UC Riverside now has a “smog-eating” 40-foot-long mural at its community garden, located near parking lot 30 off Martin Luther King Blvd.

In honor of California Clean Air Day, UCR’s R'Garden, Metrolink, and the City of Riverside hosted a daylong painting event on Tuesday, Oct. 3, alongside Riverside muralist Ekaterina Orlovie, who guided participants in creating a colorful scene promoting the outdoors and sustainable ways to get around campus.

Orlovie’s mural encompasses two metal containers, owned by R’Cycle Co-op, UCR’s biking club. The illustration includes a person in a wheelchair, and people walking and biking, against the backdrop of the Box Springs Mountains that surround UCR. 

The mural’s smog-eating paint includes Photio, a paint additive that helps transform surfaces into air purifying agents. Photio synthetically stimulates photosynthesis through nanotechnology.

Thirty-five students, staff, faculty, and community members participated in painting the mural, said Francis M. Mitalo, sustainability program specialist with UCR’s Office of Sustainability.

Materials for the mural were provided by Metrolink, the City of Riverside, and R’Cycle.