Last updated: July 2, 2025
Article
New Mural at the DRLC!
The Sonoran Desert Network staff are delighted by the creation of a mural in our central courtyard, painted by talented Scientists in Parks interns Naomi Friedman and Annika Munson. This wholesome scene fills the wall above our Heritage Garden at the Desert Research Learning Center.
The mural depicts an atmospheric nightscape of the Tucson Basin, with characteristic Sonoran Desert plants and animals illuminated under the purple glow of a full moon. A wash, full of water, winds through the center of the desert. The plants scattered throughout the scene include saguaro cacti (Carnegiea gigantea), Bush Muhly grass (Muhlenbergia porteri), ocotillo (Fouquieria splendens), agave (Agave parryi), barrel cactus (Ferocactus wislizeni), and prickly pear cactus (Opuntia engelmannii).
Between the plants we see various animals walking, hopping, flying, crawling, and slithering through the night. Specifically, there are Gambel’s quail (Callipepla gambelii), a desert tortoise (Gopherus morafkai), coyote (Canis latrans), Gila monster (Heloderma suspectum), Western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), Arizona bark scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus), hummingbird (family Trochilidae), mountain lion (Puma concolor), Greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus), javelina (Dicotyles tajacu), and Sonoran Desert toad (Incilius alvarius). Oh, and humans of course! Standing in the foreground, a child with an older companion (Homo sapiens) gaze into the same scene we do, marveling at the desert life and pointing to their observations.
Thank you, painters Naomi and Annika!
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- Duration:
- 1 minute, 9 seconds
A timelapse of the mural creation in the Desert Research Learning Center's courtyard. The mural was designed and painted by two Scientists in Parks interns: Naomi Friedman and Annika Munson.
Article created by the Sonoran Desert I&M Network, June 2025.