June 14 @ SAT : Workshop 4 :Field Trip! What can nature teach us?

Duration: 3 hours

Time: 10am - 1pm

Location: SAT

Facilitators: Priyanka, Sahil, Anam, Laura, Miley, Lizzie, Jess

Attendance Sheet

“The land is the real teacher. All we need as students is mindfulness.”
― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

- rivers, forests, animals, weather, and land can all be part of social life,
- people are connected to environments,
- and places are shaped by relationships, not just buildings.
- Invoke understanding of urban ecology - understanding cities as living environments where humans, nature, infrastructure, and social life are all connected.
- noting where human made and nature made systems collide. How can these entanglements between nature and culture (human made) be supported as part of a dynamic system?
- noticing the interconnections between the man made ‘built environment and different approaches to integrating nature and other species.
Field trip orientation TBD
- Custom pages added to their journal (Sketch prompts to notice the dependencies between humans and nature)
- Sketch material: pens, pencils, paper for texture rubbings, crayons with paper removed
- Plenty of water, sunscreen, hats, snacks

Intro before the trip:

Field trip!

1. Wasit Wetland Nature Park (Nature)

Goal: To observe a managed natural environment as a multi-species commons. Inspired by Joyce Hwang and Joris De Raedt, students sketch non-human inhabitants in relation to built infrastructure — boardwalks, platforms, planted reed beds — asking who shares designed spaces and how the design was intended to be a habitat for all.

Activity: Pick a small part of the wetland and sketch the built environment and all the species you can find.

Insp / references: Over 100 species in a home + Wasit Wetland illustrations by Joris De Raedt (on colored cards to make their work look amazing)