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MILLER VALLEY ELEMENTARY DEDICATES “Go on Green” Mural
posted 05/18/10
May 7, 2010 – Prescott, AZ –Miller Valley Elementary School will dedicate the school’s new mural on Friday, May 21st, beginning at 1:00PM. The dedication will begin with the arrival of a student parade featuring giant puppets. The dedication also includes a play about the mural, music, and speeches from local officials. The event takes place at the mural’s location, the Miller Valley Elementary School parking lot on Iron Springs road. The pubic is invited to attend.
The “Go on Green Mural”, developed and painted by Miller Valley students and “The Mural Mice”, is a project of Prescott Alternative Transportation’s Safe Routes to School program. Funded as an encouragement activity, the mural helps to raise awareness of children walking and biking safely to Miller Valley, a Safe Routes partner school. The mural also features other “green” activities at Miller Valley including the Highland Center for Natural History’s Habitat Program and the school’s designation as a National Go Green School.
Mural Mice, R.E. Wall and Pamela Smith worked directly with the students to design and paint the mural. Wall, Director of the Prescott Downtown Mural Project offered that “the mural is two murals in one.” The Mural Mice worked with every Miller Valley student for at least 45 minutes to paint the natural history portion of the mural. Additionally, The Mural Mice painted the Safe Routes themed portion of the mural, which was also designed with the students.
The Miller Valley Elementary Go on Green mural is the second Prescott school mural organized by Prescott Alternative Transportation’s Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. SRTS Program Coordinator Paul Katan stated “ I love the process of working with students to think about how they get around and to turn those thoughts into a historical reminder of their role in our community. As they grow up they will always remember that they painted the mural. And hopefully we’ll always remember the great feeling of being a kid, and walking and biking to school.”
The national SRTS program was established to address the issues of childhood obesity (and other health issues arising from inactivity) environmental pollution, and increasing traffic, by helping more kids ride bikes and walk to school safely. The mural and Prescott Alternative Transportation’s other SRTS activities are funded with federal grants, administered through the Arizona Department of Transportation.
For more information about Prescott Alternative Transportation, visit prescottbikeped.org.
For more information about the The Mural Mice and the Prescott Downtown Mural Project, visit prescottmurals.com
For more information about Safe Routes to Schools, visit saferoutesinfo.org
