Audubon Art Run for the Birds Helps Audubon Mural Project

Oct 16

Audubon photos by Luke Franke. White-tailed hawk mural by Totem, a local NYC artist with deep roots in the street art community and Washington Heights.

Runstreet held our first Audubon Art Run for the Birds in partnership with the National Audubon Society on October 2, 2021. We enjoyed a beautiful Runstreet Art Run with the Audubon Society to learn more about the stunning Audubon Mural Project in Harlem and Washington Heights, NYC highlighting species of birds threatened by climate change.

We had all ages and shapes of runners at the Audubon Art Run for the Birds.

Avi Gitler from Gitler &_____ Gallery talks about the Trumpeter Swan mosaic created by artists Juan Carlos Pinto and John Sear for the Sudubon Mural Project.

The Audubon Mural Project is a public-art initiative of the National Audubon Society and Gitler &_____ Gallery that draws attention to birds threatened by climate change. So far 93 murals and 131 bird species have been painted for the Audubon Mural Project.

Thanks to all who bought tickets to the Audubon Art Run for the Birds, we raised $500 for the Audubon Mural Project.

Jennifer Bogo from the National Audubon Society met us at some of the sweeping murals on the run to explain more about the birds threatened by climate change.

For the Audubon Art Run for the Birds, we had a great group of bird lovers, runners, street art fans, four-legged friends, and perfect crisp fall weather. Harlem Public, located at 3612 Broadway, was a great host for bag drop and an outdoor post-run brunch.

Before the run, Kristina Deckert, the Art Director for the National Audubon Society, spoke about the Audubon art project coloring the walls of Upper Manhattan and the plight of the many species of birds who will be in grave danger due to climate change if it continues at the current pace.

On the Audubon Art Run for the Birds, we saw murals of dozens of bird species painted in a wide variety of styles by artists from around the world. Staff from the National Audubon Society and Avi Gitler from Gitler &_____ Gallery met us at some of the big murals on the run to talk more about the birds and artwork along the route.

In addition to learning about incredible art and different species of birds and their uncertain futures due to climate change, we also heard from one of the artists who painted for the Audubon Mural Project.

Artist Totem in front of his White-Tailed Hawk mural.

Audubon art of Evening Grosbeak and Black-headed Grosbeak by artist Ouizi.

One of the highlights of the run was meeting local street artist Totem, who created the colorful Welcome to Washington Heights White-Tailed Hawk piece at 562 W 164th Street for the Audubon Mural Project. Totem, who grew up in Washington Heights, is not only a talented graffiti artist but also a health care hero, as he works at New York-Presbyterian Hospital as a member of the Blood Marrow Transplant team.

Totem was happy to take some photos and talk about his mural. The White-Tailed Hawk can currently be found in Texas year-round, but if global temperature increases continue at the current pace of 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, the White-Tailed Hawk will be pushed out of the state during the summer. Limiting global warming to rising 1.5 degrees Celcius would cut that loss in half and retain the hawk’s U.S. breeding ground.

Jennifer Bogo from the National Audubon Society met us at some of the large-scale Audubon art pieces on the run and explained more about the murals and bird species threatened by climate change. One of the walls, painted by Detroit artist Ouizi, offers a beautiful, realistic depiction of the Evening Grosbeak and Black-headed Grosbeak. Audubon’s climate models predict that both birds will lose habitat as forests are damaged by rising temperatures.

One of my favorite bird murals on the Audubon Art Run for the Birds was the Canada Goose mural by artist Snoeman located at 3868 Broadway. Snoeman is an NYC-based artist with strong roots in graffiti art, and his Canada Goose mural pays tribute to graffiti and hip-hop style. The Canada Goose is currently well-known and a common bird species but at the current pace of climate change, the bird will lose 25 percent of its summer breeding ground, pushing it out of most of the U.S. Snoeman’s mural also alludes to the problems the Canada Goose faces from the down industry, with the Goose Gets Down reference.

The event was a great success and we are working with the National Audubon Society to plan future Audubon Art Runs for the Birds as new murals are created in the project. After a rocky year for events, I am very happy we could partner with such a great organization working to combat climate change and raise awareness for members of our planet who do not have a voice.
In addition to our Art Run for Chinatown, this was a great fundraising event we were able to do in a year with few events. Thank you to everyone who came and you can learn more about the Audubon Mural Project, as well as donate to help fund more murals here.

Canada Goose mural by NYC street artist Snoeman for the Audubon Mural Project.

Resources: Audubon Mural Project, Help Fund Audubon Murals

Marnie Kunz is a NASM-certified personal trainer, USATF and RRCA-certified running coach, and the creator of Runstreet Art Runs, which bring together communities through running and street art. She is a Brooklyn resident, trainer, Akita mom, and writer. She enjoys running coaching, traveling, art, and eating messily. You can follow her running and events at @Runstreet Instagram and Runstreet Facebook and follow her on Twitter for more on her running adventures.