Sedgwick Nature Reserve will be the focal point of an art exhibit — Sedgwick Reserve: A Conservation Story — on view April 8-Oct. 16 in the Valley Oak Gallery at the Wildling Museum of Art and Nature in Solvang.

Community members are invited to attend a reception with the artists, 3-5 p.m. Sunday, April 16 at the Wildling.

Artist Nina Warner's 'Early Moonrise' depicts a hazy full moon in a blue sky over a beige landscape with intermittent green and gray trees at Sedgwick Reserve.
Artist Nina Warner’s painting called ‘Early Moonrise’ is among the artworks depicting scenes of the Sedgwick Reserve. Credit: Nina Warner

Although not widely known, Sedgwick Nature Reserve, nestled in the foothills of the San Rafael Mountains in the Santa Ynez Valley, is among the largest and most diverse reserves of its kind in the country.

One of seven reserves managed by the University of California Santa Barbara Natural Reserve System, Sedgwick is comprised of just under 6,000 acres, or about nine square miles.

Sedgwick Reserve us home to several different kinds of habitats: oak savannah, coastal sage scrub, chaparral, gray pine forest, vernal pools, and two different watersheds.

With its management by UCSB, Sedgwick has become a world-class research, conservation, and education facility.

“We love to highlight local conservation areas and Sedgwick Reserve is a major one,” said Stacey Otte-Demangate, the Wildling Museum’s executive director.

“As part of the UC system, it’s unique for the amount of serious academic research it supports, particularly with native oaks,” she said.

Through the eyes of 11 Central Coast artists, the exhibit will explore both the beauty of the reserve and the important work taking place on its grounds.

Featured artists are Whitney Abbot, Chris Chapman, Dennis Curry, Camille Dellar, Bill Dewey, Bruce Everett, Russ Hunziker, John Iwerks, Manny Lopez, Mark Oliver, and Nina Warner.

For more, visit www.wildlingmuseum.org/news/sedgwick-reserve, email info@wildlingmuseum.org, or call 805-686-8315.

Exhibit sponsors are: The Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation, Pete & Becky Adams, George & Denise Rose, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Margaret Weiss, and donors to the Patti Jacquemain Exhibition Fund.

For more on the Wildling Museum, and to volunteer or join as a member, visit www.wildlingmuseum.org.