Rochdale mural calls draws attention to local species loss ahead of COP26 UN climate change conference

A street mural showing local at risk species - including a grey heron and floating water plantain - has been unveiled in Rochdale ahead of the UN’s Climate Change Conference (COP26).

The mural, based on a design by 15-year-old Mayokun Janet Alao, was one of seven designs selected to be painted by professional street artists in seven UK towns and cities as part of the Grantham Climate Art Prize 2021.

Mayokun’s design is entitled 'Taking Flight' celebrates the increased number of grey herons resulting from concerted conservation efforts over three decades.

Mayokun said: “I hope my piece informs the people of Rochdale to care for the species around them.”  

Rochdale has the third largest heronry in the Greater Manchester area. Grey herons are now protected under the 1981 Wildlife and Countryside Act in the UK after being heavily persecuted in the past because of competition with fishermen and fish farmers. Only one in five juvenile herons survive to adulthood.

The mural, painted by teacher and community artist Bushra Sultana, has been supported by the Touchstones Gallery who held a series of workshops with local children involving environmental experts Dr Joanne Tippett and Matt Sanderson from the University of Manchester. Touchstones Gallery and Number 1 Riverside will be holding an exhibition of winning designs and runner up entries from 20 November.

 

Read more: Rochdale to host Grantham Climate Art Prize mural highlighting regional endangered speciesPublished: 17 September 2021

 

Bushra said: “I have really enjoyed being part of the Grantham Climate Art Prize 2021, working alongside scientists to promote - through art - the loss of our local species because of climate change. Climate change is real. It is happening right now, it is the most urgent threat facing our entire and local species and we need to work together as a community to stop this happening.

“The mural depicting local species of Rochdale, including the grey heron and floating water plantain, is on a large wall in the town centre where the people can reflect on what the images are portraying.

‘It is so important that young’s voices are heard on the climate crisis – including through murals like this - as they are our future generation, and without their voices and concerns we have no future.”

Mayokun added: “It was surreal to go to the town centre and see the mural there. Taking part in the Grantham Climate Art Prize has urged me to do better with my everyday life and remember to think consciously and critically about how actions I do without thought could affect the biodiversity around me.

“Before entering the Grantham Climate Art Prize, I didn’t know how close to home the climate crisis was getting. The fact that the competition was catered for young people is one of the reasons why I found it appealing as often it feels as though young people - despite being strong advocates for solving the climate crisis - are left out of the important conversations that will inevitably affect their futures.

“The climate crisis might sounds like it is about the melting ice caps in the arctic or the deforestation in the Amazon, but it's closer than we realise. This mural reflects how despite Rochdale’s beauty, like in the Pennines, our local biodiversity is suffering under our noses. It is important for the public to see the art around us as beauty, but also a means to being informed and engaged.

“It is vital for the voices of young people to be heard in all instances especially the climate crisis because if not dealt with now, we as a generation will be left behind with an Earth too far gone to be helped. Art is a vehicle that touches all and because of this it is a good way for amplifying and sharing our voices.”

The Grantham Climate Art Prize is organised by the Grantham Institute - Climate Change and the Environment at Imperial College London in partnership with pioneering energy company Octopus Energy and young campaigners UK Youth for Nature (UKY4N).