Restore/Restory: A People’s History of the Cache Creek Nature Preserve
Restore/Restory explores the history of the Cache Creek Nature Preserve through the voices, views, images, and experiences of a wide range of Yolo County residents. It tells the story of California’s rich cultural and environmental heritage and builds connections between people and the place they call home.
The project provides an audio tour project depicting “a people’s history of the Cache Creek Nature Preserve.” In many ways, the Cache Creek Nature Preserve is a microcosm of California, and in telling its story, the larger story of California’s people, conflicts, and realities also is told.
Two Ways to Tour
The main tour features recordings done by five different people each focusing on a selected topic. There are six stops on the tour, and each speaker gives a short, three-minute discussion at each stop.
Topics include
- Native Americans,
- the Californios,
- creek-side farming,
- gravel mining,
- and ecology.
A second way to tour is with the story map. Viewing this map allows you to hear many different perspectives from elementary school students to scientists to retired librarians to avid outdoor enthusiasts.
Learn more about the project and listen to the audio tour on your smart phone by visiting The Arts for Regional Change. The trail is marked and seating is provided at each stop. Sit and listen to one or all of the stories at that stop and move on at your leisure.
A collaboration between the UC Davis Art of Regional Change program and the Cache Creek Conservancy, Restore/Restory brought students, scholars and artists together with a diverse cross-section of Yolo County residents to gather photos, audio recordings, and historical research to tell the story of the Nature Preserve.
Much thanks goes to jesikah maria ross, director of this project, for producing this history.