Kickstarter

Ohio Birds Mural: Put Birds under it! 

A mural featuring 35 species of Ohio birds is happening at the Glen Echo Ravine. To complete the project, we need to raise an additional fund of $2800, and you can help it happen!

Glen Echo Park and Ravine, located between the University District and south Clintonville, is known to be home for many resident and migratory birds of Ohio. This scenic place is also a great asset of the area, visited by neighbors and school groups in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the underpass of the Indianola Bridge crossing over the Glen Echo Ravine has been a target of graffiti and vandalism. These problems have increasingly posted threat to all visitors to the ravine.

In February 2012, the non-profit group, ALTernative that aims at using art and design to improve neighborhoods proposed a mural idea that features birds of Ohio to help deter graffiti. The design comprises portraits of 35 species of birds that are regularly sighted in the Glen Echo Ravine. Their over-sized images, ranging from 4 to 8 feet tall, create a dramatic composition while providing educational information for visitors to learn about the birds' distinctive characteristics. The mural is the first step towards a transformation of the underpass and the Glen Echo Park into a bird sanctuary, a continuous effort to enhance the natural habitats at the Lower Olentangy Urban Arboretum.

The design idea was well-received by many neighbors, bird-watchers and bird enthusiasts. An organizing committee, made of 10 neighbors, has obtained approvals from the City of Columbus and the Columbus Arts Commission, as well as partial funding of $2,700 from the 200Columbus grants and the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

To complete the Ohio Birds Mural, an additional fund of $2,800 will be needed. A call for professional mural painters was announced and decision will be made in early June.

A community gathering is organized in mid-June to prime the walls of the underpass before actual painting happens. And completion is expected in early July and the official unveiling of the Ohio Birds Mural will be held on July 14 during the Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the Glen Echo Park.

Be a catalyst of this transformation. You and your family will learn more about birds while enjoying the natural beauty of the Glen Echo Ravine.