Date of Completion

2024

Document Type

Honors College Thesis

Department

Plant Biology/Art

Thesis Type

Honors College

First Advisor

Steve Budington

Second Advisor

Laura Hill

Third Advisor

Stewart Copeland

Keywords

Plant Biology, Wetland Ecology, Bogs, Art, Painting, Art and Ecology

Abstract

How scientific insights and conclusions are communicated to broad audiences is an important consideration. Sharing knowledge about ecosystems and places can help to create greater connection between the human and non-human world. Creative and approachable means of scientific communication can create interest, build curiosity and connection, and encourage further questioning among audience members. This project uses artmaking as a means of ecological storytelling. Information, centered around plant species, and their patterns of distribution, adaptive life strategies, and connections to environmental conditions in bog ecosystems, was established as a background. Attaching ideas from scientific literature to a specific place, the Colchester Bog, helped to contextualize ecological themes and form experiential connections. Regular visits to this place allowed for observational practice. Learning from a specific place allowed for questioning that was guided by curiosity and holistic interactions. To track ideas, and translate processes that were observed at the Colchester Bog into a visual form, tools within drawing and painting were used. Hopefully, sharing this body of work can help to create greater awareness of the function and importance of bog ecosystems, as well as explore human relationships to local ecologies.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.

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