Photo: Sarah Lang
By Natalie Hinahara
Late last summer, I arrived at the Bauman Community Pool just after it had closed for the season, when the usual crowds of summer had given way to an unfamiliar quiet. I had been invited to paint a mural on the building, and after many months of planning, it was time to begin. This was the pool where I learned to swim and spent long afternoons as a kid, so returning to paint there felt like a special full-circle moment.
The mural stretches across two large walls of the main building that face the lawn and pool. It features plants and animals native to Wisconsin’s rivers, lakes, and wetlands. Many of the species depicted can be found in the Pheasant Branch Conservancy, a place that played a quiet but powerful role in shaping who I am.
As a student at Middleton High School, I took AP Environmental Science, a class that brought us out of the classroom and into places like the Pheasant Branch Conservancy. We did fieldwork, service projects, and spent time observing the ecosystems around us. Outside of school, I walked and biked those same trails, sometimes with friends, sometimes alone. The Conservancy offered a space to explore, to observe, and to feel connected to something larger. That connection has stayed with me across states and landscapes, from the Midwest to the West Coast, where I now live.
When I went on to study at UW–Madison, I chose to major in both Environmental Studies and Fine Arts. At the time, I wasn’t sure how those two paths would come together, or what kind of career they might lead to. I only knew that both felt essential to me.
Photo: Sarah Lang
Over time, my work as an artist became the place where those interests converged. Today, I create screenprints, block prints, murals, and illustrations that are rooted in a deep attention to place. I am especially drawn to native plants, pollinators, and the relationships that sustain ecosystems. In painting the Bauman Community Pool mural, I wanted to create something that felt alive and interconnected. Something that could reflect the richness of Wisconsin’s waterscapes while also being accessible and joyful for the community.
One of the most meaningful parts of the project was working with four high school students from Middleton High School. I invited them to be part of the process in part to show that being an artist is a real and viable career path. It was important to me that they were paid for their work, and that the experience felt both collaborative and professional.
Photo: Doug Hinahara
It also gave me the chance to share some of my own path with them. There is so much pressure on young people to have everything figured out and to choose a clear direction early on. I wanted them to know that it’s okay not to have all the answers. The things that spark your curiosity, whether drawing, hiking, science, or simply spending time outdoors, can stay with you and, over time, grow into a craft or even a career.
Painting this mural in Middleton felt like a way of giving something back to the place that raised me, to the ecosystems that inspired me, and to the community that continues to care for them. I hope that when people walk past it, they might recognize a plant they’ve seen on a trail, learn about a fish that lives in nearby waters, or be inspired to learn more about the diversity of species in our city.
Photo: Natalie Hinahara
Species depicted in the mural:
Plants
- Broadleaf Cattail (Typha latifolia)
- Broadleaf Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia)
- Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)
- Common Rush (Juncus effusus)
- Stonewort (Nitella spp.)
- Fringed Loosestrife (Lysimachia ciliata)
Birds
- Wood ducks (Aix sponsa)
- Cliff Swallow (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota)
- Greater Yellowlegs* (Tringa melanoleuca)
Insects
- Autumn Meadowhawk (Sympetrum vicinum)
- Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
- Double-striped Bluet* (Enallagma basidens)
Fish
- Rainbow Trout* (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
- Green Sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus)
- Skipjack Herring (Alosa chrysochloris)
- Northern Starhead Topminnow* (Fundulus dispar)
- River Redhorse* (Moxostoma carinatum)
- Red Shiner (Cyprinella lutrensis)
*Species currently listed as threatened or endangered