Greenway Guardians
Sculpting Change: Youth-led Litter Sculpture in Commerce City
What is the Greenway Guardians Project?
A group of young stewards ages 10 to 17 from Commerce City worked collaboratively with the SCRGP and a local artist to design, create, and install a temporary pubic sculpture made out of litter collected from the Sand Creek Greenway.
Through this project we aimed to amplify youth voices in Commerce City through their involvement in designing and creating this litter sculpture and working alongside SCRGP staff to engage the community in environmental stewardship and beautification.
This project ran from February through October 2024.
What is our message?
At the beginning of this project the Greenway Guardians youth thought long and hard about what kind of sculpture they wanted to put up in Commerce City. With the help of a local artist they made their vision a reality!
The title, Protecting Commerce, draws attention to the desire the Greenway Guardians expressed to keep their community clean and free from pollution. The trash collected during two community clean-ups along the Greenway can now be seen in colored boxes surrounding a bison. The bison itself has ingested some of the litter that has escaped into the environment, highlighting the detrimental impact of garbage on the plants and animals who live around us.
The title, Protecting Commerce,can also be interpreted in the exact opposite way. Instead of protecting the environment, it suggests that we need to protect commerce - the act of doing business - because it is critical for the economy and our livelihoods. So, the title sets up a very real tension between wanting to keep our environment clean and wanting people to participate in the cycle of buying new things and throwing away old things so the economy stays healthy.
We hope this sculpture inspires action towards more sustainable solutions that feed human prosperity while also protecting our only home: Earth.
Project Updates
Sculpture is moving to Eagle Pointe Recreation Center!
The Greenway Guardians sculpture is moving locations!
With winter quickly approaching, the sculpture has been removed from the Wetland Loop Trailhead in Commerce City. After it’s removal, it will be placed permanently at Eagle Pointe Recreation Center in Commerce City for the community to enjoy.
We are so proud of all the hard work put into the sculpture and we want to thank the Eagle Pointe Recreation Center for providing a permanent home for this work of art.
It will be placed at Eagle Pointe Recreation Center permanently at a later date to be announced.
Sculpture
Unveiling
Thank you to everyone who came out to our Greenway Guardians Sculpture Unveiling!
We shared the sculpture with the community at the Wetland Loop Trailhead in Commerce City on August 3rd, 2024. We got to hear from the students about what this art piece means to them, and share their hard work with their families and the community.
We are so proud of the six youth from Commerce City who helped develop the design for the structure and build this piece of art.
A big thank you goes out to local artists Kalliopi Monoyios and Emily Przekwas for working with the youth and SCRGP to make this project a reality!
Local Artist
The Greenway Guardians Youth Committee chose local artist Kalliopi Monoyios to work with them on this project. Through much of her environmentally-themed work that deals with plastic, Kalliopi seeks to embrace the complexity of our relationship with the material. She incorporates materials that would have traditionally been thrown away into her work to turn trash into something beautiful. Kalliopi is thrilled to be selected by the youth to work on this project!
Kalliopi: “I used to think that as an artist, I couldn’t do anything to help my community and all the problems in the world. But what I’ve learned is that everyone has a role to play, whether you’re an artist, a teacher, an activist or a scientist. Each one of you has interests and talents we can put to use to make our world better. By creating a collaborative sculpture with you about how trash impacts our environment, I hope to remind people that we cannot tackle this problem alone, but together we can raise awareness and find more sustainable solutions.”
Find out more about Kalliopi at https://www.kalliopimonoyios.com/
How was the community involved?
In addition to the six youth who worked to complete this project, volunteers, and other members of the community got involved as well.
Volunteers participated in two trash clean-up projects removing 128 pounds of trash along the Sand Creek Regional Greenway. These events brought people together to clean up their local greenspace while providing material for the Greenway Guardians sculpture.
If you visit the sculpture you will see amazing flowers made out of litter placed within the colored boxes. These were made by the Greenway Guardians youth and other community members at our Art With The Greenway Guardians Committee event held in July 2024.
Volunteers also got involved with our Sculpture Unveiling event in August. Individuals helped with set-up, clean up, and contributed to the success of our unveiling for the Greenway Guardians sculpture in Commerce City.
If you have any questions about the project please contact Elena Smith at esmith@sandcreekgreenway.org.
