Resident proposes using preserved Gary Oak wood for Indigenous art in Oak Harbor schools

At public comment, Sherry McLean, who identified herself as a parent and active volunteer in local school naming committees, asked the Arts Commission to support using material salvaged from the Gary Oak tree for artworks to be placed in city schools and other public buildings.

McLean said she has been in touch with the Gary Oak Society, local tribes and regional woodworkers and that members of Indigenous communities offered to carve pieces and donate labor. “My hope with the Gary Oak is that I would like to have indigenous people carve the oak and to put it into all of the schools,” McLean said, describing the tree as an “old growth” specimen she estimated at about 330 years old.

McLean said she had discussed the idea with local tribes and with the Gary Oak Society, and described educational uses—preserving a cross section for a museum display so students can count growth rings, and creating carved pieces for school hallways and classrooms. She offered to organize donations to pay for carving if costs were required and said she had spoken to several tribes and woodworkers interested in contributing.

Commissioners responded with general support and suggested McLean stay involved when the city’s art plan and approval process move forward. Commissioner Cynthia Mason said a slab of the tree already had been identified and discussed for an interpretive display. Commissioners and staff advised McLean that the commission is only one of several stakeholders and that additional approvals and a formal proposal will be needed through the city’s project intake process before any removal or conservation work proceeds.

McLean recited a poem she attributed to Nigel Lawrence as part of her remarks, and she said that, if the commission and other stakeholders support the idea, she would return with more detailed proposals and images once the community approvals are in place.