If you’ve noticed some incredibly cute, pint-sized ceramic owls popping up around town lately, you have the creative third graders at Ellsworth Elementary-Middle School (EEMS) to thank!
For the fourth year in a row, our third grade art classes have teamed up with Birdsacre Sanctuary in Ellsworth for an amazing project that gives right back to the community.
Every spring, these young students dive into learning all about Maine’s native owls, which includes a fun, hands-on educational tour of Birdsacre – but the fun doesn’t stop there! Once they’re back in the art room, they get to work on making their own ceramic owls just like the ones they learned about.
To teach the kids the power of giving back to the world around them, these little masterpieces are put up for sale in the community to raise funds for the sanctuary. This year, you can find the owls waiting for a good home at the Ellsworth Public Library and A&B Naturals in Bar Harbor. Since the project first took flight, these amazing students have raised well over $5,000 for Birdsacre! Every single penny goes directly toward supporting the sanctuary’s wonderful Ambassador Birds.
We can’t thank Mrs. Baldwin and Grayson Richmond from Birdsacre enough for all the work they do to make these owls come to life each year!! It’s a uniquely Ellsworth effort that gives our hometown youth a fun, artistic experience while giving a monumental boost to local wildlife conservation. Be sure to swing by the library or A&B Naturals to snag your own owl and support our local feathered friends!