Wisconsin Landscapes

(A Collaborative Community based Pedagogical Art and Science Fusion Project- 8,15,22 April,2023 at Arboretum, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)

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“Wisconsin Landscapes” was a workshop series that blended science and art into a collaborative community-based educational program. Designed and led by Anna Gregory and Myself, these programs were a collaboration between the Marie Christine Kohler Fellows (Kohler Fellows @ WID) and the UW-Madison Arboretum. By collaborating with the Arboretum, Anna and I were able to engage with the Madison community in a space that highlights the intersection of nature, science, and art. These programs consisted of an educational nature hike and creating an art piece to understand the beauty of Wisconsin landscapes and how ecosystems function through reciprocal relationships between water, flora, and insect. “Wisconsin Landscapes” was a workshop series that blended science and art into a community-based educational program. Collective participation through an educational nature hike followed by the production of a visual art piece, created a vibrant social environment that encouraged active engagement to learn how ecosystems function through reciprocal relationships to shape our Wisconsin landscapes. Thirty-nine individuals attended this workshop series with intergenerational participation. Individuals who attended expressed excitement about having an art-science fusion program at the Arboretum, and a desire for more interdisciplinary spaces in community educational programming. During the program, participants articulated that they learned about the importance of prairie root systems, that anyone can generate a meaningful art piece, about how different artists are inspired by nature, and that scientific concepts and artistic concepts build upon one another in analogous ways. Wisconsin Landscapes” was a community-based education program developed in collaboration with the Arboretum. It is Anna and My hope that by sharing this program and the art generated by the participants in this booklet, people will develop a greater empathy for Wisconsin landscapes through the realization of deeper connection within and with nature.

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Program Details

In April 2023, Anna and I led a program called “Wisconsin Landscapes: Art and Science Fusion Workshops” at the Arboretum. Hosted on three consecutive Saturdays from 1-3 PM, each workshop covered the same curriculum. Each workshop began with an hour-long nature hike in the Curtis Prairie (April 8 & 22) or WI Native Plant Garden (April 15) designed and led by Anna. In the second half of the program, I led the participants through a visual art practice to depict Wisconsin landscapes.

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