Christine Kashuba, the artist assisting the students at Ecole Bearisto, with the nature-themed mural students are working on. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters)

By Liam Verster

Work of art

Students decorate nature-themed mural at Ecole Bearisto

Jun 15, 2022 | 4:00 PM

An art installation featuring work by students is going up at Ecole Bearisto.

The Vernon elementary school is having a nature-themed mural painted at the outdoor classroom area on the outside of the building.

“I’m blocking in the big areas, and then the aim is to have every student in the school come do something,” Christine Kashuba, the artist in charge of the mural, told Vernon Matters.

The mural covering the approximately 90 foot long wall is a nature scene of the Okanagan that features rolling hills and the three main lakes, Swan, Okanagan and Kalamalka, as well as Goose Lake by popular demand, in order to include the habitat of the Painted Turtle.

The Goose Lake section of the mural painted by students at Ecole Bearisto. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters)

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The Okanagan Lake area of the nature mural painted by students at Ecole Bearisto. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters)

The mural features the four main ecosystems in the region: the alpine, forest, grassland and lake ecosystems, with the aim of having local wildlife and plant life showcased in their proper habitats.

“For example, in the alpine meadow, there’s paintbrush and lupins and fireweed; then in the grasslands and dryer areas, there’s sagebrush and that sort of thing,” said Kashuba, adding that stencils and reference photos were displayed in the areas for kids to work off of, though the artists were also able to add their own flair to their additions.

The Swan Lake section of the nature-themed mural painted by students at Ecole Bearisto. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters)

The Kalamalka Lake section of the nature-themed mural painted by students at Ecole Bearisto. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters)

“The most fun part for me is seeing the kids come and be able to do something and then add their own touch to it. So now they can come to the wall and go “Oh, I did this!’ and point to what they did. So for me that’s really rewarding: to have them take ownership of it and feel like it’s theirs and they contributed too to this image.”

The students had been working on the mural since Monday, June 6, painting flowers, birds, bears, deer, dragonflies, butterflies and more along the wall.

“It’s quite a large canvas to work on, so there’s lots of room for kids to paint and find a spot to do something,” said Kashuba.

“Some kids love to do detail, they can do that; some kids who want to just put a big shape on the wall can do that and then just leave it for somebody else to come and add the detail to it.”

Some references are posted on the wall for kids at Ecole Bearisto to use when they added their piece to the mural at the outdoor classroom. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters)

Each student at Ecole Bearisto is being given the opportunity to add to a nature-themed mural at the outdoor classroom. (Liam Verster/Vernon Matters)

She noted that the kids work is all being done on the ground level, and that the only part she did was the background and big work, like the hills, lakes and mountains.

The mural is located in Bearisto’s ‘outdoor classroom,’ a covered area that is being converted into a learning space.

The ‘outdoor classroom’ won’t be open to the public, as rollshutters are lowered to enclose the space when the school is closed.

Kashuba said the mural is expected to be complete by week’s end, though she noted it might roll over into the next week as she wants to provide every student an opportunity to add to the piece.