Invitation to Children's Nest Egg Closing/Transition Ceremony and Program

You are Invited to the Children's Nest Egg
Closing/Transition Ceremony and Program
Saturday, September 29th, 2018

1:30 - 3:00 pm (presentation at 2pm)
Location:
Picnic Shelter and Children's Nest Egg
Westwood Hills Nature Center
8300 W Franklin Ave,
St Louis Park, MN 55426

At the Event:

• Artifacts from Planning on Display
• Presentation of Project Stories
• Reading of Community Poetry 
• Transition Reflections and Ideas
• Closing Ceremony 
• Take-home Memento (limited number)

Ten years ago this fall (September 2008) the Children’s Nest Egg public art project was dedicated at Westwood Hills Nature Center.  Since then, countless children and visitors have entered the room-sized nest to explore, sit on the earth-egg, and read the poetry from the community engraved on the bench that expresses the “gifts of wild” that community members appreciate and want to leave as a legacy for the next generation. 

As you may know if you live in St. Louis Park, starting next year, a very tangible legacy is being planned for construction on the same site. A new nature center building for Westwood Hills will be a state-of-the-art green building  that improves public access to the natural environment and programming at Westwood Hills Nature Center, and models environmental leadership to future generations. This project necessitates the removal of Children’s Nest Egg, and there are no plans to relocate it at the Nature Center, due to limitations of space.  

In light of this transition,  and to honor and appreciate the contributions of the funding organizations, as well as provide space for a community farewell to the art work, I have been working with Mark Oestriech, Manager of Westwood Hills Nature Center, to plan a closing ceremony in September near the 10 year anniversary of the Children’s Nest Egg dedication.  This is a way of thanking those who invested in this project and to properly close a project in which so many expressed their heartfelt feelings for community and the environment. The closing program is scheduled for Saturday, September 29th, 2018 from 1:30-3 pm at Westwood Hills Nature Center.

I hope to be able to talk with you about your own Children's Nest Egg memories and stories, as well as ideas underway for the transition of Children’s Nest Egg - physically as well as its story. However the documentation and next steps for the sculpture unfold, the replacement of Children’s Nest Egg with a building that is a testament to the community’s environmental commitment is a meaningful turning point in the history of this special place. 

Hope to see you at the event!
-Jonee