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A person facing a partially painted wall. They are wearing a black hoodie, with black leggings, and black converse. They have shoulder-length straight brown hair, and are standing on a black step-ladder, and holding onto it. The background of the wall has various doodles in brown spray paint, ranging from a cat, a star, Xs, a rainbow, and a flower. The actually painted part over the doodles are solid colors, with an unfinished light pink background on the left and an unfinished light blue background on the right. On top of them is a base red color for the petals for flowers.

Native plants and pollinator mural

Interns collaborated with Sophy Tuttle, a local artist, to research, design, and paint a mural encouraging residents to learn about and support native plants and pollinators, which are crucial to ecosystems. The mural was painted over a two week period in May of 2022. Read more about the project itself in its marker paragraph and learn about the native plants and pollinators featured in the mural below. 

A painted wall mural. The background ranges from diagonal strips of light to dark blue from the right to the left. On the right, half cut off, is a semi-realistic painting of a ruby-throated hummingbird. On its left is a curving wooden branch. In the background, in the right-middle, is a pink circle. In the middle, halfway on the pink circle, is a wasp. The wasp is sitting in the center of a white false aster flower with its wings outstretched. Behind the false aster, “growing” from the ground are stems of grass. On top of the pink circle is a literal, non-painted window. On the end left, is a firefly with its wings outstretched on top of another pink circle. Dark green leaves are below it, and with the outline of some things over the pink, one can tell that some things are unpainted.
7 people standing in front of a painted wall mural. Behind them, the mural is of a semi-realistic ruby throated hummingbird. There are not-as-realistic red petaled flowers on the right. On the left is a branch and a literal, non-painted window. A white false aster flower is cut off on the right. All the people are smiling. The first person is a light skinned older woman, with short, wavy light blonde hair. She is wearing a light blue flower patterned shirt, with black pants. The second is a medium-light-skinned person with straight brown hair in a ponytail. They are wearing a black Under Armor hoodie and black pants. The third is a light skinned girl with curly brown shoulder-length hair. She is wearing a brown North Face jacket with black pants. The fourth person is a light skinned girl with curly brown hair in a ponytail, and a pink headband. She is wearing glasses, and wearing an open black jacket. Her shirt is white with a pink four-legged animal on it, and her shorts are black. The fifth person is a dark skinned girl wearing a grey and maroon pom pom hat with the letter “A” on it. She has headphones around her neck, and is wearing a light purple hoodie with butterflies on it. Her pants are mustard yellow, and she is holding up two peace signs. The sixth person is a light skinned girl with shoulder length straight brown hair. She is wearing a green shirt with a circle of two arrows on it, and is wearing black pants. The last person is a light skinned woman with brown hair tucked into a red bandana. She is wearing a blue shirt with a black apron.
Two people painting a mural on a brick windowsill. The background of the mural is pale green, with the base colors for a flower with pink petals and green leaves behind it. The person closer to the camera is a medium-dark skinned girl with her hair in thick cornrow braids with a natural hairstyle. She is wearing a blue medical mask, and a light purple hoodie with dark purple butterflies, dark pants, and a tan apron splattered with paint. She is leaning on her knees and forward on one hand, with one hand out towards the wall with a paintbrush. The person behind her is dark medium-dark skinned, and wearing a blue medical mask. She has wireless earbuds in one ear. She is sitting down as well, and is wearing a white hoodie. Her hair in the box braids style, and is in a low, loose ponytail. On the ground is a pink cloth below them, splatted with paints. Close to the camera are paint buckets. On the windows read, in all caps, “Aveda”. Instead of the line through the A, there is a dot.
A painted windowsill underneath store windows. The background is swamp green, with a strip of light green as a blade of grass. Pink painted text on the right reads, in all caps, “‘Plant Native’. Lead artist: Sophy Tuttle. Climate Futures Interns: Juliette Bennett, Greta Mastro, Julia McNiell, Clara Schneider, Daisy Takang.”
A tall ladder in front of a store window, with the outside walls of the store painted. Above the window are two diagonal strips of blue: light blue on the right, dark indigo for the left. On the left is a door, and on the right of the doorway is a vertical rectangle painted light blue on the edges. From the top to bottom is a dark indigo to light blue gradient of rectangles. At the top is a fancy light blue design built into the wall of something that looks like bells stacked on top of each other. A horizontal strip at the top of the wall is light green.
nativ plant/pollinator info

Native Plant

A plant that has evolved for hundreds to thousands of years in one particular area. Without it, ecosystems are disrupted and other native species are negatively affected.

Ex. in Massachusetts: False Aster

Pollinator

An animal that moves pollen from one plant to another, allowing the plant to reproduce. Without pollinators plants would die because they cannot replicate.

Ex: Monarch

Pollinator Plant

Plants that provide food and protection for pollinators.

Ex: Milkweed

Invasive Plant

A plant that has been introduced from a different part of the world and can grow quickly, outcompeting native plants and disrupting native ecosystems. Invasive plants usually have no predators because they were moved from their original region, making them unstoppable.

Ex in Massachusetts: Japanese Knotweed

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