Last year we saw some birdhouses go up in Red Hook as part of a Department of Transportation public art project, and now more will soon be brought to the borough of Brooklyn.
This week 40 colorful structures—created by artists Jennifer Wong and Daniel Goers—will go up as part of a new public arts installation called Myrtle Avenue Bird Town, and with it the artists will be giving bird's some more sanctuary in the big city. According to the Daily News, they'll be hanging from trees in Fort Greene Park and Person Square Triangle along Myrtle Avenue. Goers told the paper, "We want to spread this idea that we're sharing the urban habitat. It's a little bit of bird activism."
Meanwhile, the toxic waterway known as the Gowanus Canal may also become an unlikely setting for a wildlife refuge. Some friends have started a Canal Nest Colony there, installing 22 yellow birdhouses along the canal in a little under two years, with plans to place more structures there this summer.
A former president of the Brooklyn Bird Club tried to explain the recent interest these young people have in birds—Paul Keim says, "A lot of the younger generation is seeing that we made a lot of mistakes and things have to be corrected." Saving the world, one creative young urbanite and one bird at a time.
