The Art of Nature

This weekend, students in “Landscape as Environmental Media” (Natural Resources & Environment 587) are creating art installations at Matthaei Botanical Gardens. The installations will be up through next week (10/8) at least. Some of the students on the teams worked as summer interns and caretakers at Matthaei Botanical Gardens & Nichols Arboretum. Posters and models explaining the work are on display in the west lobby at Matthaei. Don’t miss these fascinating---and ephemeral---studies that make use of our landscapes as a canvas for examining the elements of nature.

Group 1: Inside Out: Explores the idea of bringing indoor elements outdoors. Location: Willow Pond Island. Students: Dan Buckley, Emily Gehle, Sydney Johnson, Robert Primeau, and Nolan Sandberg.

Group 2: Leafy Paths: Inspired by the paths that leaves and seeds take as they fall to the surfaces of water. Concentric circles symbolize the ripples that leaves and seeds create when they touch the water. Location: Sam Graham Trees and Trail; bridge across Fleming Creek just north of the trail pavilion. Students: Chen Lu, Lumin Wang, Angela Cesere, and Peter Widin.

Group 3: Erosion Unraveled: Shows the history of erosion along the southern end of Fleming Creek that runs along Sam Graham Trees Trail. Location: Sam Graham Trees and Trail, near rock vanes in Fleming Creek. Students: Jenny Hebert, Oren Brandvain, Ying Li, and Robert Cabral.

Group 4: Embedded Life: Spheres painted in plant-inspired hues signify the plants and creatures that create the diversity of the meadow. Location: Sam Graham Trees and Trail overlook/council ring. Students: Sarah Brey, Li Chen, Sarah Clark, Chang Yan.

Group 5: Milkweed Pods: A tribute to the common milkweed, an iconic symbol of our native ecology. Location: Sam Graham Trees and Trail, just north of entrance drive. Students: Lizzy Baskerville, Amy Motzny, Sam Sikanas, and Lauren Yelen.