WEST LEBANON — If you’re walking near the Kilton Public Library this week, be sure to look up.
Up into the trees that is. That’s where you’ll see brightly painted birdhouses created by community members as part of the West Lebanon Birdhouse Project. As of Sunday, there were eight birdhouses waiting for winged occupants in trees around the library in downtown West Lebanon. Dozens more are expected to join them in the coming months as part of a public art project spearheaded by Kim Wenger Hall and Chet Clem, with support from the AVA Gallery and Art Center.
“We expect more birdhouses will trickle in,” Wenger Hall, an artist and yoga intructor who lives in West Lebanon, said. “The idea is just to start something that people can participate in and add to.”
The group that met at River Park Sunday morning at 8 a.m. was small but enthusiastic. Among them were Lauren Farrar and Sol Pitarque, who are neighbors in West Lebanon. They are part of a group of people who work on craft projects together and have spouses attending Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business “We do a lot of craft stuff together,” said Farrar, who heard about the project on Facebook.
Farrar’s birdhouse had a checkered roof and Pitarque’s was painted a bright pink.
“I’m excited to see it in the city,” Pitarque said.
The kits cost $10 each, which covered the supplies. More than 100 people signed up to participate. AVA Gallery helped fund scholarships. Participants could either bring their completed birdhouses to River Park along Route 10 Sunday morning or hang them up on their own. Participants also received a bag of wildflower seeds to add additional color.
“It’s sort of an unintentional scavenger hunt,” Clem said. “The best thing this has accomplished so far has been connecting people.”
Wenger Hall connected with Clem after he contacted her regarding a mural project he was considering for his Lyme Properties office in West Lebanon. The two quickly started talking about ways to beautify West Lebanon with public art.
“West Lebanon needs color. It needs foot traffic,” Wenger Hall said. “It needs art.”
The birdhouse project — which Clem described as “a bright splash of spring” — is part of a collection of initiatives to revitalize and spruce up downtown West Lebanon. This past holiday season, Devon Blanchard put up a light display at the Kilton Library. Another that has been in the works for years is the expansion of the Mascoma River Greenway.
“The mindset of this was honestly we don’t need to wait,” Clem said. “You just start and hopefully that builds momentum and more creativity.”
Editor’s note: For more information about the West Lebanon Birdhouse Project, visit westleb.org/birdhouse or email Wenger Hall for a kit at kim@wengerarts.com. Liz Sauchelli can be reached at esauchelli@vnews.com or 603-727-3221.
