The San Gabriel Mountains
Personal memory by O Arteaga-Johnson
2025 CE • Mount Wilson, CA, USA
The Mount Wilson Trail is still closed from the fire and floods. The observatory is safe thanks to the access road, where firefighters pushed back the flames. The mountains look almost normal, standing steady in the not-too-distant background. I realize now that I was one of the last people to walk on the trail as it was. If we let it, the wildlife will come back strong and the ecosystem will thrive, but there has been a shift in our perception of this place. We have witnessed apocalypse in our backyard, and climate change is no longer our future but our present.
image courtesy of the author
Learn about Maya Lin’s fifth and final memorial: a multi-platform science based artwork that presents an ecological history of our world - past, present, and future.
Discover ecological histories and stories of former abundance, loss, and recovery on the map of memory.
Learn how we can reduce our emissions and protect and restore species and habitats – around the world.
See how art can help us rethink the problems we face, and give us hope that each one of us can make a difference.
Help make a global memorial something personal and close to home. Share your stories of the natural world.