This month we are choosing to feature one specific conservation project by AFC Signature Member, Chris Navarro.
This unique art installation entitled "Windborne" began with something most people would rather not see, - discarded wind turbine blades.
Chris describes the project:
"When I saw these enormous wind turbine blades being buried at my hometown’s landfill, I didn't see waste. I saw possibility. I saw something that had reached the end of one life waiting for another.
That idea led me to the Wyoming mustang—and eventually to the people whose lives became part of this project through the Wyoming Rescue Mission. The American mustang represents something deeply rooted in our identity as a nation: freedom, resilience, endurance, and the determination to survive. These horses live in some of the harshest landscapes in America. They endure drought, winter, heat, scarcity, and uncertainty. Yet they continue to move forward.
The discarded wind turbine blades tell another story. They were created to harness the power of the wind but eventually reached the end of their intended purpose.
Wall of Renewal is the physical foundation of this idea. Created from 12 reclaimed vintage wind turbine blade sections, the environmental sculpture stretches 120 feet long and 8 feet high. The blade sections are arranged in a straight row, angled to the prevailing wind with intentional spaces between them. Their powerful vertical forms create a contemporary abstract sculpture while also serving a practical purpose as a functional snow fence.
Installed at the entrance to the Wyoming Rescue Mission Recovery Ranch on Esterbrook Road near Douglas, Wyoming, Wall of Renewal protects the ranch from wind and drifting snow. But its purpose goes far beyond function. The sculpture transforms industrial remnants into architecture, art, and a symbol of renewal.
The construction of Wall of Renewal was also helped by residents of the Wyoming Rescue Mission—people who have faced homelessness, unemployment, addiction, and difficult circumstances and are now working to rebuild their lives and find new purpose.
That connection is important to me. The blades, the mustangs, and the people are not the same story. But they share a common thread: resilience, transformation, and the possibility of a new beginning. The blades represent renewal. The mustangs represent freedom and perseverance. The people represent human dignity, courage, and the ability to move forward.
The Windborne Wyoming Mustangs mural transforms 120 feet of reclaimed turbine blades into a moving herd of forty Wyoming Mustangs. The blades that once captured the wind now carry the image of horses running across the Wyoming landscape.
Together, Wall of Renewal and the Windborne Wyoming Mustangs mural create something larger than either could accomplish alone. The sculpture protects the ranch from the wind, while the mustangs appear to run with that same wind. What was once designed to capture the wind has been transformed into a monument to the spirit that moves through Wyoming. The American flag rising above the herd represents freedom, sacrifice, determination, and hope—ideals that continue to shape our country.
The horses are moving forward. The blades have been given a new purpose. And the people who helped create Windborne are moving forward too. That is the heart of Windborne. It is not a story about what has been discarded. It is a story about what can be renewed. We all encounter moments when we feel broken, overlooked, or uncertain about what comes next. Windborne reminds us that the end of one chapter does not have to be the end of the story. Sometimes, with vision, hard work, and opportunity, something can become more meaningful than it was before. The wind gave these blades their first purpose. The mustangs give them their spirit. And the people who helped create Windborne give the project its human heart.
Windborne is a celebration of resilience, dignity, freedom, and second chances—and a reminder that every life, every horse, and every piece of material have the potential for a new purpose." - Chris Navarro
