In the spring semester of 2015, the Art and Design Living Learning Communities (LLCs) collaborated on a work of public art addressing issues of environmentalism and waste. The students, in coordination with CCBLLR, formed a relationship with the Urban Ecology Center (Riverside Park) by engaging in volunteer activities throughout the semester. On March 23rd, the 30 LLC students worked together to pick up garbage found along the Milwaukee River in Riverside Park. The results of this effort not only left the park cleaner than before, but also served as raw material to be upcycled into a collaborative artwork. With the guidance of professors Leah Schreiber Johnson and Ray Chi, along with guest artist Melanie Ariens, the students conceived, constructed and installed a monumental public sculpture in Spaights Plaza on UWM’s campus. Once a passerby was drawn-in by the unusual spectacle and scale of the artwork, they were invited to read hanging information cards that offered startling facts about household waste, as well as ways to become involved at the Urban Ecology Center. The photos below show both the final product and the process.