Birmingham artist Don Stewart has teamed up with an energetic group of middle school students, creating a new piece of art that will help restore part of the LaBranche Wetlands along the shores of Lake Ponchartrain.

The seventh- and eighth-graders of Harry Hurst Middle School in Destrehan are working to preserve and expand the wetlands in their area through activities integrated into the curriculum led by award-winning science teacher, Barry Guillot.

“Barry discovered my work hanging in the LaPlace McDonald’s restaurant and contacted me about doing something to promote the Wetland Watchers project,” Stewart said. Last April Guillot invited Stewart to visit the school and see the wetland restoration project firsthand. “The kids asked me to come up with an alligator picture made out of things native to the wetlands and to the New Orleans area to help raise awareness for the importance of Louisiana wetlands to the rest of the nation,” said Stewart. “They gave me a long list of items that they would like to see in the design, and I started working from their suggestions.” Composite refers to the artist’s characteristic drawing style, creating large pictures from a number of smaller images. The Gator Aid drawing includes over 100 items including a street car, po-boy, French Quarter balconies, local sports teams and a wide variety of fish, birds and other wildlife!

“Don Stewart has created a masterpiece with the Gator Aid drawing! Everybody that sees it is so excited because it is creative, it is beautiful, and it includes so many items that represent who we are and where we live. It has a little of everything for all people that love Louisiana, New Orleans, and the beautiful wetlands that we have here! Don has created a work of art that inspires pride for our local population reminding us of all the great things that we have here and will serve as a wonderful ambassador for Louisiana wetlands around the nation” said Hurst teacher Barry Guillot.

During the visit, some of the students wanted to know how Stewart creates his drawings, so he has been keeping them up to date on the project, sending sketches by e-mail to show them how the drawing is developing, step by step. Guillot created a web page detailing the progress of the drawing, from initial sketches to the finished composite at http://www.wetlandwatchers.org/?cat=23