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[FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE] Santa Monica Conservancy presents the second installment of the 2025 Santa Monica Mosaic series focusing on the cultural heritage of Pacific Palisades. Airing Sunday, July 27 at 5 pm, A Cultural Landscape: The Treasured Trees of Pacific Palisades will explore the community’s horticultural heritage.

Learn how the Palisades’ enchantment with trees has defined it for decades and now serves as inspiration for the community’s reforestation and renewal after the devastating Palisades wildfire in January.

Those interested in attending the FREE online event should register online at https://smc.givecloud.co/mosaic-cultural-landscape

This 75-minute, photo-rich episode will explain how the town’s tale of the trees began with its Methodist founders and was cultivated by visionaries like Abbot Kinney and Will Rogers, who supplemented native trees with species from around the world.

Now, tens of thousands of trees have been impacted by the Palisades fire. Yet with devoted rescue, rehabilitation and replanting efforts rooted in the community’s arboreal beginnings, much of its suburban forest will live on as a source of strength for the Palisades’ regrowth.

Program participants include:

• Libby Motika (Moderator) – Palisades community journalist
• David Card – Landscape designer involved with Palisades replanting
• Suzanne Goode – Leading historic reforestation of Will Rogers State Historic Park
• Randy Young – Curator of the Palisades Historical Society
• Kaitlin Drisko – Santa Monica Conservancy Executive Director
• Kathleen Rawson – Santa Monica History Museum Interim Executive Director

“We’ll seek to convey how the town’s historic love affair with trees is at the very heart of its rebirth and future promise,” explains Mosaic co-producer Steve Loeper.

The first installment of Mosaic’s 2025 season, The Way Were: Shared Memories of a Village Lost, was our most-watched Mosaic and received state recognition from Senator Ben Allen. You can watch The Way We Were in the Santa Monica Mosaic archive.

About Santa Monica Mosaic

Santa Monica Mosaic is a Santa Monica Conservancy livestream series celebrating the preservation of our historic cultures. Like a mosaic, many fascinating stories, diverse perspectives and multiple legacies create the shape of today’s Santa Monica. Watch and discover these histories as shared by a variety of community leaders and storytellers. This episode is jointly presented by the Santa Monica History Museum.

About Santa Monica Conservancy

Santa Monica Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to heritage conservation, from preserving cultural narratives to revitalizing historic places. The Conservancy provides free and low-cost place-based experiences, from tours and exhibitions, to listening sessions about our most pertinent local issues on heritage conservation.

For all media and press inquiries, please email melina@smconservancy.org.

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