Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council - New Works Sculpture Project

Art in the Watershed

Bird Nesting Houses on the Woonasquatucket

Gillian Christie Sculpture on the Bath Street Footbridge

Gillian Christie working on the sculpture in her studio

The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council and sculptor Gillian Christie collaborated on a sculpture celebrating the Woonasquatucket River and the return of anadromous fish to the Woonasquatucket. Anadromous fish are fish that live in the ocean and return to fresh water to spawn. This sculpture is now in place on the Bath Street Footbridge over the Woonasquatucket River in Providence.

The funding for the project came from EPA Region One, The Foundry, and the RI State Council on the Arts.

On the side of the sculpture are cut the words:

Woonasquatucket River (Woon ahs kwa tuck it = where the salt water ends)

The Woonasquatucket River is one of fourteen federally designated American Heritage Rivers. From its headwaters in North Smithfield, it flows to Providence where it creates Waterplace Park, and then joins other rivers to form the upper part of Narragansett Bay.

The River played a powerful role in Rhode Island’s progression from pioneer to national leader in the American Industrial Revolution. This rich industrial heritage left behind dams that prevent the passage of fish—such as herring, shad, and eel—that need to move between fresh and saltwater to spawn.

The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council’s mission to reclaim this River as a natural, historic, and recreational resource includes returning these fish to the river through the restoration of fish passages.

Follow the river upstream and you may see great blue herons, painted turtles, kingfishers, red-tailed hawks and the first fish ladder at Rising Sun Mills.

New Works Sculpture Project: Bird Nesting Houses on the Woonasquatucket

Project Overview: Reclaiming Urban Dead Zones
Project Log
Tell us if you see a bird using one of the houses!

Project Overview: Reclaiming Urban Dead Zones

The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council and sculptor Will Machin are collaborating on a project creating 19 nesting houses for American kestrels, screech owls and tree swallows. The organically formed sculptures, created through a traditional lime-masonry technique will be installed this fall. The Woonasquatucket River Watershed Council hopes the sculpture will bring more attention to the river and highlight the river's natural wildlife assets as well as reduce the population of rats, mice and mosquitoes that are the prey of choice for these birds!

The funding for the project is coming from a Rhode Island Foundation, New Works Grant.

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Project Log - All photographs are by the Will unless otherwise noted.

Below are some pictures showing the very early stages of the project. As you can see, Will is picking up a wide variety of garbage from the parks and street in Olneyville.


Concrete pile near Delaine St.	Bottles near Delaine St.	Brick in Merino Park

May 31 - Check out the first stages of the process - building backs and bottoms from the stone waste from a stone cutting company in the watershed.

June 10 - After the backs and bottoms are reinforced and ready to go, the process begins – you can see broken bricks like the ones pickled up at Merino Park, the broken concrete block building waste from a lot near Delaine street, and the small liquor bottles from along the river near Olneyville square getting incorporated into the structure.

June 27, 2005 - Some of the nesting houses are starting to come together:

July 13, 2005 - The artist demonstrating his process to children at Donigian Park:

July 16, 2005 - Here are two more of the nesting houses:

August 29, 2005 - As the summer draws into the first tinges of fall, “Reclaiming Urban Dead Zones Through Sculpture” is nearing the end of the construction phase. Soon, on September 8, we will be having an opening at The Steelyard in Providence. Between now and then, here are a few pictures of some more of the nesting houses:

The residency at New Urban Arts on July 21 yielding a tree swallow house and fruitful conversations with staff, youth and people passing through. Thanks to those who brought materials and to the staff for housing the sculptures for a week.

Tell us if you see a bird using one of the houses!

We are trying to track how birds use each of the nesting houses. So, if you see a bird using one of the houses please either call the Watershed Council office at 861-9046 or drop us an email at alehrer@wrwc.org. If you know what kind of bird you saw, please let us know, but if you don't, just describe where the nesting house is located and what you saw the bird doing.

Thanks!

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