The Joshua tree isn’t a tree—it’s a member of the agave family, more closely related to grasses than oaks or pines. Despite being an iconic symbol of the Mojave Desert, there’s still so much we don’t know about it. Scientists are continuing to study how it reproduces, what threatens its survival, and even how its shoots grow. Artist, activist, and longtime Joshua Tree resident Sant Khalsa has spent a lifetime listening to the land and advocating for nature. In 2020, she launched “Desert Forest: Life with Joshua Trees”—a multidisciplinary art and science project that became a book, an exhibition, and a call to action.
Sant Khalsa is a professor of art emeritus from Cal State San Bernardino, a curator, and the founding director of the Joshua Tree Center for Photographic Arts. When Khalsa retired from Cal State San Bernardino, she realized that there was a need for a more sophisticated dialogue about the photographic arts in the Morongo Basin. She began by offering lectures, workshops, group critiques, and continuing work about nature. That creative work became a voice for Joshua Trees.
“For me, activism means you act. You take action. And I think too many times, individuals feel that they can’t make a difference. But I don’t believe that.”
Growing up in New York, Khalsa spent time in Central Park among the trees, cultivating love and communication. Living in the Morongo Basin, the Joshua Tree caught her attention, particularly with the increased awareness of Climate Change.
“I think that the first time coming to Joshua Tree National Monument at the time, which was in 1973, I was quite taken by the Joshua trees because they were so different from the trees that I grew up with in the Northeast, New York.”
Khalsa began looking at Climate change in the late 80s and using Joshua trees in that work. At that time, she was unaware that Joshua trees would be impacted and threatened as they are now by climate change. But she did begin to think the “Joshua Trees could be a canary in the coal mine.
The book “Desert Forest: Life with Joshua Trees” developed from a larger project and exhibition supported by the Getty as part of the Pacific Standard Time PST “Art and Science Collide project.”
The first exhibition was at the Museum of Art and History in Lancaster. The book expanded beyond that exhibition, bringing over 50 artists and 17 essays. It examines the science behind and threats to Joshua Trees, including climate change, development, forest fires, desert fires, and industrial energy.
The 2020 proposal by Brendan Cummings to petition for protection from the Department of Fish and Wildlife for the Joshua Trees and CEMA Dome fire increased Khalsa’s awareness and determination to speak up.
“Those two events got me thinking that maybe there should be a project that brings together art and science to discuss these threats to Joshua trees.”
The result was a 304-page book, with essays from scientists, Indigenous scholars, and conservationists—alongside powerful, often haunting artwork from over 50 artists.
Khalsa said, “The book looks at all the threats to Joshua trees, and emphasizes that not all energy is green—especially when it clears untouched habitats for solar and wind farms. She believes that solar energy can be on disturbed land. It can be on rooftops. There’s lots of space without touching environments that are so important to the balance of our ecosystems. But her vision goes beyond science and policy. She says art can help us feel what facts alone can’t. The artists selected for this project were sensitive to the fact that these trees could become extinct in this century.
The result of this project and hard work has been groundbreaking scientific research supporting new ways to think about the tree’s survival.
“People thought they were maybe 10 to 30 feet from the base of the Joshua tree. And we found roots that went 45 feet or further. We also found the yucca moths under the Joshua trees… two to three inches from the top of the earth.”
Khalsa believes that viewing the tree, its pollinators, and humanity as interconnected parts of a whole is the first step toward protecting them.
“We are nature.” She said, “Not separate from nature. When we realize that the water in the rivers flows through our bodies, we will have a very different relationship with the natural world.”
Hey There Projects, in Joshua Tree, will feature this exhibit with Morongo Basin artists on May 10, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
“Desert Forest: Life with Joshua Trees” the book is nearly sold out—but more copies are coming. And so is the next generation of desert stewards—artists, scientists, and everyday people—ready to listen to the trees.
