To help me promote the conservation these young people will be helping me paint the mural, and a whole lot more.

Later this week I will write more about how the youth are bringing something special to the program, and how we hope to take this project international.

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The kids were incredible and just loved the stories of Orcas and how they are the top predators of the ocean, and yet there has never been one attack on humans in the wild. This phenomenon I related to them was a result of this unspoken bond between us and them as a species.

This of course was all in lead up to painting the mural.
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Through the sweltering month of July we painted 16 Orcas to the backdrop of Vancouver and the North Shore Mountains. It was great for the kids to see how much what they were doing meant to the community. We had people from all walks of life from prostitutes to business people stopping to thank us. At one point in the final days of painting traffic on this busy corridor into downtown Vancouver actually stopped and were honking in approval.

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One of the most touching stories however was early in the painting when a man waiting at the bus stop interrupted me to ask what this was all about. I explained, he nodded, went silent and I went back to working with the kids. A few moments later just as his bus was arriving he approached me, ended the call on his phone and told me lunch would be by shortly. Within minutes subs and drinks were delivered to all of the children with thanks for their hard work. We were all obviously blown away.
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To end off the mural we had an unveiling ceremony where all 80 of the children and youth participants, as well as probably 40 community members attended. We were blessed by First Nations Elders in the opening prayer, and heard remarks from neighborhood business representatives as well as City of Vancouver Councillor Andrea Reimer. We then were entertained by a community Japanese drumming group accompanied by 2 professional drummers from Japan, as well as an amazing interactive dance by the First Nations Community. An amazing way to end an amazing project.

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This is a great story on the project by Bob Nixon of the CBC
Watch Video

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This to me was exactly what Earth Foundation and the Art of Empowerment is about. In my lifetime I am not sure I will ever again have this feeling of enriching the lives of young people and protecting the environment to this degree. I am fully grateful and blessed beyond words.
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The in class session were the most engaging to date. Through the in-class sessions we learned about one of the most vital species on the planet. Guess what? Sea Otters.
The next step in the evolution of the Art of Empowerment program was in full swing where I challenged the students to look at themselves to identify their strongest talents and then to look at the world and determine what is most important to them. They were then assigned a mission over the summer, to come up with an idea of how they can use their talents to support what is most important to them. They don’t know it yet, but I have been invited to return to the school in October to check up on their action plan… and of course, to paint another mural with them.

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All students participated in painting fish as a symbol of the connectivity of aquatic ecosystems.
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I managed to get a little painting in as well

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Through our class and painting sessions we learned, myself included, that sea otters are one of the most important species on the planet. The story of sea otters, which were nearly hunted to extinction, is a true tale of the complete inter connectivity of Eco systems.
Here is how it goes:
Sea otters eat sea urchins, sea urchins eat and destroy sea kelp, sea kelp produces more oxygen than all of the worlds above water forests combined. If not controlled by the voracious eating habits of sea otters, urchin populations explode, capable of wiping out entire kelp forests. Again sea kelp and other oceanic algae produces 70% of the worlds oxygen. 70%! With the sea otter’s near extinction just a few decades ago, we were that close to a very scary situation.

A great story and example of governments, and policy makers stepping in before it was too late. Sea otters are making a marvelous comeback and populations along the west coast of North America are stabilizing again.

Amazing project! Amazing kids! Thank you City of Burnaby and Capitol Hill for allowing this to all happen.

A very special thanks to my friend Ken. Without his caring for his community and kicking butt to make change happen this wall would still be bare and I never would have met those great kids from Capitol Hill School and the great neighbors of this community! Great work Ken. You are truly amazing and inspiring!!

I have been working with the students for the past few weeks (in class) teaching about what it means to be connected to the natural environment, how close nature really is and how we impact it. We have also been doing a lot of artwork, with me teaching a few tips and tricks for good drawing.

This was the wall at the beginning.

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Some students from Burnaby Mountain Secondary who participated in the Art of Empowerment program.

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City of Burnaby Mural Coordinator and good friend Kathy Wipf.

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The amazing Carolyn Orazietti from the North Road BIA. The mural and banner project was her plan, and she made it all happen with incredible energy and finesse. Huge gratitude for this opportunity to meet her and to create this project.

I traveled to Maui this fall and was blessed with seeing these beautiful creatures up close, and learning about them through the Pacific Whale Foundation. I was deeply inspired by the whales as well as the actions and initiatives of the Pacific Whale Foundation. They are truly doing amazing work in education and conservation of the Oceans.

Stay posted for more updates on the progress of this mural.

This mural is called Orcas in the City. It represents the balance of people and nature and pays respect to these wondrous creatures that share our shores and waters.

Forest Grove is an amazing school, and this turned out to be an amazing project. With the leadership of Barb McMahon the school had just completed its own community garden project. All of the children knew all about the value of growing our own food, its health benefits, and its help to the environment so the level of enthusiasm to paint a community garden with ants, birds and pollinators was through the roof. It makes for great painting!

A tough day at the office.

This was our first school project. Like everything we do, lets start big then everything else will seem easy. 600 students and a 110 foot long wall that illustrated the West Coast Temporal Rainforest through the eyes of bees.