Ecological Reflections at the Virginia Coast Reserve LTER

Every major university and college has a school or department of Arts and Sciences, yet there are rarely any tangible connections or significant communications between these two disciplines. Often viewed as unrelated or even conflicting both Art and Science begin with careful observations of the natural world and end with communicating discoveries made through these observations to the general public. 

Public schools, under increasing pressure to teach specific facts and materials listed in the state specified Standards of Learning, are cutting interdisciplinary programs and Art.  Concurrently, educational literature is replete with studies showing that linking the thought processes used in the creation and aesthetic appreciation of Art with the learning of fundamental scientific principles helps build more meaningful and memorable learning experiences.

Ecological Reflections at the VCR-LTER is designed to address these issues, forging a link between the place based science being conducted in the coastal ecosystems of VA with Art and nature appreciation.  Our first workshop, April 20-22 2012, introduced 11 VA Art teachers to the technique of Plein Aire painting and key concepts in saltmarsh ecology.  Public exhibits of the paintings produced and ecology essays written during the workshop are scheduled at the Barrier Islands Center (September 20-30) and the UVA Science and Engineering Library (October 26-November 3).  We recently received funding from a humanities endowment to conduct an Observational Drawing workshop scheduled for October 19-21 and a 2^nd Plein Aire workshop to be held in April 2013.  We hope that providing combined art and science training to public school Art Teachers will empower these teachers to provide more meaningful educational experiences for their students and also help educate the general public on environmental issues through exhibitions of workshop results.