Mural promotes pollinators
GREENWICH — With a cool spring wind and a lot of passing traffic, the splash of color along the Post Road that makes up a mural across from Greenwich High School's Cardinal Stadium was formally dedicated on Wednesday.
The bus stop has been transformed by the public art as well as by a new garden, which is filled with 250 native plants and shrubs, as the celebration focused on the need for pollinator pathways.
“The mural is our message,” town environmental analyst Aleksandra Moch said before the dedication. “And now we have been able to enhance the area with plants that can show even a small strip of land close to a sidewalk can be very effective and inviting for pollinators.
“We want people to see these plants, learn about them and even go out to their local nurseries so they can bring them to their own gardens,” she said.
Credit went to Moch and town resident Myra Klockenbrink, who came up with the idea for the mural. The goal was to beautify the area and to inform the community of the importance of pollinator pathways.
“Pollinator Pathways is more than just about butterflies and flowers,” Klockenbrink said. “It is about restoring, preserving and protecting our native landscape. This mural is a symbol of our commitment to that mission.”
The mural was painted by artist Nelson Rivas, and it includes bees, ladybugs, a hand holding a flower and even a cardinal, which is right at home near GHS.
The garden will be maintained by volunteers in the Pollinators Pathways group, which is part of the town's Conservation Commission. The project also has support from Greenwich Audubon, the Greenwich Botanical Center, the Greenwich Land Trust, Greenwich Community Gardens and garden clubs throughout town.
“We will be working together,” Moch said. “This is a movement towards pollinators, focusing on their habitats and what they need.”
Wednesday's dedication of the mural was years in the making.
Work began on the mural in 2021, but it was halted that May after members of the Representative Town Meeting said they had not been consulted on approving the public art display. The mural was left only partially done until the town came up with a policy and gave formal approval for the project.
“What was a dirty white wall for many years is now a very colorful point of attraction for people when they're going by on the Post Road,” First Selectman Fred Camillo said at the dedication.
Rivas returned to work on the mural in November.