Christmount has been integrating educational murals onto the bathhouse at the camp in preparation for their Summer camp program! Different sides feature local wildlife and fauna for campers to learn about. The artists are Laura McNeel and Elizabeth Hatchett at Betty Hatchett Designs. It was finished up with volunteers’ help! To support Christmount’s ongoing efforts to educate and care for others, you can make donations, sponsor a camper, or volunteer to help with projects, like this mural.

This mural is of the Northern Saw-whet Owl, which is native to North America. They are some of the smallest owls and their size makes them easy prey for larger birds and animals. An isolated community of these owls in the Appalachian mountains is now declining due to the destruction of their habitat. The Northern Saw-whet Owl is now listed as a threatened species because of logging, developments, and pollution that harm our natural forests. These owls like thickets and dense forests, but if forests are being cleared, even if not entirely, it rids them of the thickets that provide this owl with safety and shelter. There is also a chipmunk as well as some native fauna in this photo including Trillium, Lady Slippers, and Rattlesnake Orchid.