# The Naturalist Who's Been Decoding—and Painting—California's Wild Spaces for 30 Years

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284/the-naturalist-who-s-been-decoding-and-painting-california-s-wild-spaces-for-30-years
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284/the-naturalist-who-s-been-decoding-and-painting-california-s-wild-spaces-for-30-years.md
Podcast: [Unpacked by Afar](https://stenobird.com/podcast/unpacked-by-afar-5453284)
Published: 2026-03-27T00:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.afar.com/podcasts/unpacked
Audio file: https://pdst.fm/e/p.podderapp.com/9063871245/mgln.ai/e/211/traffic.megaphone.fm/ARML7288589268.mp3?updated=1776188533
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Duration seconds: 3114

## Resource

This is a very special episode of Unpacked by Afar. This week, we hosted Unpacked Live — a live version of the podcast — in partnership with Visit California in Dallas, Texas. The event celebrated California's extraordinary creative landscape, and today's guest is one of its most original voices. Obi Kaufmann is a naturalist, writer, and illustrator whose California Field Atlas series has redefined what a nature book can be. His books — filled with hand-painted watercolor maps, poetry, and decades of ecological research — don't tell you where to go or what you're looking at. They ask why the landscape works the way it does, and what it means to truly belong to a place. In this episode, Obi talks about growing up exploring Mount Diablo in Northern California, what makes a field atlas, and why he believes the future of California conservation depends on better poetry. On this episode, you'll learn: What a "field atlas" is — and why Obi had to invent the genre himself How Indigenous stewardship and traditional ecological knowledge are reshaping conservation in California Why Obi, one of California's great wilderness writers, is a proud city dweller in Oakland What to expect from his next three books Where to go right now to experience California's wildflower season at its peak Travel Recommendations from Obi: Anza-Borrego Desert State Park — Keep your eye on the California Native Plant Society or CalFlora for super bloom alerts; the window can be as short as a week Death Valley National Park — Another prime super bloom destination; timing is everything Big Sur — Highway 1 is open again; Obi recommends climbing a mountain and watching for California condors, which have rebounded from just 17 individuals in 1987 to over 500 today Pinnacles National Park — The smallest and l…

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