MIDDLETOWN, Calif. – For the first time since the Valley fire swept through Cobb, Middletown, and the surrounding areas in September 2015, an EcoArts Sculpture Walk is open to the public at the Middletown Trailside Nature Preserve.

After a three-year absence because of the park’s devastation by fire, the installation this year is a milestone event, and the pieces that dot the park represent the reclaiming of a space that was forever changed by wildfire.

“The plants raising their heads in optimism are synergistic with the artwork,” said Lisa Kaplan, programs director at the Middletown Art Center, who is impressed by the regrowth of flora at the park since the fire.

“The installation of the Sculpture Walk is symbolic of the community’s continuing recovery from the fire,” she added.

The walk, entitled “Locus: A Sense of Place,” opened on June 1 with an afternoon reception that included music, poetry readings, wish making and a host of red parasols for the more than 250 participants that walked meandering trails to view the art.

It’s the 14th time the annual walk has been installed in Middletown Trailside Park, made possible with support from the National Endowment of the Arts.

The works are intended to engage the observer in a dialog with nature. Some are designed to enhance the existing environment by distributing wildflower seeds or attracting beneficial fauna such as bats or bees.

“You become a different person as you go through the walk because of the questions you ask yourself, such as, ‘is this art?’” said participating artist and EcoArts founder Karen Turcotte. “One comes out with additional breadth of soul,” she added.

In 2003, Turcotte, inspired by the environmental art of British sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, worked with the Lake County Arts Council and the county of Lake to develop a local sculpture walk.

Permission to use the Trailside Nature Preserve was granted by the county in April of that year, and the first sculpture walk was installed in mid-June.

Participation by local eco-artists grew in the following years until the Valley fire destroyed or damaged every art piece installed in the 2015 Walk.

In the current exhibit, several of the installations are the collaborative creations of students at Cobb Mountain Elementary, the Lake County International Charter School and the Middletown Art Center’s homeschooled art students.

Cobb Mountain Elementary students also installed the bat houses which can be seen along the trail.

Kaplan especially appreciates projects that enhance the park’s habitat and wishes to see such positive action continue. “In doing so, we not only heal our environment, we heal ourselves,” she said.

The exhibit, which was erected in May, will remain in place at the park until Oct. 15, and the public is encouraged to view it early while wildflowers bloom, and then visit again as the seasons change.

Middletown Trailside Nature Preserve is open from dawn until dusk and is located at 21436 Dry Creek Cutoff, off Highway 175. The exhibit can be found by entering the park on the south side of the parking lot.

The Middletown Art Center, in addition to their coordination of the EcoArts Sculpture Walk, offers art and writing classes, hosts exhibitions and cultural events, and is a locus for Lake County artists.

To learn more about this valuable Lake County resource and to consider a membership, please visit their Web site at www.middletownartcenter.org .

Esther Oertel is a freelance writer and columnist for Lake County News. She lives in Middletown.