WATSONVILLE — When the new Nature Center at Ramsay Park opens sometime in 2025, it will not be the same Nature Center as before. It will be emblazoned with a mural depicting the natural beauty and abundant wildlife of the Pajaro Valley.
But what exactly will the mural look like? That is for the public to decide. The city of Watsonville, in partnership with Watsonville Wetlands Watch and Community Arts & Empowerment, has narrowed down its submissions to three options and is asking the public to vote and provide feedback through a public survey that is available through 5 p.m. Sunday.
The Nature Center has been a longtime feature of Ramsay Park that has provided a visitors a gathering space to take in Watsonville’s natural surroundings with a view of the Harkins Slough. The center operated out of a trailer from 2004 until it was demolished in 2022, as the park will receive a new Nature Center as part of the Ramsay Park Renaissance Project, which will provide a renovation of Sotomayor Soccer Field, redesigned multi-use field, inclusive playground and dog park.
The new 3,500-square-foot Nature Center will feature a gathering plaza and observation deck to view the surrounding wetlands and will provide visitors with a space to learn about their natural surroundings through bilingual programs on topics such as ecology, wildlife and emergency preparedness.
The three proposed mural designs all depict scenes along the Pajaro River, but they all have different interpretations. The first design features images of Indigenous people harvesting crops and fishing on one side of the river, while modern scenes of a woman growing flowers and a mother and child viewing the landscape through binoculars can be seen on the other side. It also features local wildlife such as coyotes, pumas, rabbits, foxes, ducks and hummingbirds throughout.
The second design puts more emphasis on the wildlife with the clouds forming the shapes of various birds, and a display of various crops situated in front of the sun.
The third design features an Indigenous woman with a child on her back and her palms open to release monarch butterflies. The design also emphasizes wildlife with ducks, a hummingbird, heron, frog and turtle front and center.
But that is not all. The center will also feature circular mosaic embellishments along the entryway, and people can vote on these as well. These options include a river bank with butterflies, birds and flowers in front and a sea-themed design with a seal, salmon, jellyfish and starfish; one design with owls and another with dragonflies, tadpoles and frogs; and one with an Indigenous painting of fish and another featuring a flower with a bee in the center.
“The entry mural will welcome ethnically, linguistically, and socioeconomically diverse community members to Watsonville’s new Nature Center with a visual narrative of diversity, inclusion, dignity, community, and resilience,” officials wrote in the survey introduction. “The pathway project will serve the broader Watsonville community and echo the themes of natural migration and environmental stewardship of the Pajaro Valley and wetlands.”
The survey can be viewed at Bit.ly/3RUStDl.