Eco Mural 5: Wetlands

Location: Davis Pharmacy, Philadelphia, PA

Artist: Designed, illustrated, and painted by Hagopian Arts

Eco Mural Wetlands, Davis Pharmacy, Philadelphia

Hotspots of Biodiversity

Eco Mural 5: Wetlands features a purple lotus flower, sometimes referred to as a water lily, and a green frog. Frogs and water lilies are just two members of many wetland ecosystems–the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth.

Wetlands are classified as an environment that is flooded by fairly shallow water, either seasonally or permanently, and feature a wide array of semi-aquatic and aquatic flora and fauna. These complex and diverse environments can encompass several familiar ecosystems found right here in Pennsylvania, including vernal pools, ponds, marshes, and swamps. Other environments classified as wetlands include bogs, swamps, mangroves, coral reefs, floodplains, and fen. The importance of these environments cannot be understated: they are not only hotspots of biodiversity, but they also maintain and regulate the sources of the Earth’s drinking water. Wetlands are seen as some of the most important environmental health indicators due to their interconnection: wetlands are often situated on porous sediment that filters down to groundwater tables and eventually the aquifers that hold over 95% of the Earth’s drinking water.

From the Great Barrier Reed to the Amazon River Basin

These wetlands serve many important functions, including groundwater replenishment, shoreline and storm protection, carbon processing and water purification, flood management and water storage. Many wetlands are critical life-stage habitats, serving as nurseries for thousands of species who leave their young to develop in the shallow, stable waters. In New England, seasonal vernal pools where thousands of amphibians and insects breed and incubate their young are drying up much faster due to climate change, crippling their development cycle and wiping out future generations. This causes a chain reaction of consequences, impacting their predators, the fauna that these species maintain, and the larger ecosystem’s reliance upon a complicated web of interdependent wildlife. Many species of birds, insects, mammals, and fish depend entirely upon wetlands for their entire lifecycles and are specifically evolved for their local hydrology. To understand the enormity of the biodiversity found in these ecosystems, one must only look to the Great Barrier Reef or the Amazon River Basin, both of which are classified as wetlands, and both of which are hotspots of global biodiversity.

The Rapid Degradation of Wetlands

Wetlands are particularly sensitive to human interference, and often are some of the first to suffer environmental degradation from wastewater pollution, real estate development, and exploitation of its flora and fauna. Over half of the wetlands in the lower 48 United States have been lost to development and human interference, and yearly an estimated additional 60,000 acres are damaged or destroyed. Rapid degradation of wetlands has rippling consequences that affect ecosystems many thousands of miles away: removing wetlands from inland environments creates vast ocean dead zones like the one we see in the Gulf of Mexico today. These dead zones are created by the poor quality of water that was once filtered and replenished by wetlands running straight into our seas, taking sediment and pollution with it. Wetlands serve as “natural infrastructure,” an intermediary between the water table and our oceans, making their destruction consequential for all habitats around the world.

Wetlands are particularly delicate and extremely important to human survival: to our drinking water, the safety of our communities from erosion and floods, and natural regulation of our carbon emissions. Maintaining our wetlands is especially important as we reach a pivotal moment in the fight against climate change–conservation of natural carbon processors like wetlands must become a priority for mankind if we are to tackle global warming in the long term.

Hagopian Arts transforms urban landscapes through art that bridges the worlds of ecology, education, and cultural heritage. Each mural is a portal into the hidden wonders of the natural world. By blending intricate artistry with educational outreach, Hagopian Arts inspires communities to rediscover the beauty and importance of the environment they call home.

About the Eco Mural and Wild Medicine Projects

The Eco Mural Project by Hagopian Arts is an ongoing series of public art installations designed to educate and inspire action on ecological and cultural issues. Each mural is a meticulously detailed, one-of-a-kind piece, blending vibrant artistry with rigorous research. These murals transport viewers into immersive natural environments, revitalizing urban spaces while addressing pressing concerns about environmental degradation.

Within this initiative, the Wild Medicine Eco Mural Project focuses specifically on the cultural heritage of medicinal plants. Through detailed depictions and thoughtful programming, the series highlights the historical, cultural, and healing significance of plants, fostering a deeper connection between individuals and the natural world.

The Eco Mural Project is rooted in the belief that reconnecting communities with nature can profoundly impact mental and physical health. These murals showcase the beauty of local flora and fauna, enlivening public spaces and encouraging residents to see their environment in a new light. This engagement inspires a sense of pride, belonging, and collective responsibility for the natural world. To enhance accessibility, each mural includes a scannable QR code linking viewers to a webpage that provides detailed information about the artwork, the plants featured, and their historical and cultural significance. These pages also honor Indigenous histories by sharing the uses, markers, and cultural associations of the depicted flora and fauna.

Community-Driven Programming and Collaborations

Hagopian Arts amplifies the impact of its murals through live events, educational initiatives, and community partnerships that engage people across generations and cultures.

Honoring Indigenous Histories and Local Ecosystems
A standout project in the Wild Medicine Series is Eco Mural 21 at Bartram’s Garden, a series of freestanding mini murals showcasing medicinal plants historically used by the Lenni Lenape people. Designed with community input, the murals feature local flora, Lenape beadwork patterns, and depictions of children on the riverbank where passionflowers grow.

Hagopian Arts conducted extensive research into Bartram’s Garden’s historical catalog to honor the Lenape people’s contributions and highlight the cultural significance of the plants. At the unveiling event on September 15th, Melaney Gilchrist, a West Philadelphia herbalist, and mindfulness yoga practitioner Nakesha Moore of Breathe Moore led workshops for community families. These sessions explored the medicinal properties of the plants while fostering connections between art, history, and wellness practices.

Through its murals and programming, Hagopian Arts creates vibrant spaces for education, inspiration, and dialogue. The Eco Mural Project bridges art and environmental advocacy, encouraging communities to cherish their local ecosystems and honor the cultural and historical ties that bind them to the natural world.

Wild Medicine: A Multidimensional Creative Experience

This live event combined public art, botanical installations, body-painted models, and performance art to merge the worlds of creativity and herbal wisdom. Hosted in collaboration with women artists, herbalists, and grassroots organizers, the event invited participants to explore the healing connections between art and nature.

Ancient Ancestral Connections

Eco Mural 18: Women’s Wild Medicine celebrates the ancestral bond between women and medicinal plants, featuring women from diverse cultural backgrounds alongside flora from their heritage. Installed at Penn OB/GYN, the mural also serves as a pilot for the Women’s Wild Medicine Initiative, a community-driven effort that highlights the healing power of native plants and their historical ties to women.

Wild Medicine Coloring Journal and Foraging Guide

In collaboration with educator and illustrator Katie Lillard, Hagopian Arts produced the Wild Medicine Journal and Coloring Illustration Booklet, inspired by the two murals created for Wild Medicine Eco Mural 15: Mugwort, Mullein, and Mallow. The booklet features twenty medicinal plants rendered in Hagopian Arts’ signature style, blending pattern, naturalism, and realism.

Hagopian Arts distributed the journal and accompanying foraging guides to schools and community organizations to introduce youth aged 3-18 to ecological awareness in both traditional and nontraditional learning settings. These resources were also shared during a mural unveiling, empowering community members to safely connect with wild plants and explore their uses in daily life.

Highlighting Interconnectivity: Eco Mural 20
As part of the Wild Medicine Eco Mural Project, Hagopian Arts created Eco Mural 20: Artelo to celebrate the interdependent relationships between plants, pollinators, and human communities. This mural was a collaborative effort with Square Roots Collective and 14 other public artists contributing uniquely to the Artelo hotel project. While each artist brought a distinct vision to the hotel’s art-filled rooms, Hagopian Arts focused on the ecological and cultural themes central to the Wild Medicine Eco Mural Project.

To expand its reach, Hagopian Arts hosted interactive workshops that engaged community members in the creative process: At Hyacinth Montessori School in West Philadelphia, children aged 6–12 participated in a painting workshop, learning about local flora and pollinators while contributing sections to the mural. This activity incorporated yoga and mindfulness practices led by Breathe Moore, blending creativity and well-being.

At John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge, community members painted portions of the mural while learning about the featured species and their roles in local ecosystems.

In September 2024, Hagopian Arts partnered with the Kennett Trails Alliance and Artelo for a public mural painting event during the Hispanic Heritage Festival in Kennett Square. Using a paint-by-number system and hand-mixed colors, participants painted sections inspired by the flora, fauna, and geometric patterns of Eco Mural 20. The mural, once finalized by Hagopian Arts, will be installed in Kennett Square in 2025, further expanding its impact and reach.

Related Projects

Eco Mural 17: Cecropia, Luna, Buckeye

Amidst the rich patchwork of Pennsylvania’s flora and fauna, few inspire more wonder or enchantment than our native butterflies and moths. With their vibrant colors and patterning, delicate forms, and graceful flight, these winged mosaics have captivated our collective imagination for centuries. Moths and butterflies are both members of the order Lepidoptera, a name derived from the Greek terms “lepis,” meaning scale, and “pteron,” meaning wing. In fact, all moths and butterflies are entirely covered in tiny scales! Another defining feature of Lepidopteran species is complete metamorphosis, meaning they undergo distinct life stages, each completely different from one another. Butterflies and moths have a symbiotic relationship with the native flora, meaning a close, long-term interaction, in which each organism is mutually benefited.

Eco Mural 11: John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum

Located in West Philadelphia, John Heinz serves both as a state funded zone of protection for some of Pennsylvania’s most vulnerable wildlife, and as an educational hub for students and residents across Philadelphia County. John Heinz Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum was founded in 1972 after lobbying by concerned citizens as the last local marsh was threatened by industrial expansion. When settlers arrived in Pennsylvania in the 1600s, a process of draining and filling the marshland to create grazing land for livestock reduced the size of marsh from approximately 5200 acres to just under 350 by the 20th century. John Heinz was founded to protect this last remaining swath of marshland and an additional 1000 acres of woods, meadow, and mud flats that surround it.

Eco Mural 10: Channel-Billed Toucan

Of all the wonderful creatures that inhabit the Amazon rainforest, one of the most distinct and well-known is the toucan. The most vulnerable toucan species is called the Channel-Billed, and Hagopian Arts is excited to shine a light on this lesser-known tropical bird. The Channel-Billed Toucan can be identified by the soft grooves that run down the sides of its iconic beak and its dazzling black, red, and orange plumage. Toucans like this one range from Central America all the way to northern Argentina, with their concentration being highest in the humid lowland forests of Bolivia.

Eco Mural 9: Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Through a partnership with Cedar Park Neighbors and University City District, a large-scale version of our butterfly panel from the Eco Mural Project 2: Symbiosis mural was placed in the pedestrian triangle at Cedar Park in West Philadelphia. We are so pleased to have an Eco Mural at ground level for children and residents to interact with and enjoy.

Eco Mural 4: Amphibian

Amphibians are a class of cold-blooded, semi-aquatic creatures that are divided into three orders: Apoda (caecilians, or limbless serpentines), Anura (frogs and toads), and Urodela (salamanders). Amphibians are found on every continent except for Antarctica and feature some of the more bizarre and wonderful adaptations the animal kingdom has to offer. They come in a surprising range of sizes, the smallest measuring at just a third of an inch (A frog from New Guinea called Paedophryne Amanuensis) and the largest at nearly six feet long (The Chinese Giant Salamander, Andrias davidianus).

Eco Mural 3: Arowana

Asian Arowanas are freshwater bony fish that are native to the lakes, slow-moving rivers, forested wetlands and swamps of Southeast Asia. Since the 1970s, Asian Arowanas have caught the attention of aquarists internationally for their captivating scales and brilliant colors. Arowanas have become infamous for being the most expensive fish in the world; however, the economy surrounding their breeding and purchase has failed to benefit their native habitat.

Arowanas are coveted for their brilliant armored scales, which come in a variety of naturally-occurring colors. They are considered primitive fish, with little evolutionary differences noted between modern members of their genus and their ancestors from over 140 million years ago.

Partnership Links:

Davis Pharmacy

Learn More & Get Involved:

Environmental Protection Agency - Wetlands

World Wildlife Federation - The Wonder of Wetlands

Wetlands International

SYMBIOSIS

A female-led mural initiative with an environmental focus