Take heed to the chook on this mural!
Painted: October 2025
Concerning the Mural: On this mural by artist Majo San, an Japanese Towhee perches on a vine of native Virginia creeper. As a part of the Audubon Mural Project—a public-art initiative drawing consideration to birds which are susceptible to extinction from local weather change—NYC Parks’ Artwork within the Parks program and NYC Parks GreenThumb labored with the Nationwide Audubon Society, Gitler &_____ Gallery, and native artists to design murals in group gardens throughout town. By a collaborative course of between the companions, artist, and backyard group, every mural was designed to function climate-threatened birds in addition to native plants that birds depend on for meals and shelter. By creating vibrant city inexperienced areas, group gardeners present important assist for birds and folks. Discover extra murals from the collaboration here.
This mural was created with Discovery Community Garden 2, half of a pair of interlinked inexperienced areas in Jamaica, Queens. Together with rising crops, the gardens host group occasions and youth programming to attach with the neighborhood.
Concerning the Fowl: The Japanese Towhee is a placing but secretive sparrow with a darkish hood, vivid purple eyes, and rusty sides offset by a vivid white stripe down its chest. The birds are sometimes noticed scratching round within the undergrowth of thickets, letting out nasally chewink calls.
The towhee’s populations have dropped off within the Northeast, although stay steady in different ranges. Local weather change, nonetheless, poses additional threats: If warming continues at its present tempo, this species is projected to lose 83 p.c of its present summer time vary, in response to Audubon’s Survival By Degrees report. Taking motion to restrict local weather change can assist guarantee these birds can thrive throughout a wider vary of landscapes. In the meantime, sustaining pockets of inexperienced house corresponding to group gardens—and filling them with native crops—can supply important locations for birds to relaxation and refuel.
Concerning the Artist: Majo San is a multidisciplinary artist born and raised in Mexico Metropolis and based mostly in New York since 2018. She works on a variety of initiatives together with murals, work, installations, and tattoos, which regularly spotlight texture and natural parts. Her items embrace themes of group, nature, the exploration of our minds, and the way we relate with our world and actuality, in addition to contemplations of her non secular apply rooted in Tibetan Buddhism. “I invite to not solely see nature, however to really feel it, and in that method, go deeper and strengthen our connection,” she says.
For this mural, the artist says she loved the stark distinction between the hues of the chook and its plant perch, and hopes the work can remind individuals of nature’s magnificence even within the midst of town. She painted murals on either side of the linked Discovery Group Gardens and loved spending time within the pure house—in addition to consuming produce shared along with her by backyard members. “It was a pleasure to satisfy the gardeners and see how they make investments their time to nurture and share what they’ve,” she says.
