PLACERVILLE, Calif. — A single acorn can tell a surprisingly large story.
It can represent food, wildlife habitat, Indigenous knowledge, oak woodland ecology — or become the raw material for ink and paint.
That idea will take center stage Oct. 11 when the American River Conservancy and the El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society host The Art of Native Plants during Open Farm Day at historic Wakamatsu Farm.
The free community event is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 941 Cold Springs Road near Placerville. Organizers describe the event as an opportunity to explore the connections among native plants, wildlife, culture and artistic expression.
“What can an acorn, a bird, a paintbrush, a mushroom, and a wildflower teach us about the place we call home?” organizers ask in announcing the event.
The answer will come through demonstrations, artwork, educational exhibits, storytelling, music and hands-on activities throughout the farm.
M. Kat Anderson to Headline Event
The featured speaker will be M. Kat Anderson, an ethnobotanist, author, teacher and scholar best known for Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and the Management of California’s Natural Resources.
Anderson’s work examines the sophisticated relationships between California Indigenous peoples and the plants, animals and landscapes around them. At Wakamatsu Farm, she will discuss those relationships while introducing her new book, I Sing to the Earth and She Sings Back.
Her presentation is scheduled as part of the day’s program, alongside Indigenous storytelling and live music. Event information lists a presentation and storytelling program from approximately 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Native Plants Take Center Stage
The El Dorado Chapter of the California Native Plant Society will offer educational information and native plants for sale.
The chapter’s fall 2026 online plant sale runs Oct. 1 through Oct. 4, with plant pickup scheduled for Oct. 10 and Oct. 11 at Wakamatsu Farm. The Oct. 11 pickup coincides with The Art of Native Plants event.
Miridae Mobile Nursery also will offer live plants and seeds, along with information on selecting and caring for native species.
For El Dorado County homeowners interested in replacing ornamental landscaping with native vegetation, the event offers an opportunity to see plants firsthand while talking with people involved in native-plant gardening and conservation.
The event also will feature the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Sierra Foothills Audubon Society, Sierra Wildlife Rescue, Placer Land Trust and Coloma-Lotus Fire Safe Council.
Topics will include pollinators, birds, wildlife habitat, native-plant gardening and creating landscapes more resilient to wildfire.
From Acorns to Art
The event’s artistic component is equally broad.
Wild Bounty will demonstrate the processing, preparation and cooking of locally gathered California acorns. Visitors will be able to see how a familiar component of the local oak woodland can become food.
The Bookery will offer books focused on native plants and nature, while ARC will provide youth art, painting and nature-journaling activities in Wakamatsu Farm’s Native Garden.
Visitors also can explore ARC’s Monarch Waystation and learn how native plants contribute to habitat for monarch butterflies and other pollinators. A native seed bar hosted by Mallow Root will provide another way for visitors to take part of the experience home.
Artists will demonstrate how plants and other natural materials can become artistic media.
Andie Thrams Artworks will demonstrate making inks and painting with native acorns, oak galls and wildfire charcoal. Susan Hayne will feature woodblock and linocut prints depicting native plants, birds and insects, while Sarah Guerere Art will display California native wildlife watercolors.
Elizabeth Standeven will explore mushrooms and natural dyeing, including naturally dyed yarn and eco-printed textiles.
Former El Dorado County Poet Laureate Lara Gularte will lead a “rewilding” poetry activity, inviting visitors to create haiku, free verse and ekphrastic poetry inspired by nature.
Local plein air artists also will use the farm’s landscape as their subject.
Indigenous Storytelling Adds Another Layer
Kimberly ShiningStar Petree, a local Miwok storyteller with Cosumnes Culture and WaterWays, will share stories connecting people, culture and the natural world.
The event’s organizers say storytelling and oral tradition provide another way to understand California’s landscapes and the cultural relationships people have with the environment.
Hither & Yon will provide live music during the day’s programming.
Together, the activities create an event that goes beyond a traditional plant sale, combining conservation education with art, history, food and cultural storytelling.
A Historic Landscape
The setting itself is an important part of the story.
Wakamatsu Farm encompasses 272 acres of agricultural land, oak woodland, ponds, wetlands and other natural features near Coloma. American River Conservancy purchased the property in 2010 and now manages the site as a place where visitors can experience its natural, agricultural and cultural resources.
The farm is particularly significant to Japanese American history.
The Wakamatsu Tea and Silk Farm Colony was established on the property in 1869, when the first Japanese settlers in North America arrived at the site. Wakamatsu Farm is designated California Registered Historical Landmark No. 815 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The property’s history predates the Japanese colony, however. ARC notes that the land also reflects the region’s Indigenous history and later European settlement, making the farm a rare convergence of natural and cultural history in the Gold Hill-Coloma area.
Today, ARC uses the property for conservation, education and public programs while maintaining its historic character.
Event Details
The Art of Native Plants — Wakamatsu Open Farm Day
When: Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Wakamatsu Farm, 941 Cold Springs Road, Placerville
Admission: Free; $10 suggested parking donation
Who: All ages
Registration information is available through American River Conservancy’s event calendar.
For residents planning to purchase native plants through the El Dorado Chapter CNPS sale, online ordering begins Oct. 1 at 8 a.m. and ends Oct. 4 at 5 p.m., with pickup at Wakamatsu Farm on Oct. 10 or 11.
The event gives El Dorado County residents an opportunity to experience Wakamatsu Farm not simply as a historic site, but as a living landscape — one where the history of people, plants, wildlife and the land continues to intersect.
