BURNABY, British Columbia—Following the course of nature is something artist and entrepreneur Todd Polich espouses as he works to raise awareness about the environment and the world’s endangered species.
Founder of Earthfoundation.ca and painter of murals, Mr. Polich’s approach is a passionate and positive one. His non-profit organization reflects what he believes in—conservation and responsible environmental practices.
Earth Foundation encourages awareness through life-sized public arts projects depicting endangered species in their natural habitats. This also helps connect urban communities with the surrounding environment.
“The project is all about positive energy and positive motivation and positive movement.” Mr. Polich says.
“The art that I paint is not showing the decimation of forests…. It’s showing the natural beauty of our habitats and our wildlife, and it’s showing it in a positive way.”
In June, Earth Foundation paired up with a number of sponsors including the Kingsway Imperial Neighbourhood Association (KINA) and the City of Burnaby, who worked together to bring Mr. Polich’s “Spirit Bear” mural to a two-storey wall on the Coldwell Banker building on Kingsway.
It took Mr. Polich three weeks to complete the mural depicting three golden Kermode bears in a forest. And while graffiti is a big problem in the area, the mural has remained untouched, as have the two others Mr. Polich painted.
“There’s a level of appreciation when people come up and see it, and so [graffiti vandals] keep away from it. To date we’ve painted three murals and none of them have been hit by graffiti.”
In an effort to improve the area and deter crime, KINA aims to commission a series of murals on buildings along Kingsway. The thinking goes that if an area looks cared for and cherished, criminal activity and vandalism will decrease.
This is based on the “broken windows theory,” a term coined by researchers in New York City who found that criminal activity tends to be more prevalent in areas that have a lot of litter or graffiti.
Mr. Polich says people have suggested that, as well as depicting nature’s beauty, he also “paint something about pine beetle devastation” and other problems besetting Canada’s forests.
“But that’s the wrong mentality. We want to show what nature is in its beauty and we want to show the potential of nature,” he says.
“Our philosophy behind it is that when people [and] graffiti artists see this, they’ll feel the positive nature of it and they’ll realize that it’s not a commercial project, it’s not a government project, it’s not a project about protest—it’s a project about positive energy and positive change.”
While continuing to paint murals, Mr. Polich says he’s considering a few options for the future—he may partner with some other environmental groups or begin fundraising to help conserve rainforests and wetlands.
“I don’t know exactly where this is going to go, and that is kind of the interesting thing about it—it has direction and seems to be following its own course and I don’t want to interfere with that.”
Founder of Earthfoundation.ca and painter of murals, Mr. Polich’s approach is a passionate and positive one. His non-profit organization reflects what he believes in—conservation and responsible environmental practices.
Earth Foundation encourages awareness through life-sized public arts projects depicting endangered species in their natural habitats. This also helps connect urban communities with the surrounding environment.
“The project is all about positive energy and positive motivation and positive movement.” Mr. Polich says.
“The art that I paint is not showing the decimation of forests…. It’s showing the natural beauty of our habitats and our wildlife, and it’s showing it in a positive way.”
In June, Earth Foundation paired up with a number of sponsors including the Kingsway Imperial Neighbourhood Association (KINA) and the City of Burnaby, who worked together to bring Mr. Polich’s “Spirit Bear” mural to a two-storey wall on the Coldwell Banker building on Kingsway.
It took Mr. Polich three weeks to complete the mural depicting three golden Kermode bears in a forest. And while graffiti is a big problem in the area, the mural has remained untouched, as have the two others Mr. Polich painted.
“There’s a level of appreciation when people come up and see it, and so [graffiti vandals] keep away from it. To date we’ve painted three murals and none of them have been hit by graffiti.”
In an effort to improve the area and deter crime, KINA aims to commission a series of murals on buildings along Kingsway. The thinking goes that if an area looks cared for and cherished, criminal activity and vandalism will decrease.
This is based on the “broken windows theory,” a term coined by researchers in New York City who found that criminal activity tends to be more prevalent in areas that have a lot of litter or graffiti.
Mr. Polich says people have suggested that, as well as depicting nature’s beauty, he also “paint something about pine beetle devastation” and other problems besetting Canada’s forests.
“But that’s the wrong mentality. We want to show what nature is in its beauty and we want to show the potential of nature,” he says.
“Our philosophy behind it is that when people [and] graffiti artists see this, they’ll feel the positive nature of it and they’ll realize that it’s not a commercial project, it’s not a government project, it’s not a project about protest—it’s a project about positive energy and positive change.”
While continuing to paint murals, Mr. Polich says he’s considering a few options for the future—he may partner with some other environmental groups or begin fundraising to help conserve rainforests and wetlands.
“I don’t know exactly where this is going to go, and that is kind of the interesting thing about it—it has direction and seems to be following its own course and I don’t want to interfere with that.”
