At the Davis Amtrak Depot, use of native plants, including 50 new valley oak trees, creates a landscape that is ecologically appropriate for the Central Valley. Serpentine strawbale benches depict the seasons through granite tile mosaics and provide seating for passengers and passersby alike. Those arriving by train experience the bench as a rhythmic undulation of form and color.
Granite boulders memorialize immigrant workers who died bringing railroad tracks through the Sierra Nevada, linking California to the rest of the nation. Among the boulders are fast-growing pualonia trees, whose wood was used to build the traditional Chinese bridal boxes that these workers labored to afford. Today they provide shady respite from the hot Central Valley sun.