By GINNY COOPER / Staff Writer

MONTEVALLO—Elementary, high school and university students are working together to paint a colorful mural on the side of the Subway building, facing McDonald’s, in downtown Montevallo.

“It’s very fun,” Grayson Fulmer, a student attending the camp, said. “My favorite part is getting to paint, because art is my favorite thing.”

“My art teacher told me about it (the camp), and I got really excited because I love painting,” said Jaxon Butterworth, a student participating in the camp.

The colorful mural begins at the sidewalk and when it is finished “the whole wall will be covered,” according to Montevallo Mayor Hollie Cost, who also serves as coordinator for the Office of Service Learning at the University of Montevallo.

The University of Montevallo Office of Service Learning and Community Engagement is sponsoring the camp, which is funded by a grant CAWACO Resource Conservation and Development Council Inc. As part of the grant, students take a field trip each day where they learn about environmental protection and preservation.

So far, students have visited a variety of environmentally friendly sites around Montevallo including Ebenezer Swamp, the forest garden, the library rain garden, the Mahler property and Seed to Table.

In addition, the mural will have a “natural theme” with eight illustrations of plants and animals indigenous to Alabama, according to Lauren Davis, a university student and camp counselor.

The project is beneficial to both the kids and the town, Cost explained.

“There was a lot of opportunity for improvement there (on the building). We are working with the property owner to make it a beautiful space,” Cost said.