The St. Croix Environmental Association recently had an official ribbon cutting for a piece of “Advocacy Artwork” created by local youth located along the waterfront in Frederiksted.
SEA’s Education Coordinator, Olivia Walton, utilized funding from a fellowship with the North American Association for Environmental Education that she received in 2021 to design a civic engagement and environmental education project, according to a press release.
This advocacy art is a result of that project. The purpose was to engage local youth through art while highlighting some of St. Croix’s unique plant and animal life. The front mural on the art piece was painted by local teen Ayla Siverly, and the wooden “Conservation Commitment” canvases on the back were painted by students from the Mon Bijou Community Center and the Boys and Girls Club West.
These canvases reflect the students’ hopes for the environment of St. Croix and what they can commit to doing to keep our environment protected.
The mural on the front is of an Orange Manjack, a native tree species, the Antillean Crested Hummingbird, also native, the St. Croix Ground Lizard, which is endemic to St. Croix — meaning it can only be found on that island — as well as endangered, and lastly, the St. Croix Agave, a type of century plant that is also endemic and endangered.
