 "Photo: Samantha Pearson")
Despite heavy rain on Saturday, the Student Environmental Action Coalition and Durham Students for a Democratic Society unveiled a 40-foot climate change mural to an audience of 30 plus people.
Wet tarps covered the wall as people trickled into the alley between The Outback and Durham House of Pizza, where tents had been set up to protect people from the weather.
Sarah McGraw, co-leader of SEAC, said she was disappointed about the weather and the resulting turnout. Bekah Hawley, Business Manager for SEAC, said the same. Both of them emphasized the fact that a rain date for the unveiling was rather impossible.
“Today is an international event so it’s really important to stick with the day,” McGraw said.
Hawley agreed, adding, “It’s raining and that sucks but we made this mural and it still has meaning.”
At 11:15 a.m., members of SEAC and SDS, volunteers and artists who worked on the mural tore down the tarps to enthusiastic applause. Alex Freid, a UNH freshman representing SDS, explained the project once the 40-foot painting had been uncovered.
“I want to thank everybody for participating in the largest day of environmental action ever,” Freid said.
The unveiling took place as an international movement under the organization 350, which advocates the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions for a sustainable future. Over 5,200 actions were performed in over 180 countries, six weeks before the international conference on global climate change in Copenhagen.
Some plans had to be changed to accommodate the wet weather. Initially, anyone who was at the unveiling was supposed to put their handprint on the wall to represent their support and commitment to a sustainable future.
Hawley said that another event will take place on Saturday, Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. to allow townspeople, UNH students and younger kids to contribute their prints to the mural.
Community involvement was one of the goals of this project, according to several members of SEAC. Hawley said that one of the major reasons for rescheduling the handprints was to get younger kids out and involved in the project. Several UNH students and townspeople attended the event despite the rain, but there was a noticeable lack of children in the busy alley.
Josh Blake, an activist for the online group Save Earth Today, said a little rain was not going to stop him from showing his support.
“Even when it’s pouring rain, it’s a beautiful day,” he said. “I’d rather have this than a destroyed world.”
The general consensus among attendees was that they wanted to participate in the mural somehow, even if it meant walking back to the alley on another day.
“I’ll definitely be here if I can,” said Brittany Givens, a UNH sophomore. She said she had seen students working on the mural several times during the week and thought it was a great idea. “It’s cool, get everyone involved and aware somehow,” Givens said.
Durham resident Jim Hellen said he was glad to see such a huge effort to connect the university and community through art.
“It’s a great, constructive message,” Hellen said. “It’s nice to see it in the middle of town.”
McGraw said that over 150 hours of painting went into the project and several more hours were dedicated to planning, purchasing supplies, and priming the wall. McGraw added that the mural was finished at about 8 p.m. Friday night, just hours before its planned unveiling.
“This was really a total community project,” Hawley said. “It was a coordinated effort.”
Several artists -- Cara Masullo, Lucas Perry, Naomi Kornhauser, Amaryth Gass and Cody Laplant -- helped design and paint the wall, which was divided into four environmental scenes and blank areas for handprints, including a plaque-like description of the mural and its meaning.
Amaryth Gass, a UNH freshman, designed the underwater scene near the middle of the wall. She said she researched endangered animals to include in the painting and mentioned a personal passion for the Beatles, which was represented with a yellow submarine declaring “350” in support of the international movement.
“It’ll be here for a really long time so people will walk by and see it,” she said. “Hopefully they’ll research and make a change for the future.”
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