NEWBURYPORT — The Temple Street side of the Sullivan Building became a lot brighter Tuesday afternoon when the Recreation & Youth Services Department unveiled its 8-foot-by-8-foot mural of local flowers and animals.
Designed by local artist Jenn Houle, the mural was painted by Port Rec kids in partnership with residents of the Housing Authority building.
It depicts native host plants like serviceberry, birch and aspen, along with a giant eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly. Flying birds holding caterpillars in their mouths are also included in the mural, which includes a sky-blue background.
“This is a reflection of how the young people see their community and their connection with the environment,” Port Rec enrichment coordinator Tarah Luciano said.
The mural became possible last October when Port Rec received a $2,000 grant from the city’s Resiliency Committee.
Groundwork on the project began in April, when kids from the city’s Learning Enrichment Center teamed up with Sullivan building residents as well as Houle.
“We had about 15 people in general, between the residents and the kids,” Luciano said. “I’d say about 10 to 12 of those were young people.”
The group talked about climate resilience as well as what comes to mind when they thought of Newburyport’s environment.
Luciano said it was Houle’s passion for native plants and pollinators that inspired conversation.
From there, Houle, the kids and Sullivan Building residents began looking into local flora and fauna to come up with a collaborative design concept that was eventually transformed into the mural.
“This was truly an intergenerational effort between the building’s residents and the kids.” Luciano said.
The mural was eventually painted in August on the western end of the Temple Street side of the Sullivan Building’s front.
Luciano said the big painting was laid out for the intergenerational artists with a system of numbers, correlating to different colors.
“This was essentially a paint by numbers project,” she said. “Jenn gave us paint to match each of the numbers. Then the artists were able to fill things in. It was like a giant coloring book.”
Houle said in a text message the mural includes local flora, as well as birds flying overhead holding caterpillars in their mouths to remind people of the critical role they play in 96% of songbirds’ diets.
As part of their research, Luciano said kids also planted their own wild flower garden over the summer at the Housing Authority’s family housing project, Kelleher Gardens. The garden gave them the chance to observe a butterfly’s life cycle.
“It was really cool for them to be able to get that hands-on experience of their own environment here in Newburyport,” she said.
The mural, according to Luciano, was designed in panels so it could be moved to another location.
“It could be a traveling mural,” Luciano said.
After about a month of painting, Luciano said Houle spent a few weeks adding in details and depth setting the stage for Thursday when roughly a dozen residents and kids turned out for a special unveiling ceremony.
Eleven-year-old Amari Murphy, who helped design the mural’s trees and plants, said Thursday he really enjoyed working with Sullivan Building residents, who taught him how to be happy everyday. Murphy also said he’s proud of his part in the mural’s creation, since it could be standing in his hometown for many years to come.
“That’s pretty cool, I’m not going to lie,” he said.
Staff writer Jim Sullivan covers Newburyport for The Daily News. He can be reached via email at jsullivan@newburyportnews.com or by phone at 978-961-3145. Follow him on Twitter @ndnsully.