Cross Pollinate
Cross Pollinate
- Creator: Rachel Hays
- Date: 2019
- Location: 2nd St & W Front St, SE Corner
- Types: murals (any medium), reproductions (derivative objects), utility box wraps
- Materials: ink, vinyl
- Collection: Traffic Box Wraps
My family is sixth generation Idahoan, but as a kid I grew up moving all over the country. When we first moved to Idaho, I was struck first by how beautiful it was here, and then by how much pride people had in being "native Idahoans." Now the Treasure Valley is growing more rapidly than ever. Some locals worry about the negative effects an influx of new people will bring. I've been thinking about all the possible outcomes of new communities and new perspectives. Idaho's culture has been rooted in respect and appreciation for the natural world around us. I keep coming back to cross pollination in nature and how much we depend on it. Pollinators bring new life and inadvertently create nourishment and beauty wherever they go, just by their presence in an environment. Some of the pollinators that we depend on to keep our native plants alive migrate hundreds of miles each year. They are just as much a part of our ecosystem as native fauna that stay close to home. Idaho's state motto "Esto Perpetua" can be read in two very different ways: "Let it be perpetual; never ending, never changing" or "Let it be perpetual: occurring so frequently as to seem uninterrupted." The only real constant is change and I think that we'll see more positive outcomes from cross pollination than we can anticipate. Support pollinators! Both in your garden and in your community.
