DOWAGIAC —  Just as a birdhouse’s purpose is to help birds evolve successfully and safely, Dowagiac students experienced their own personal journeys of growth within their art and community class.

On Tuesday evening, Dowagiac Union High School students in Courtney Dywer’s art and the community class presented their colorful birdhouse projects at Art Found Gallery, 126 S. Front St., Dowagiac. The birdhouses will be on display at the gallery for the next few weeks and are available for purchase for $25. All proceeds collected will go toward the art program at Dowagiac Union High School for supplies and other art materials.

Designing the birdhouses was a collaborative project taught with project based learning, Dwyer said. Students split into groups, and were each assigned a different local bird species to research and specific elements of art they needed to include in their design.

Students were also tasked with creating an informational flyer about their assigned bird that described the bird’s conservation status, its diet, where it’s located, a description and the behavior of the bird.

Another aspect of the project was drafting an artist statement as a group. The artist statement was then presented by students at Art Found Gallery and used to explain their artistic decisions and share more information about their respective birds.

“It’s a scary thing for students to present publically,” Dwyer said. “Sometimes, I even get nervous when I am public speaking.”

The class, which is in its second year, had tweaks made to the birdhouse project this year, including the venue of the presentations. Last year, the students presented at the high school.

“This year, we reached out more to the community,” Dwyer said. “I contacted Stephen Roll, the gallery owner, and he was very nice to let us use this space to have our exhibition night.”

Giving students the opportunity to have their work displayed in a real art gallery was special, Dwyer said.

Proudly holding his “Swampy Daylight” themed birdhouse in his hands, Jacob Olszewski, a 10th grader at Dowagiac Union High School, said the project allowed him to learn more about his specific bird, the Setophaga dominica. The bird, known more commonly as a yellow-throated warbler, spends most of its life living in swampy areas.

His group, which was assigned the element of space, decided to create the illusion of depth on their birdhouse. The 3D elements involved designing and laying objects in the foreground, mid-ground and background, while also including a vanishing point.

“It was pretty fun,” Olszewski said. “I like that I got to work with my friends.”