Sinnissippi Audubon partnered with the Rockford Area Arts Council for the summer art program SPARK! Mosaic during the summer of 2025. The three-part mosaic project is part the Audubon Mural Project, which highlights birds threatened by climate change. Over the course of two weeks, 29 young artists worked together under the guidance of lead artist Susan Burton to bring the bird mosaics to life! The installations are located at STEAM Academy at Haskell, Nature at the Confluence, and at the corner of Elm St. and S. Wyman in Rockford, Illinois.
Sinnissippi Audubon was awarded an Audubon in Action grant by National Audubon in the amount of $10,000 to help fund this project.
SPARK! Is the Rockford Area Arts Council’s summer art program that provides an intensive, hands-on, skill-building, apprenticeship program to youths who demonstrate an interest in the arts. Youth have the unique opportunity to work closely with local artists in a variety of mediums. The primary focus of SPARK! Is community building and positive social connection through the arts. SPARK! projects focus on the development of public art for the experience of the youth and the enjoyment of the Rockford Region.
STEAM Academy at Haskell: At the Haskell location, a gallery of 29 species of birds threatened by climate change can be found. Click the bird species below to learn more about each bird.
2. Wood Duck – Narrated by student artist:
6. Rough-legged Hawk – Narrated by student artist:
7. Northern Flicker – Narrated by student artist:
8. Sora
10. American Goldfinch – Narrated by student artist:
11. Saw-whet Owl
12. Field Sparrow
13. Trumpeter Swan
15. Northern Shrike – Narrated by student artist:
16. Fox Sparrow
17. Acadian Flycatcher – Narrated by student artist:
18. Cerulean Warbler
19. Northern Harrier
21. Prairie Warbler
22. American Robin
23. Common Loon
24. Indigo Bunting
26. Scarlet Tanager
27. Nothern Parula
Nature at The Confluence: Meet Woodrow the Woodpecker, a nine-foot-tall mosaic sculpture! Woodrow’s creation is the perfect example of what happens when art, nature, and community collaboration come together. Built using the innovative Polydam sculptural technique, the form was first carved from Styrofoam, then coated with fiberglass mesh and custom cement formulas to create a strong, weather-resistant surface. Once the structure was complete, the real magic began. “Woodrow the Woodpecker is more than a sculpture,” Burton says. “He’s a symbol of creativity, teamwork, and the beauty of nature — all things that Sinissippi Audubon helps inspire.”
Elm St. and S. Wyman in Rockford, Illinois:
