A gigantic mural is planned for the east wall of Birchland elementary school and the community is invited to help design it.
In celebration of the 40th anniversary of the Port Coquitlam school, mural artist Todd Polich will be painting the mural with the help of students and community members. Polich is the founder of the Earth Foundation, an organization that connects people to the environment through large-scale public art.
Three community forums are planned, and the first one is Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m. in the Birchland gym so people can help design the mural images. The theme will be "living in harmony with nature," Todd said, and community members will be asked to consider how they interact with the environment.
Principal Frank Pearse said the project has been a few years in the making and it grew out of concerns about vandalism. The school is in a high-traffic area and occasionally gets tagged or the windows are broken, although vandalism has dropped in recent months.
This project will hopefully encourage the community to take ownership of and protect the school because their ideas have been incorporated into the mural. Students will help paint the mural with the leadership and support of students at Minnekhada middle and Terry Fox secondary.
"We want to get everyone involved," said Pearse, who has raised $10,000 from various organizations for the six-month project.
The forums are as follows:
Wednesday, Jan. 22 at 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 28 at 6:30 p.m.
Members of the business community are also invited to participate by contributing donations of time, goods or services.
For more information or to help out, contact principal Frank Pearse, [email protected]
