California Coastal Commission WHALE TAIL® grants program and the San Luis Obispo Beaver Brigade in collaboration with the Charles Paddock Zoo and the City of Atascadero. The Coastal Commission WHALE TAIL® grants support experiential education and stewardship of the California coast and its watersheds.
The art of John Khus has been recognized by Chumash leaders as “striking, beautiful, unique, carrying the voices of our ancestral artists with whom he has walked all his life”. He has exhibited in galleries throughout the Central Coast of California and taught art and cultural heritage at the 2023 inaugural Chumash Heritage and Marine Science Camp in Oceano. His original artwork resulted in the “Tomol Rides Wishtoyo” mural in Cambria, California, which was recently presented with a Certificate of Special Congressional Recognition. John Khus states, “”.
The mural unveiling was on April 20 at 10:30 am at the Charles Paddock Zoo and included remarks by representatives from the SLO Beaver Brigade, and the artist. Audrey Taub of the SLO Beaver Brigade states, “The mural represents the beavers tending the waters from the Salinas River all the way to the ocean in Monterey Bay. I love the representation of all of the life forms that depend on the beavers. The three young beavers in the center of it all are just innocently doing their job of being beavers, unaware that all of the other critters around the ponds need them in order to live.”
Watch the unveiling of the Beaver Mural at the Charles Paddock Zoo on April 20th, by Wes Roe of the Santa Barbara Permaculture Network.
