If you visit the exercise area on the Santa Cruz Riverwalk near Gateway Plaza, you’ll notice something new. Ten brightly colored banners now showcase San Lorenzo River wildlife drawn by Santa Cruz youth. This project came to life under the guidance of Linda Cover, a CWC board member and resident artist at the Tannery Arts Center, with support from the Arts Council of Santa Cruz County and CWC.
Last September, Linda led two workshops at the Tannery’s River Studio 116 for kids to create their works of art. The majority of the 18 youth participants live near the San Lorenzo River, including at the Tannery itself. Using color photographs as a guide, the young artists first drew their chosen river animals in pencil, then darkened the outlines in pen, and finally colored in the drawings using watercolor pencils. Linda also encouraged the participants to draw their animal in the habitat where it lives.
The resulting 20 art pieces showcase a diversity of river animals, including birds like the snowy egret and belted kingfisher, mammals like the coyote and racoon, fish like steelhead trout and Pacific lamprey, insects like the monarch butterfly and dragonfly, and even a golden orb spider. The names of the species are listed on the banners in both English and Spanish. The original art pieces were displayed at the community art exhibit “Many Faces of the San Lorenzo River” at River Studios in April. After printing the artwork onto double-sided vinyl banners, CWC coordinated with the City of Santa Cruz to hang the banners near Gateway Plaza in June 2026.
This is CWC’s second recent installment of youth banners at the San Lorenzo River. You can check out the previous round of youth wildlife banners in San Lorenzo Park. CWC hopes these banners welcome visitors to the San Lorenzo River and spark their curiosity, encouraging them to learn more about the wildlife on display and the special river they call home.
