Volunteering for Mudhif Building signup sheet

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WHEN & WHERE
May 31 - June 12, 2021
Join us to build an Iraqi guesthouse, a Mudhif at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education.
Located at 8480 Hagy's Mill Road, Philadelphia, PA 19128.

BRING
- Bring your gloves, tick protection, and mask (required for participation). We have the building equipment and sanitizer.
- Bring your own water bottle and lunch. We’ll provide water and snacks.
- Indicated activities can also be done in a sitting arrangement and with the whole family.
- Join us for the kick-off and on the weekend with your family. Kids are welcome!

QUESTIONS
Contact the Environmental Art Team at volunteer@schuylkillcenter.org with any questions.

ABOUT THE PROJECT
We will construct the mudhif with Seattle-based environmental artist and urban planner Sarah Kavage and Philadelphia-based designer Yaroub Al Obaidi. Entirely made out of the invasive wetland reed phragmites, the sculpture is one of the first of such structures in the United States, offering a welcoming space for intercultural encounter and hospitality.
Mudhifs date back 5000 years ago to the Sumerian civilization of southern Mesopotamia. They are one of the oldest known monumental building types designed with nature at its heart and used for town gatherings and ceremonies. The art installation will shed light onto our complex relationship to invasive species today and gives an opportunity to think through the ecology of ‘non-native’ and ‘displaced’ plants as a metaphor for concepts of invasion, migration, displacement, healing, and belonging.