What is the Cedar Mural?

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What is the Cedar Mural?

February 22, 2023

Dear Maria,

What is the Cedar Mural and why are students involved in this?

Sincerely,
A Cascadia Parent

Dear Cascadia parent,

The Cedar Mural has quite a history! I asked a former parent to help me out with this one. Thank you, Pat!

Read about how this project offers adolescents a chance to give to their community and have a positive impact on the neighborhood. Part of the Montessori adolescent programs is helping students find their place in the greater adult world. The mural project gives students the sense that they matter and can implement positive change.

Location: Burnt Bridge Creek Trail below the 87th Ave. underpass.

Pat (former Cascadia Parent) spoke with the City of Vancouver trail supervisor, Tim Esary. Tim expressed a need for a mural to reduce tagging and the need for the city to paint over the tagging every month. Tim and Cascadia Guide Barb Sparling agreed that Cascadia middle school students would work on the mural. The city provided the paint.

The first painting was done on 14 February 2020. The most recent was last week, 16 February 2023. Thanks to Middle School Guide Amy Crocker for continuing this project.

Prior to the mural, the wall was getting tagged by graffiti writers about once a month. In the three years that it has been on the wall, it has been tagged only six times. That is one sixth! At first, both Will, who was part of the Middle School Class, and his dad Pat repaired it. During the past three or four tagging events, Pat has fixed it. However, every time it is tagged and repaired, details are lost and the mural needs to be refreshed.

Cascadia students have refreshed the mural three times. Most of the repairs have involved the lower half of the mural.

During one of the repairs, City Councilperson Bart Hansen helped, He pointed to graffiti on the wall on the other side of the creek and asked the students what was the difference between their mural and the graffiti across the creek. The answer is, “Permission.” Cascadia had permission to create their mural; the taggers who graffitied the other side did not. The city paints over the tagging but leaves the mural alone.

The mural adds to the safety of the trail because it makes it feel like people care. Many trail users have made positive comments about the mural and sad/angry comments about those who tag it.

It also provides a constructive public art experience for the students and helps them feel a sense of stewardship for this public space.

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