Two new large-scale murals will be unveiled at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden during the 15th Annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, February 21. The event, which is free and open to families, features displays from 12 museums and collections across campus, with activities running from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The grand opening for the murals will take place at 3 p.m. behind the Plant Nursery on Garrod Drive, across from the School of Veterinary Medicine. The project was led by Emily Meineke, associate professor and director of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, along with her students in ENT 001: “Art, Science and the World of Insects.” Diane Ullman, distinguished professor emerita and former director of the Art/Science Fusion Program, also contributed alongside volunteers. A total of 168 students participated in creating both murals.
“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,” said Meineke. “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.”
Meineke’s research initiative, Climate Adaptation Living Lab (CALL), is featured in front of the murals. This installation highlights how relationships between insects and plants may change as climate conditions evolve. The plant selection includes low-water species that attract pollinators such as sneezeweed (Helenium puberulum), mugwort (Artemisia douglasiana), black sage (Salvia mellifera), common snowberry (Symphoricarpos albus var. Laevigatus), and rock phacelia (Phacelia californica).
A full list of participating museums—including anthropology, entomology, botanical collections, raptor center, herbarium, design museum, wildlife biology museum, nematode collection, paleontology collection and yeast culture collection—can be found on the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology website.
