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Environmental Artist Visits New Mexico

  Prominent environmental artist and writer, Louise Phillips, will be visiting New Mexico from Washington, D.C. to inspire children to conserve nature through art.  Ms. Phillips has donated 3 paintings to commemorate her support of U.S. Forest Service efforts in New Mexico to take more kids to the woods. Her paintings celebrate the beauty of the Rio Grande Bosque, the Gila National Forest and the Lincoln National Forest.

On Sept. 22, 2014, Ms. Phillips visited Coronado Elementary School in downtown Albuquerque, where one of donated paintings was installed in the school library. An ongoing partnership with the National Hispanic Cultural Center, the U.S. Forest Service and Coronado Elementary School provides opportunities for students to visit and learn about the bosque.

On Sept. 23, Ms. Phillips will travel to Silver City to lead an art and nature activity for children and families at the Bayard Public Library with support from the Gila National Forest and the Gila Conservation Education Center.

On Sept 25, Ms. Phillips will travel to Ruidoso to view Smokey's Garden. The Smokey Bear Ranger District in Ruidoso, NM, in partnership with the NM Alliance for Children, has planted and tends Smokey’s Garden.  The Lincoln National Forest works with other agencies and organizations in southern NM to get more children outside learning about and enjoying their natural resources through the “Take It Outside, NM!” partnership. A dedication for Phillips’ painting celebrating the Lincoln National Forest will be held at the Billy the Kid Scenic Byway Visitor Center in Ruidoso Downs, NM. 

Phillips’ career has been dedicated to inspiring children to conserve nature through art. In addition to her artistic career, she has written several nature based children’s books and plays, combining performing and visual arts. An educator by profession, with emphasis in elementary and early childhood education, Phillips combines her artistic and educational background to advocate for national forest lands and the arts.

Over the years, she has been involved with the creation of several children’s gardens, including one at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Her works are on display at several USDA Forest Service buildings throughout the country. For more information about Louise Phillips, visit her web site at http://www.louisephillips.net/index.html

Information from Lincoln National Forest