Written by Alexa Martinez, Wildlife Biologist for Malheur National Wildlife Refuge
The arrival of migratory birds in Harney County heralds in much excitement every spring. In addition to the landscape around us coming alive with the sights and sounds of spring, community partners such as Friends of Malheur, Bird Alliance of Oregon, and the Bureau of Land Management are preparing for the annual Harney County Migratory Bird Festival! What better way to celebrate the season than showcasing this special time through the eyes of children and their beautiful bird art.
The Artist in Residence program for local youth has been going strong for nearly 20 years and this year I had the pleasure to participate fully in the Friends of Malheur National Wildlife Refuge sponsored program. Where in the past, I might attend a day or two assisting the artist and offering additional natural history information about the refuge and wildlife, this year I spend the full two weeks visiting with students from across the county!
Alongside me were Janet Stuart, retired art teacher from Vancouver, WA, Doug Furr, our local school board member and volunteer, and Colleen Andersson, a local artist. Between the three of us we tried our very best to get an awareness of the importance of birds and their habitat during this special time of year, but also allowing these kids to connect with a bird and nature and portray their memories and connection on paper via art.
As the Refuge’s wildlife biologist, my role was to help kids understand how special the Northern Great Basin, particularly in the Blitzen and Silvies Valley, are to wildlife and how our wet meadows provide a safe place for migrating birds that are stopping over or calling this area home through the breeding season. I brought a few taxidermy birds and feathers to talk about features certain birds have and how these adaptations align with their habitat and their diet. Students could get a close-up view of an owl that nests in trees and has talons to grab their prey and a duck’s webbed feet which helps swim in water. My goal was for kids to think about what they are seeing in nature with the hope of building connection with their own memories or preparing them to be inquisitive of future observations, especially those involving birds.
This year was the year of pastels! Also known as chalk in the fancy world of art. Most of the schools had the pleasure of using this medium but some did use watercolor as well. My favorite part of all of this is watching the kids’ vision come to life on their paper. The pureness of their art, being 100% them, is such an incredible feeling to witness. Especially when they have a story to follow up with their art. As an amateur artist myself, watching these kids reminds me of my younger self when I would love to paint or draw animals growing up and wanting to learn more about them. That love and fascination grew and grew which led to me wanting to become a wildlife biologist.
This unique opportunity not only allowed me to share my passion for art and wildlife but also to connect with the community in ways I never thought I could. I appreciated everyone’s hard work to make this happen.
Thank you FOMR staff, the program artists Janet Stuart and Colleen Andersson, and volunteer Doug Furr, Refuge staff and the schools, including the Burns Paiute Tu-Wa-Kii Nobi youth program, and their wonderful teachers who allow us the time to come into their classrooms. I can’t wait for this community to enjoy all the kids beautiful work that will be displayed throughout the local businesses downtown during the month of April in honor of the Migratory Bird Festival. I hope you all enjoy them as much as I do.
The youth Artist in Residence Program costs about $5,000 annually and is made possible because of Harney County Migratory Bird Festival Early Registration Fees and Donors like YOU! If you want to support outreach efforts like this, CLICK HERE to DONATE!
