Posted: April 3, 2023
Youth Water Leaders celebrate the American eel through recycled art
Youth Water Leaders Claudia and Erika Avellaneda have co-created a sculpture to showcase one of the Ottawa River’s endangered species.
During the last few weeks, while American eels have been hibernating at the bottom of the Ottawa River, two Youth Water Leaders have been hard at work on an art installation to raise awareness of this endangered species.
Claudia and Erika are role models for siblings and water protectors alike. Both creative in their own right, they collaborated on a special art installation for their service project with the Youth Water Leaders Program: a four-foot-long sculpture made of recycled materials. Their sculpture depicts an American eel in the “yellow eel” stage of its development, in which it lives most of its life.
“We decided to create and showcase The American eel due to its significance within the Ottawa River watershed. We made something that is mostly from materials found in our recycling bin: old cans, yogurt cups, drinking cups, etc. From there we used paper mache to cover and keep all the recycled containers together. We then went and painted over the paper mache to match what the eel would look like in real life. The eel is mostly realistic to what would be seen in the water, but with the exception of it being slightly larger than The American eel. Overall, we wanted to present something that kept the idea of helping our environment by reusing materials, but that would also be used for an educational purpose.”
– Claudia and Erika Avellaneda
American eels, called “pimisi” in Algonquin Anishinaabemowin, were once abundant in the Ottawa River, but have seen their population in the area decrease by 99% during the last century. Now listed as at-risk in Ontario, this unique species has both a tremendous ecological and cultural value, but remains threatened by human activities. Hydroelectric dams are a significant barrier to eels’ migration, and the greatest contributor to their decline.
Ottawa Riverkeeper has been helping American eels by campaigning for the installation of an eel ladder at the Carillon Dam, the first and largest obstacle to eel migration on the Ottawa River. You can show your support for the project by completing this form.
The Youth Water Leaders Program is funded by the Canada Service Corps, a national movement that empowers youth aged 15–30 to gain experience and build important skills while giving back to their community.
Learn more at Canada.ca/CanadaServiceCorps.
Amazing work, Claudia & Erika! I enjoyed introducing the eel sculpture to its new home at River House while wearing my eel hoodie (see previous YWLP blog post about silk screening!). Also, I do believe the eel (she/her) is looking for a name?? We’re open to suggestions.