MADISON HEIGHTS, MI – Left Shark, Baby Shark, Jaws… whatever you want to call them, she’s got them in her front yard – Three snow sharks which are turning heads in Madison Heights in Metro Detroit.
Jennifer Ramirez, a high school art teacher, says her sharks have been grabbing the attention of people driving by since she made them after last week’s snow storm. She says people see them, stop and take pictures and it happens all day long.
“It’s crazy,” Ramirez laughed when talking about this with MLive. “There’s so many people that have been stopping by and taking pictures and just absolutely going crazy about it.”
The sharks are in her front yard at the corner of Edward and E. Katherine Avenues. You can’t miss them, just look for the sharks which look like they’re coming out of the snow.
Ramirez says it took her around four to five hours to make the three sharks. She used the shoveled snow from her driveway to make the sharks. To color them, she used food coloring mixed with water in a spray bottle.
And this isn’t the first time Ramirez, who is also an artist, has done something like this.
“I did a fox and a little burrow. I did a koala when Australian fires were happening. I’ve done Pokemon, Angry Birds. I’m hoping for lots more snow. I’m thinking I need to make big rocks with seals or penguins or both.”
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.
