This was a year-long public art project in which over two thousand papier mâché replicas of these now-extinct indigenous birds were made by Toronto Lakeshore elementary school children at in-school, artist-led workshops. Hundreds of their birds were displayed at twenty-two public locations. Students also helped to research and create a permanent bird housing and feeding station for their community. The project culminated on Canada Day, July 1, 2000 with a parade of the children and their papier mâché creations along Lakeshore Blvd., led by a bagpiper from the Toronto Police Department.

The Flight of the Passenger Pigeons was the first instance of this community's participating to such a degree in the execution of a public art project. Everyone who took part learned not only about the extinction of a once vital native bird species (after which the local former town of Mimico was named), but also about the birds that continue to inhabit the area, and about that area's history.

A colour journal documenting the project is available at all Lakeshore libraries, and can also be purchased from the Waterfront Trail Artists for $5.00. Please email us if you'd like one.

Illustration of
passenger pigeon
by Eric Field