Bangor Beautiful, a non-profit founded in 2022 to create and cultivate projects to beautify Bangor, Maine, has commissioned local artist, Peter Walls to create a mural to help bring public art and education about the importance of nature and pollinators to local schools, beginning with Abraham Lincoln School. Walls will collaborate with teachers and students to paint the public facing mural.
Bangor Beautiful President, Annette Dodd, and local artist Peter Walls created a video for students explaining murals and pollinators that was shown this past spring. Students then created dozens of images depicting the many parts of a pollinator garden that Peter Walls has assembled into a design (attached image) that will be outlined for students to fill in with paint when they return to school this fall. Installation will be in late September 2024.
Bangor Beautiful has been collaborating with teachers and school administration on this project that will intersect with the school’s successful garden program. This fall, the school will also see the planting of a fruit orchard by ReTreeUS and the planting of a pollinator garden near Chapin Park by Bangor Beautiful’s Trees & Bees Committee.
We are thrilled to partner with Bangor Beautiful and local artist Peter Walls on this exciting mural project. This collaboration not only beautifies our school but also deepens our students' understanding of the vital role that pollinators play in our ecosystem. It's a wonderful opportunity for our students to engage creatively while learning about nature, and we can't wait to see their artwork come to life for the entire community, said Principal Shannon Shaw.