PORT ANGELES — Children from around the world used crayons, pencils, paints and markers to produce a 15-month calendar which expresses their views on mangrove forests.
The Mangrove Action Project, based in Port Angeles, organized the calendar in celebration of its 10th anniversary.
Mangrove forests are diverse coastal and aquatic complexes of trees and shrubs that serve as nurseries for fish and other sea life.
The Mangrove Action Project works with more than 250 scientists and academics in more than 60 nations to help preserve mangrove forests. Such forests exist in Africa, South America and South Asia, among other places.
Monica Gutierrez-Quarto, a Chilean artist who lives in Port Angeles, made the suggestion of asking middle-school age children to express their views on the importance of tidal forests and coastal ecologies in their area.
“This was such a great project,”‘ Gutierrez-Quarto said. “Everyone was so excited. Some of these kids were very poor and do not have a lot of opportunities to express themselves.”
She is working with the Seattle Children’s Museum to have the artwork displayed next year.
The rest of this story appears in today’s Peninsula Daily News. Click on “Subscribe” to get the PDN delivered to your home or office.
