WEAR Mural Project Avian Odessey
Created by local Chicago artist Cheri Charlton in partnership with the Illinois Audubon Society, WEAR needs to raise $5,000 to become a reality. Click on the Donate Button to lend your support and scroll down to learn more.
New native section in Horst & Anna Wagener WEAR Garden -
We need your fanical support
Contributions of any size are welcomed but larger donors will also receive the following incentives:
· $250 - $499: A limited edition print depicting the full mural
· $500 - $999: A complete set of limited edition prints for all three murals.
· $1,000+: Cheri will teach an in-person art class in your home, for yourself or a group of people (a great idea for a children’s party!). Class limited to first two $1,000+ contributors.
For more on Cheri's art classes click here: Cheri Lee Charlton
Please help support this project by using the Donations Button here.
Avian Odessey
Created by local Chicago artist Cheri Charlton in partnership with the Illinois Audubon Society
Cheri is an accomplished artist and educator at Columbia College and has done many murals around the City. Those local to Andersonville may remember the wings on the south wall of Hamburger Mary’s before they closed; that was one of her many works.
The mural will be a triptych, with the first panel featuring birds that migrate from the tropics to Chicago, the second featuring birds that are year-round natives and the third showcasing birds that migrate from the artic to Chicago. The Illinois Audubon Society also provided recommendations for specific birds that can be found in the neighborhood to help bring awareness to their plight. The mural will serve to continue to beautify the new native garden WEAR created last year on the site of an old cell phone tower. The mural theme also aligns with the Mission of the WEAR garden, which is to provide an oasis of true native plants for birds, butterflies and other pollinators.
The beginning of the evolution
Formerly the site of a 200 foot cell phone tower, and long abandoned, in 2022 WEAR, with the generous support of long time WEAR resident Suzanne Huffman, turned the lot into a new garden focused on all native plantings to help sustain our local bird, butterfly and pollinator populations.
Creating a biodiverse Oasis focusing on Keystone Plants
Keystone native plants are integral to maintaining local biodiversity by providing critical food and shelter for many animal species with the large number of other species it supports. Keystone native plants support the local food web by being host plants for moth and butterfly larvae, a key food source for birds, by providing pollen and nectar for pollinators, or by producing fruit for birds and insects, or all three! Without keystone plants, biodiversity declines dramatically.