East High teacher Ryan Koning highlights student-led mural to beautify Des Moines trail

Ryan Koning, a teacher at East High School, said students are creating a grant-funded mural along a Des Moines trail in partnership with the Youth Advisory Board.

"We had this opportunity with a grant to do a mural," Koning said, adding that East High students "collaborated to create this design." He described the project as a community effort intended to "beautify parts of Des Moines that aren't given so much love compared to others."

Koning told the meeting the wall where the mural is being painted had experienced tagging and that public art can help reduce vandalism. "I've also been told that there are a lot of tags that have taken place on this wall, and murals are one of the best ways to combat that," he said.

He described the hands-on role students played in developing the mural: "My students collaborated to create this design. We took a bunch of their sketches and put it together to create a cohesive design." Koning said many students see the mural on their daily commute and that visible student contributions can encourage broader civic involvement. "...they can contribute to making our community better," he said.

Koning framed the project as both an arts and civic-engagement effort, saying he hopes it will "kickstart more of these events and kind of get more participation, too, when it comes to the board and civic engagement." The transcript does not specify the grant amount, the exact trail name or the formal venue where Koning spoke.

The remarks emphasize student collaboration, neighborhood beautification and an intent to use public art as a tool against tagging; Koning asked that the mural serve as a spark for future community projects.