Updated Feb. 28: This story has been updated to reflect a change in the due date for art submissions.

Roots and Shoots members are working to decorate plain utility boxes on street corners, all while promoting issues about climate change.

St. Louis Park community liaison Breanna Freedman said art in communities has a very positive feedback, which is why the St. Louis Park City Council has partnered with Roots and Shoots to promote environmental awareness with art.

“Utility box wraps have been used in cities nationwide to add artistic flare and to discourage graffiti in neighborhoods and communities,” Freedman said. “The purpose of the program in St. Louis Park is to further enhance neighborhood connectivity and to provide a way to incorporate more art in the community.”

According to senior Roots and Shoots member Nathan Kempf, Roots and Shoots is working with the City Council to host a school-wide art contest. Students can submit a piece of art answering the prompt ‘What would you not want to lose to climate change?’

Kempf said submissions can be a painting, drawing or photograph. Students can submit artwork to room B329 and art classrooms by March 8.

Kempf said there are some guidelines for the art submissions.

“It has to fit on a piece of printing paper, it can’t use any words, it needs to be colorful and it needs to be appropriate for school,” Kempf said.

Kempf said he hopes people submit meaningful art that will promote environmental awareness.

“I just hope we get some really good submissions and that the best one is really good and transmits our message in a beautiful way. People can understand the art when they see them,” Kempf said. “I’m hoping that when people see them, they’re going to see possibly the potential consequences of what could happen to our planet and its environment if we don’t act soon.”

New Roots and Shoots member freshman Isaac Wahl said he plans on submitting a piece of art for the contest.

“I plan to oil paint an eye and instead of the iris and pupil I’m going to put the world, like the eye is going to be the earth,” Wahl said.  “It kind of shows we are kind of our earth inside ourselves and we should take care of it.”

Kempf said Roots and Shoots is actively trying to get people to submit art for this contest.

“I know that some (Roots and Shoots) members are going to the art classes to talk to well known art people around the school… I know we already have some people who are planning on making art,” Kempf said.

Wahl said he believes students should draw inspiration from others.

“Don’t try to focus on yourself as much, really go into other people’s cultures and what they like, and you learn from other people and from there you find inspiration. Inspiration is your take on other people’s lives,” Wahl said.

Wahl said he got inspiration for his painting by looking at art from other artists.

“I follow a lot of artist (on social media) and I was planning on painting this anyways, I guess it just came at the right time,” Wahl said. “But I was following this artist and they did a painting of someone’s eye but instead of an Earth, they did a moon and I thought it was really pretty they did a space theme.”

Wahl said he believes the art can draw awareness to climate change by visually attracting the attention of the people to the electrical boxes.

“I think a lot of people don’t know what utility boxes are; I didn’t until a month ago. They look really gross without anything on them, but recently they’ve been getting art on them. I know they’ve caught my eye,” Wahl said. “When someone sees pretty art on something they realize what it’s on. It just creates an awareness with what the earth’s beauty could be, and still can be.”