The endangered Palos Verdes blue butterfly, a symbol of conservation efforts in the South Bay, is the subject of a recently launched mural project created to help inspire youth and raise environmental awareness.
Annika Gruettemann, who graduated from Palos Verdes High School in 2025, and longtime Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District art instructor Kristy Jimenez, recently launched “The Living Peninsula Mural Project,” to “connect history to the present” and to be “stewards of what makes this such an amazing Peninsula,” Jimenez said.
The blue butterfly is the first of a series of murals that will educate youth to not only focus on the natural wonders of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, but also explore its rich history, from the early Native Americans to the impact of Japanese farmers, Jimenez said.
“I decided that I would make it student-driven, where student artists are being celebrated, and connecting to the community and educating all students in the school district about some of the great resources and beautiful resources that the Hill has,” Jimenez said.
Gruettemann, now studying environmental management at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, was in Jimenez’s classes her freshman through junior years. Gruettemann said during her senior year, Jimenez approached her about the project.
The mural is four feet by eight feet, using acrylic paint, and is on sturdy plywood, and took seven months to paint, Gruettemann said.
“I used reference images from the internet to try to get it as close as possible,” Gruettemann said. “Then having three different butterflies on the mural helps to show different angles, like one is on its side, so you can see the underside of the wings.”
The blue butterfly is largely endangered because of the loss of its ecosystem, which is depicted in the mural and includes host plants like deer weed and milkvetch, and other native plants like sea lavender and sagebrush.
Jimenez said she approached Gruettemann for the project because she loves nature and “because she has a good sensibility of creating and completing work with quality.”
The Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC), a non-profit that protects more than 1,700 acres of land on the Peninsula, as well as public trails, while promoting wildlife conservation, including the blue butterfly, is supporting the project.
“This student-led mural beautifully captures why the Palos Verdes blue butterfly matters, not just as a rare species found only here, but as a symbol of what’s possible when a community comes together to protect its natural heritage,” said Adrienne Mohan, executive director of the PVPLC, in a statement.
Mohan added, “By pairing art with science through an interpretive panel, this traveling project helps students and the broader community understand the Peninsula as a global biodiversity hotspot and the hands-on work underway to save and reintroduce the butterfly by growing and restoring its host plants in historic habitat.”
Gruettemann said she was first introduced to the PVPLC in the third grade.
“They came to our school and they took us down to the trails around the (Point Vicente) lighthouse,” Gruettemann said. “That’s definitely when I started thinking, ‘Oh, wow, the nature around our community is so beautiful. That’s kind of something I’ve always remembered.”
The blue butterfly mural will be on display at Palos Verdes High School, in front of Jimenez’s classroom, until at least August, or later if the next mural is not complete, Jimenez said. The mural will rotate every school year so “all students can enjoy the art.”
“My plan is to create one to two new murals every year for the next five years, with a total of 10 murals,” Jimenez said.
Mohan, in the statement, said “We’re proud to support this effort by providing educational resources, volunteer opportunities to restore habitat firsthand, and pathways like our high school internship program that connect young people to conservation careers—while sharing this story more widely through community spaces such as White Point Nature Education Center and Preserve and events like our April 2026 Earth Day presentation of the ‘Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour.’”