The second of two ceramic-mosaic murals behind the UC Davis Arboretum Plant Nursery is set to be unveiled during the 15th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, February 21. The public ceremony will begin at 3 p.m.
Diane Ullman, Distinguished Professor Emerita from the Department of Entomology and Nematology, completed work on the mural on February 20. The project was led by Emily Meineke, an urban landscape entomologist and associate professor in the same department. Meineke currently teaches “Art, Science and the World of Insects,” a course previously launched by Ullman. After retiring in June 2024, Ullman became emerita director of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, with Meineke taking over as director.
Meineke explained the scope of the project: “The two murals are the first half of a 4-mural project displaying a cross-section of California’s diversity, spanning from the coast to the Sierras,” she said. “The murals being unveiled are of the coast and the Central Valley. They are 15’ by 5’ large format, high-relief pieces, each made by one quarter of ENT 001 students.”
The new mural features images such as strawberry and sunflower fields, pumpkin and watermelon patches, an egret and great blue heron, rabbits and squirrels, beetles, bees, dragonflies, aphids, a Jerusalem cricket, as well as a family farm with a red barn, cows, chickens and a windmill.
UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day is free to attend and includes access to twelve museums or collections across campus between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., with some venues open in morning hours while others operate in afternoon slots or overlap. Activities include observing carnivorous plants feed on insects, petting stick insects, photographing birds like bald eagles, exploring ancient history exhibits featuring dinosaurs such as T. rex, learning about pollinator gardens or flintknapping techniques and sampling seed cookies for pollinators.
Tabatha Yang chairs this year’s event committee; she serves as education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology. Key participating sites include Bee Haven (open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), Bohart Museum (noon to 4 p.m.), and Nematode Collection (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.). A full list is available at https://biodiversitymuseumday.ucdavis.edu/.
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR), affiliated with the University of California, supports research facilities across diverse ecosystems through nine Research and Extension Centers statewide [source]. The organization operates offices in all California counties [source] and delivers science-based knowledge that benefits communities through outreach initiatives [source]. Glenda Humiston serves as vice president [source].