Kinship Mural

A visual of our interconnected relationships with the living world

Design and Art by Lorenzo Moreno

Animal Design and Art by Lorenzo Moreno & Christine Eyer

Volunteer Artists: Courtney Bagby, Daniel Feldman, Jessie Sheldon, and Dave Titus

This mural is a representation of our more-than-human community and an acknowledgement of our commitment to stewardship and protection of our relatives. Human community members have sponsored a native species to be added to this landscape. Sponsoring a species is an investment toward awareness, relationship, and support of diversity and the value of inclusion.

As community members of the Great Basin on the Eastside of the Sierra Nevada, we are in kinship with seven vegetation zones and diverse ecosystems. We exist as part of the biological community and strive to maintain a connected relationship based in reciprocity and reverence.

Can you find all the species on the mural?

Scroll through the species and their sponsors

Raven - Corvus corax

Ravens are among the most intelligent birds, capable of problem-solving, tool use, and even playing games like tug-of-war or dropping objects and catching them.

Ringtail - Bassariscus astutus

Ringtail are excellent climbers capable of ascending vertical walls, trees, rocky cliffs and even cacti. They can rotate their hind feet 180 degrees, giving them a good grip for descending those structures. They have excellent eyesight as well as hearing, both helpful adaptations for a nocturnal animal.

Porcini and Fly Amanita - Boletus edulis and Amanita muscaria

Porcini Mushrooms are mycorrhizal, which means they form symbiotic bonds at the root of plants, hence why they are found at the foot of trees in forests. Fly Amanita is known to contain ibotenic acid, which both attracts and kills flies.

Great Horned Owl - Bubo virginianus

The “horns” on their heads are actually just feathery tufts, not ears, and they have excellent hearing, even hearing a mouse snap a twig from 75 feet away.

Clark’s Nutcracker - Nucifraga columbiana

Clark’s nutcrackers are remarkable for their exceptional spatial memory, allowing them to cache and later retrieve thousands of seeds, and they have a pouch under their tongue to carry seeds long distances.

Sponsored by Lynn Peterson dedicated to Steve

Ladybird Beetle - Coccinellidae

Their bright colors serve as a warning to predators, as they are know to secrete a foul-smelling fluid when threatened.

Purslane - Portulaca oleracea

Purslane is a succulent plant, often considered a weed

Pika - Ochotona

Pikas are small, herbivorous members of the rabbit family, known for their round ears and lack of visible tails, and they live in rocky, high-altitude areas, story food for winter.

King Snake - Lampropeltis

King snakes are known for their diet of other snakes, including venomous ones, and their natural immunity to pit viper venom.

Western Tanager - Calyptophilus frugivorus

The vibrant red head feathers of the males are not produced by the bird itself, but rather come from a pigment called rhodoxanthin that they obtain from insects in their diet.

American Dipper - Cinclus mexicanus

The American Dipper is that its’ North American’s only aquatic songbird, known for it ability to “walk” underwater and forage for food in fast-flowing streams. Also known as the Water Ouzel

Marmot - Marmota

A marmot that sees danger lets out a warning squeak, and all marmots nearby will disappear into their holes.