RITree Helps Woonsocket Students with Tree Project

RITree recently collaborated with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM) and Riverzedge Arts to help a group of Woonsocket students from the Public Arts Studio create a sculpture representing the teen’s recent education on climate change. Working under a RIDEM Community and Urban Forestry grant, R.I. Tree provided students participating in the project an extensive education on how trees benefit the environment and economy, including through health and a sense of community.

The sculpture—placed in a tree at the back of the Woonsocket Arts Center on Sayles street—serves as a metaphor for climate change and its impact on Rhode Island. The piece consists of a paper-maché ship named the S.S. Ocean State and a Styrofoam squid destroying it. The sculpture follows a design generated by last year’s graduating seniors who were collectively thinking about how to grab people’s attention on climate change. They called the project the Woonsocket Tree Project.

Riverzedge Arts spearheaded the project. The organization is a non-profit organization formed in 2002 by artists, youth development professionals, and community leaders concerned about patterns of violence among disaffected youth in the wake of the Columbine shootings. It uses innovative applied and work-based learning strategies to teach art, design, and critical thinking to the youth of northern R.I., providing both participants and the community with a path to economic and cultural sustainability.