Neighborhood House of Milwaukee
Press Release

Mural to Connect Urban Youth with Earth’s Biomes

Community organization partners with local artist to create unique learning experience

By - Mar 15th, 2013 04:25 pm

Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, community organization for urban families and refugees, is collaborating with local muralist Andrew Parchmen to design an interactive educational environment highlighting the earth’s tropical and temperate biomes. The top floor of NH, known at the Tree House, has begun preliminary sketches of the 2 biomes contained in the naturally lit and open 3,000 square-foot area.

“The goal of this project is to engage our students in learning about several natural environments,” said Niki Espy, Outdoor Environmental Education Coordinator at Neighborhood House. “Children will be able to compare and contrast the different features of our planet, including plants, animals and climate patterns.”

The Outdoor Environmental Education (OEE) program is Milwaukee’s oldest community-based green program and is integrated into all NH programs. OEE integrates field experiences with classroom lessons through partnerships with Milwaukee organizations including the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Forest Service, Urban Connections and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR)/Lakeshore State Park.

Muralist Andrew Parchmen, current resident artist at Milwaukee Public Theatre, is aided by participants of NH’s programs, including urban youth ages 2-18. The project leads up to an unveiling and gallery event in June 2013, including a community paint day and several student involvement activities.

Mar: Work begins with NH teens in completing the large plant specimen paintings

April: Smaller plant specimen paintings are complete before April 27 Community Paint day

May: Charts for biome, forest layer and Wisconsin comparison is painted

June: Gallery event and unveiling

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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