Ecology Hall of Fame: John Muir

by Kate Kaliner

When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the Universe.
-- My First Summer in the Sierra (John Muir, 1911)

John Muir was born in Dunbar Scotland on April 21st, 1838, before he and his family immigrated to the United States in 1849, where he became one of the earliest proponents for the preservation of our country’s wilderness. Muir saw man’s role as
playing a part of the larger whole of the natural world, not at its’ center, and he saw nature as a spiritual resource.
John Muir traveled across the world and the United States, including a thousand-mile walk from Indianapolis to the Gulf of Mexico. His writings on his adventures and philosophy have been published in 300 articles and 10 books, and inspire readers even today.
Muir was most struck by California's Sierra Nevada and Yosemite, where his geological and ecological theories on the region earned him widespread recognition. His voice and work led to the establishment of the U.S. National Park System, (including, during his lifetime, Yosemite, Sequoia, Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and other parks). In efforts to protect Yosemite National Park, Muir and his supporters founded the Sierra Club in 1892, of which Muir served as president for the rest of his life, and which remains our country’s leading grassroots organization for protecting wilderness and the environment.

When we contemplate the whole globe as one great dewdrop, striped and dotted with continents and islands, flying through space with other stars all singing and shining together as one, the whole universe appears as an infinite storm of beauty.
- Travels in Alaska by John Muir, 1915, chapter 1, page 5.

Sources

Hoagland, Edward. (2002). John muir's alaskan rhapsody. The American Scholar v. 71 no. 2 (Spring 2002) p. 101-5

Muir, John. (1911). My First Summer in the Sierra. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company

Sierra Club. (2006). John muir: A brief biography. Retrieved March 29, 2007 from John Muir Exhibit: Sierra Club Web site: http://www.sierraclub.org/john_muir
_exhibit/

Wood, Harold W., Jr. (2005). Earthkeeper hero: John muir. Retrieved March 29, 2007 from Earthkeeper Heros: My Hero Website: http://myhero.com/myhero/hero.asp?hero=
j_muir

Ecology Hall of Fame: Teddy Roosevelt

By Ginamarie Yacovelli

This Land Is Our Land: How Theodore Roosevelt Helped Make It That Way

One of the lasting legacies of the 26th President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, is the conservation effort he helped promote. He is credited with being the first president with the goals of environmental conservation. As he stated in his Seventh Annual Message on December 3, 1907, “To waste, to destroy our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed. (Theodore Roosevelt, seventh annual message, 3 December 1907)”
He was very resolute in his plans for the procurement of natural spaces that would be free from the hands of developers. Even prior to becoming President of the United States, Roosevelt was adamant about the positive role that environmental awareness played. In 1887, Roosevelt founded a club with George Grinnell, the founder of “Forest and Stream” magazine. The Boone and Crockett Club had the intent of protecting the interests of environmental issues. The club stepped in when it was made aware that mining and railroad companies were interested in Yellowstone National Park. At the time there were no rules for the protection of parks. “With editorials, speaking engagements, and furious lobbying among Washington's rich and powerful, the B & C succeeded. In 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed a bill protecting Yellowstone.”(PBS). Roosevelt would continue this type of protecting parks during his presidency. During his time in office, Roosevelt started the National Park Service with the intent of protecting the great expanses of nature so that Americans could enjoy them. “The forest reserves were renamed “National Forests” in token that their resources of all kinds, instead of being kept away from the people, were opened for use and made ever more and more accessible, as Roosevelt so fully and continuously advocated” (Lewis). The man was dedicated to seeing that the citizens of the United States would not be denied the protection of natural wonders like the Grand Canyon. He wanted to make sure that generations to come would have the same breathtaking scenes to marvel at and be inspired by. And he looked out for the people in other ways, too. “He pushed through the Pure Food and Meat Inspection laws of 1906, forcing Congress to acknowledge its responsibility as consumer protector” (Morriss, 1998). Theodore Roosevelt was a truly inspiring individual that was able to see with clarity the importance of environmental issues. Luckily for the citizens of the United States, we had Theodore Roosevelt looking out for our land.


References
Morriss, E (1998, 04 13). Leaders and revolutionaries. TIME Magazine

Lewis, W.D. (1919). The life of theodore roosevelt. John C. Winston Company

T.R.'s legacy - the environment. Retrieved April 1, 2007, from PBS.ORG Web site: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/tr/envir.html

Quotations about the environment. Retrieved April 1, 2007, from Quotegarden.com Web site: http://www.quotegarden.com/environment.html

Ecology Hall of Fame: Rachel Carson

Yadira Toledo
Soul of Eco-Art
Rachel Carson Hall Fame

"The more clearly we can focus our attention on
the wonders and realities of the universe about us,
the less taste we shall have for destruction."
-- Rachel Carson © 1954

Rachel Carson was born May 27,1907 and died in Silver Spring, Maryland on April 14,1964.

Her Background:
Rachel Carson, writer, scientist, and ecologist, grew up simply in the rural river town of Springdale, Pennsylvania. As a scientist she was very keen to her surroundings. Although she was a scientist she really believed that nature was a force beyond mans hands. In 1952 after her first book, Silent Spring, hit bestseller, she left the Fish and Wildlife organization where she held a high position being as though she was a women to pursue her writing.
Her Accomplishments:
She also wrote several articles designed to teach people about the wonder and beauty of the living world, including "Help Your Child to Wonder," (1956) and "Our Ever-Changing Shore" (1957), and planned another book on the ecology of life. Embedded within all of Carson's writing was the view that human beings were but one part of nature distinguished primarily by their power to alter it, in some cases irreversibly.

Her Motivation:
Disturbed by the profligate use of synthetic chemical pesticides after World War II, Carson reluctantly changed her focus in order to warn the public about the long-term effects of misusing pesticides. In Silent Spring (1962) she challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government, and called for a change in the way humankind viewed the natural world.
Looking into what she did and how strong of a writer she was in just astonishing. The one important thing I admired from her is that she is a woman who was single minded in her purpose. She worked hard to get what she wanted and didn’t care if she got in trouble. She wanted to warn people of all the chemicals and toxins that were surrounding them. She stopped at nothing and that’s the type of inspiration and influence I want to give when I become a teacher.

References:

1. Carson, Rachel (2002). Silent spring. Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company.
2. Weiss, D.(2002). Rachel Carson. Retrieved May 1, 2007 from http://www.ecotopia.org/ehof/carson/
3. Carson, Rachel. (1951) The sea around us. New York, Oxford University Press.
   

Ecology Hall of Fame: Terry Tempest Williams

By Christina Roberts

Terry Tempest Williams, born in 1955, is an American writer and environmentalist who focus is on the deserts of the American West. Besides being in the Ecology Hall of Fame, she is an accomplished author of several books (Pieces of White Shell, An Unspoken Hunger, Leap, Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert, and The Open Space of Democracy ). Williams writings, besides personal and educational, are reflective of current issues in our environment. Her passion to protect the desert and its wildlife is transcended to people who don’t necessarily think about the environment. Her article in Sports Illustrated relates to fans of wildlife, on the court and off. After reading some of her work, I have slowed myself down to appreciate and really look at the details as well as the big picture of the world around us. Williams writes of issues that would keep most conscientious people up at night. Without preservation of the earth and its inhabitants, our future is bleak. Williams brings hope and understanding to the health our future as well as the earth’s. Her essay, The Earth Stares Back, is accompanied with the aerial photography of Emmet Gowin. Without reading the essay, one would think some of the images are naturally evolved by time and weather. The erosion is not all natural and the wildlife is declining because of the drastic change in conditions (Gowin, 2002). Huge mining sites and test craters are scars in the Earth (Gowin, 2002). Together Williams and Gowin create a powerful message to encourage people to be responsible for their actions. Williams(2002) writes ”Emmet Gowin has made exposures of the Earth, a changed earth, an Earth we may not recognize because our eyes have been locked on the horizon. We live at eye level, which is its own conceit, a point of view that supports what we believe to be true- that the Earth is here simply to support us. We survey the land around us and dream of the ways it can serve us” (p.126).



Emmett Gowin, Copper Ore Tailing, Arizona 1988, split toned gelatin silver print


References:

Moonwater, R. (2007). www.coyoteclan.com. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.coyoteclan.com/index.html

Williams, T. (2002). The earth stares back. In Gowin, E. (Ed.), Changing the earth (pp. 125-131). New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press.

Williams, T. (2003). Big game, this naturalist's binoculars moved from deer to hawks to karl malone [Electronic version].Sports Illustrated, 10. Retrieved March 30,2007, from http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/magazine/features/si50/states/utah/essay/

Williams, T. (2004a).Ground truthing [Electronic version]. Orion Magazine, 4(2). Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.oriononline.org/pages/om/04-3om/TempestWilliams.html

Williams, T. (2004b) Engagement [Electronic version]. Orion Magazine, 4(3). Retrieved April 4, 2007, from http://www.oriononline.org/pages/om/04-4om/TempestWilliams.html

Ecology Hall of Fame: David Brower

By Jessica King

“I'd like to declare open season on developers. Not kill them, just tranquilize them” (ActivistCash.com, 2007). This is a quote used fairly often by David Brower. Other quotes, such as, “"Childbearing [should be] a punishable crime against society, unless the parents hold a government license... All potential parents [should be] required to use contraceptive chemicals, the government issuing antidotes to citizens chosen for childbearing" (ActivistCash.com, 2007) really made Brower’s position regarding humans in opposition to the environment appallingly clear. He was a passionate human being, who fought for the environment and against technology. His passion was translated into action, as he fought to preserve ecology both physically and verbally. In one of his lectures, Brower claimed that the U.S. has 6% of the world’s population, yet we use 60% of the world’s resources. Furthermore, only 1% of Americans use that 60% of resources. This information that he gathered came from a friend who figured it out in his head. Brower said he believed his friend because it felt true to him. It was said that Brower’s passion and devotion came from believing in things that you cannot necessarily see. Before he passed in 2000, he was nominated three times for the Nobel Peace Prize. He was involved in many environmental organizations, such as Sierra Club, which he was an active participant in from 1952-1969. In addition, he created many of his own organizations, including League of Conservation Voters, Friends of the Earth, and Earth Island Institute. Brower had a tremendous global impact, and was an environmental leader of his time. He helped fight for some of the most significant natural wonders of our world, including The Grand Canyon. And although Brower did encounter many setbacks during his lifetime, he never lost sight of what was important to him, which was to fight to keep the world ecosystem alive.

I really enjoyed researching David Brower and his work. Sometimes it is nice to be reminded that one person can really impact the world. His passion is what drove him to work hard and fight hard for what he believed in. David Brower was truly an inspiration to many, including me!

References:

Carmin, J., Balser, D. (2002). Selecting Repertoires of Action in Environmental Movement Organizations. Organization & Environment, 15(4), 365-388.

Newman, D. (2006). Sociology: Exploring the everyday architecture of life. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Weiss, Don. (2002). Ecology Hall of Fame: David Brower. Retrieved March 22, 2007 from http://www.ecotopia.org/ehof/brower/bio.html.

ActivistCash.com. (2007). David Brower: Biography. Retrieved March 22, 2007 from http://www.activistcash.com/biography.cfm.

Ecology Hall of Fame: Henry David Thoreau

By Jayme Miller

Henry David Thoreau was an American author, philosopher, and naturalist. He was born July 12, 1817 in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau graduated from Harvard College in 1837. He was an instrumental part of the Transcendentalist Movement., which was a search for reality through spiritual intuition. Thoreau is best known for his “Civil Disobedience” essay. He refused to pay the poll tax in protest over the United States invasion of Mexico. The result, he ended up spending a night in jail.

Thoreau is one of the most quoted authors. His writings appear in high school and college literature classes nationally, and even on shirts, mugs, and posters. His words have touched millions inspiring conversations and thought (The Thoreau Society 2006). Thoreau did not gain the fame he is acclaimed to during his lifetime, in fact he was not well known outside of his peers and friends. Thoreau mainstreamed the philosophy that humans are part of nature and humans function best individually and in society when they are aware of this reality (Weiss 2003).

Thoreau is considered to have earned his role in The Ecology Hall of Fame for the time he spent at Walden Pond. He moved to Walden Pond in 1845, a few years after his brother had passed away. Thoreau was in search of a quiet place to write a book about a canoe trip he and his brother had taken (Weiss 2003). Unbeknown to him, Walden Pond would influence the way he lives and his relationship with nature. Thoreau stated, “I seek acquaintance with nature, to know her moods and manners (Brower 29). Thoreau spent a great deal of time walking and thinking. He became lost in his thoughts and embraced all of the beauty around him. Thoreau studied the trees, plants, and seeds the forest bared. He read and kept journals of his days in the wilderness. Thoreau immersed himself in human experience and for that and his inspiring words we appreciate life more.

References

About Henry David Thoreau. (2006). The Thoreau Society. Concord, Massachusetts. Retrieved March 28, 2007 from http://thoreausociety.org/_news_abouthdt.htm

Bode, Carl. (1964). Thoreau. New York, NY: The Viking Inc.

Brower, David R. (1993/1994). Stop the Carnage. Earth Island Journal, 9(1), 29.

Weiss, Don. (2003). Ecology Hall of Fame Henry David Thoreau. Ecotopia. Retrieved March 28, 2007 from http://www.ecotopia.org/ehof/thoreau/bio.html

Ecology Hall of Fame: Aldo Leopold

By Nathan Reinhold

Aldo Leopold was an American ecologist, forester, environmentalist, and author. He was born January 11th, 1887 according to the Aldo Leopold Foundation. Leopold is credited with being the “father of wildlife management” (ALF, n.d.). He graduated from the Yale Forest School in 1909 and started a career in forestry, which eventually brought him to Baraboo, Wisconsin. It was at a nearby farm where he would write his famous book A Sand County Almanac. He went through a philosophical transformation during the time he lived on this farm that would shape his influential beliefs. He loved the natural world and he saw the protection and preservation of the environment as a philosophical dilemma.

In A Sand County Almanac, published in 1949, Leopold collected a series of essays on conservation, which “set the stage for the modern conservation movement” (ALF). “In 1935, Leopold bought an abandoned farm in the sand counties along the Wisconsin River near Baraboo” (Frese, 2003). There he would write his essays on his philosophies and his nature observations as he and his family brought the dilapidated farm back to health (Frese, 2003). It was through his observation of geese during this time that started to change his beliefs from an appreciation of nature through a somewhat arrogant consumption to identification with nature and responsible participation (McCoy, n.d.). He learned to identify with geese as social animals that grieve over family members killed by hunters (McCoy, n.d.). After hunting and killing a mother wolf, he watched her life leave her eyes as her cubs limped away. A turning point in his life, he now saw that hunting and other reckless human behavior “disrupts the flow of an entire system of life” (McCoy, n.d.). Humans are only one part of a great natural cycle of symbiotic influence and interdependence (McCoy, n.d.). The almanac contained his concept of the “land ethic.” According to Leopold the land ethic states, “the individual [person] is a member of an [ecological] community of interdependent parts” (Leopold, 1966).

On April 21, 1948 while fighting a brush fire on neighbor’s farm in order to protect his own home, Aldo Leopold died from a heart attack (ALF, n.d.). At the very beginning of the Foreword to A Sand County Almanac, he wrote that there are “some who can live without wild tings, and some who cannot” (Leopold, 1966). The reality of Leopold’s writings and of the environmental movements he inspired is that none of us can live without the “wild things” of an interdependent global ecosystem. More than half a century after his death, his legacy of environmental ethics is even more important.


References

Leopold, A. (1966). A sand county almanac. New York: Oxford University Press.

Frese, S. J. (November 2003). Aldo Leopold: An American prophet. The History Teacher (Long Beach, Calif.), 37(1), 99-118.

McCoy, A. (n.d.). The transformation of Aldo Leopold. Retrieved April 1, 2007, from the Yale University Website: http://pantheon.cis.yale.edu/~thomast/essays/amy/

The Aldo Leopold Foundation. (n.d.). Aldo Leopold. Retrieved March 30, 2007, from http://www.aldoleopold.org

Ecology Hall of Fame: Julia Butterfly Hill

By Emily Neubert

Julia Butterfly Hill was born February 18th, 1974, and grew up in Jonesboro, Arkansas as the daughter of a preacher. In her early 20's, she was in a car accident that resulted in a minor brain injury and eventually propelled to her to seek a new spirituality through environmentalism. She gained international fame--and notoriety--at age 23 when she climbed a "180-foot-tall, 600-year-old California Redwood tree" she named Luna (Wikipedia, 2007). Hill ended up living in the tree for an astounding 738 days, from December 10th, 1997 to December 18th, 1999. Her action saved Luna, as well as the surrounding three acres of forest.

After her well-publicized treesit ended, Hill decided to use her celebrity to advance the goals of the environmental movement. She founded the Circle of Life Foundation, which aims to "[activate] people through education, inspiration and connection to live in a way that honors the diversity and interdependence of all life" (Circle of Life Foundation, 2007). The organization's website, www.circleoflifefoundation.org, is a wonderful resource that not only features Julia Butterfly Hill's poems, blogs, and touring schedule, but also ideas and opportunities for individual activism. Of particular interest to educators might be the educational resource pages for kids and adults, and the "Crafty Projects" or "Solutions You Can Use" pages in the "Action" section of the website.

Hill has also maintained an active touring and writing schedule. She has been published in several books, most notably 2001's The Legacy of Luna: The Story of a Tree, A Woman and the Struggle to Save the Redwoods. This memoir detailed the two years Hill spent living in Luna and the lessons she learned. Due to her religious upbringing, it is not surprising that much of Hill's work draws connections between ecology and spirituality. In a 2005 interview with Tikkun magazine, Hill speaks about her experiences doing outreach with Christians who argue that she should "worship the creator, not the creation..." (Awehali, p. 30). She responds by recalling their own religious texts, which effectively state that all of nature is, in effect, an aspect of God or the creator.

Another primary focus of Hill's theory is the necessity of personal responsibility to the larger ecological movement. In an interview from 2006, she admits that "the biggest challenge I face is not external at all, but internal. I am my own biggest challenge." (Emanoil, 2006). This attitude is evident in her work with the Circle of Life Foundation, which constantly strives to give people ideas, opportunities and support to overcome the personal struggles that keep them from living more consciously. Julia Butterfly Hill's humanity and accessibility have made her a worthy figurehead in the contemporary environmental movement.


Works Cited

Awehali, B. (2005). Interview with Julia Butterfly Hill. Tikkun, 20, no 2.

Circle of Life Foundation. (2007). Welcome to circle of life. Retrieved March 28, 2007, from http://www.circleoflifefoundation.org/index.html

Emanoil, P. (2006). The hardest part. Delic Living, 22, no 3.

Hill, J. B. (2001). The legacy of luna: the story of a tree, a woman and the struggle to save the redwoods. San Francisco: Harper.

Wikipedia. (2007). Julia Butterfly Hill. Retrieved March 21, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Butterfly_Hill

Ecology Hall of Fame: Gary Snyder

By Lauren Economou

Gary Snyder, born in 1930, is an internationally renowned poet and ecological philosopher who believes that “the post-human era begins as humanity realizes that we have created a self-destructive culture” (Blanchard, 1995). When a childhood accident laid up Snyder for several months, he constantly read books from the Seattle public library, and attributes this time in his life to sparking his interest in reading and writing. During the ten years he lived in Washington, Snyder “became aware of the presence of the Coast Salish people and developed an interest in the Native American peoples in general and their traditional relationship with nature” (Wikipedia).

Snyder published his first poem in a student journal while attending Reed College in the late-1940s. He graduated in 1951 with a degree in anthropology and literature. He spent his summers during college outdoors: as a camp counselor, a seaman, and a timber-scaler on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation, “experiences which formed the basis for some of his earliest published poems.” He then worked as a fire-lookout in a national park, where he “encountered the basic ideas of Buddhism” that dealt with the appreciation of nature. He decided soon after college to return to San Francisco to either “sink or swim as a poet.”

While enrolled at UC Berkeley studying Oriental culture and language, Snyder continued to take summer jobs outdoors, such as one job as a trail-builder at Yosemite. In the 1950s, he briefly lived with Jack Kerouac in a cabin, and wrote his own work, also translating poems by Han Shan, the 9th-century Chinese recluse, which Snyder had made into a book called Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems (Steuding, 1969). The following is a poem from the book:

“Mid-August at Sourdough Mountain Lookout”

Down valley a smoke haze

Three days heat, after five days rain

Pitch glows on the fir-cones

Across rocks and meadows

Swarms of new flies



I cannot remember things I once read

A few friends, but they are in cities.

Drinking cold snow-water from a tin cup

Looking down for miles

Through high still air.

The ecological poet and social critic won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1975. Many of Snyder’s later writings “focus on alternatives to city living and show a reverence for nature and a deep interest in the philosophies of the East. The latter is a characteristic that seems an almost ubiquitous attribute possessed by many other Beat writers” (The Beat Page). In 1985, he started teaching writing at UC Davis, focusing on the Far East. His teaching kept him away from poetry for several years, but he had more poems published in the mid-1990s. He currently teaches English at UC Davis and stays active in his interest of the natural environment.


Sources

Blanchard, Bob. (1995). A voice in wilderness. The Progressive, v. 59 (November 1995), 28-31.

Gary Snyder. Retrieved March 26, 2007, from The Beat Page. Web site: http://www.rooknet.com/beatpage/writers/snyder.html

Gary Snyder. Retrieved March 26, 2007, from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Web site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Snyder

Steuding, Bob. (c.1969). Gary Snyder: Riprap and Cold Mountain Poems. Boston: Twayne.

High School Lesson Plan: Organic Collaged Region of the World

Organic Collaged Region of the World

Teacher: Jessi King

Grade Level: 9-12

Title: Organic Collaged Region of the World

Brief History and Background:

In this lesson plan, we will be making original collages out of materials found in nature to reflect a region of the world. Websites such as Google Earth and Green Museum will be utilized to research what is environmental art, and how can we accurately reflect a region of the world using environmental art. Collage is an art form that has been around for centuries. The following is a brief historical timeline, which explains the earliest uses of collage technique.

The earliest examples of paper collage are the work of twelfth-century Japanese calligraphers. Artists in medieval times, beginning in the thirteenth century, often enhanced religious images with gemstones, elegant fibers, relics and precious metals. Later, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, nuns made bookmarks trimmed with cut and colored papers, which they carried in their prayer books. During the nineteenth century collage developed as a popular art. Art historians generally attribute the first use of collage in fine art to Pablo Picasso in 1912, when he glued a piece of patterned oilcloth to a cubist still life. (Brommer, 1994)

Some of the collage artists that will be specifically discussed in this lesson are Romare Bearden and Pablo Picasso. We will also look at collage artists, such as Clare Murray Adams, who uses found objects.

Furthermore, this lesson will incorporate regions of the world. Students will use Google Earth to research a region they want to study. The collage should reflect that region, as well as at least one of the materials used.

Standards:

4.8 Humans and the Environment
1.8 Research
9.1 Production of Visual Arts
9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts
9.3 Critical Response

Goal:

To create an original organic collage reflecting a region of the world. Students will use many resources such as Google Earth to research various regions of the world. They will also learn about environmental art and what it is by using Green Museum.

Objectives:

1. Students will gain awareness and understanding of collage
2. Students will incorporate the technology of Google Earth to research regions of the world
3. Students will learn about Pablo Picasso
4. Students will look at examples of collage art
5. Students will use organic materials
6. Students will practice interpretive skills during critique
7. Students will find connections that other collage artists have made to their “home regions”
8. Students will discuss vocabulary words
9. Students will spend one week researching, making preliminary sketches, collecting materials, collage-making, writing, and reflecting on project

Supplies/Materials:

Glue
Paper
Scissors
*Students will need to collect organic objects after completing research and prior to starting collage

Teacher Preparation:

-Teacher will bring in book exemplifying collage techniques
-Teacher will provide each table with basic materials during studio production
days
-Teacher will have access to Internet
-Teacher will have handout outlining the history of collage
-Teacher will write vocabulary and key words on paper for display
-Teacher will bring in visual examples of all artists’ works

Introduction to Lesson:

The teacher will welcome the class. The teacher will ask students questions about collage. Class will discuss the history of collage, reading informative handout. The teacher will show examples of art collages, both organic techniques as well as others. The teacher will talk about how collage is has been influenced by regions; many artists reflect the region they live in to create their work of art. The teacher will then discuss culture and technologies that connect us to cultures around the world (Google Earth). The teacher will announce that the students will be creating an original collage based on a region of the world using organic objects. After the students have finished their collage, they will discuss their region, and how it is reflected in their work.

Directions:

1. After researching, sketching ideas, and collecting organic objects, make a few layouts before choosing the final one
2. Choose at least 1 material related to your region, which you will use in the collage
3. Collage objects together
4. Constantly be thinking about tie-ins to your region of the world/take notes
5. Write reflective piece and prepare your presentation for critique
Critique/Evaluation/Assessment:
-The teacher will discuss finished products with students
-The students will guess what region of the world their peers chose
-Students will discuss their entire process, including ideas, challenges, final product, etc.

Extensions:

N/A

Time Allotment:

Five - 45-minute class periods:

-15 minute introduction
-25 minute production time
-5 minute clean up

Vocabulary:

Create: to produce works in the arts using materials, techniques, processes, elements, principles and analysis
Transformation: a change in form or character
Collage: an assemblage or occurrence of diverse elements or fragments in unlikely or unexpected juxtaposition
Romare Bearden: African-American Harlem Renaissance Painter, 1914-1988
Pablo Picasso: Spanish artist. One of the most prolific and influential artists of the 20th century, Picasso excelled in painting, sculpture, etching, stage design, and ceramics. With Georges Braque he launched cubism (1906-1925), and he introduced the technique of collage. Among Picasso's works are Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (1907) and Guernica (1937)
Expressionism: an art movement early in the 20th century; the artist's subjective expression of inner experiences was emphasized; an inner feeling was expressed through a distorted rendition of reality
Google Earth: Computer program that allows students to explore the world visually. Can alter the angle of your view, and gives a three dimensional effect.

Safety Concerns:

Sharp tools for stencil
Weather restrictions

References:

1. Dictionary.com. http://www.dictionary.com
2. Susan Krieg-The Artist http://www.kriegartstudio.com/nesting_cranes/susan_krieg_history_collage.htm
3. Art Cyclopedia: The guide to great art on the Internet. http://www.artcyclopedia.com
4. Ask Art: The American Artist Bluebook. http://www.askart.com
5. Google Earth. http://www.googleearth.com
6. Collage Artists. http://www.collageart.org/links/
7. Green Museum. (2007). What is environmental art? Retrieved March 22, 2007 from http://greenmuseum.org/what_is_ea.php.

High School Lesson Plan: Public Service Announcement

Public Service Announcement

Teacher: Lauren Economou

Grade Level: 9-12

Brief History: The most common topics of Public Service Announcements (PSAs) are health and safety-related, although any message considered to be "helpful" to the public can be a PSA. A typical PSA will be part of a public awareness campaign to inform or educate the public against smoking or compulsive gambling. Often, a celebrity may promote a foundation and ask for support from viewers or listeners, an example being Michael J. Fox's PSAs in the U.S. supporting research into Parkinson's Disease. Today TV or radio stations typically use PSAs as a way to fill unsold commercial time, or to demonstrate their commitment to a particular cause.



National Art Content Standards:

9-12 Content Standard 1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processe

9-12 Content Standard 2: Using knowledge of structures and functions

9-12 Content Standard 3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas

9-12 Content Standard 4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures

9-12 Content Standard 5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their

work and the work of others

9-12 Content Standard 6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines



National Education Standards for Technology:

1. Basic operations and concepts

· Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.

· Students are proficient in the use of technology.

2. Social, ethical, and human issues

· Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.

· Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.

3. Technology productivity tools

· Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.

· Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.

4. Technology communications tools

· Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.

5. Technology research tools

· Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.

· Students use technology tools to process data and report results.

· Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.

6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools

· Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.

· Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.



Goal: Each student will research the topic “environmental issues in our community.” In teams of three, students will collaborate their ideas and research and select an issue to highlight in a short public service announcement that members of each team will write, direct, and film together.



Objectives: Students will:

- use the synthesized information from several disciplines to solve real-life problems

- understand complex ecological systems from the points of view of multiple subject areas

- study the political, social, cultural, spiritual, economic, and scientific issues that impact the development of a sustainable, healthy ecosystem

- practice independent and collaborative learning skills

- become aware of local and global issues that effect their communities

- educate the community through the use of technology

- learn how to gather data and statistics through research techniques

- use Google Earth and/or Google Sketchup to research topics, and include them in PSAs



Requirements:

- individual student research including data and statistics on environmental and ecological issues effecting the local community.

- maximum 3 minutes long filmed public service announcement in teams of 3 students that should include student research, Google Earth and/or Sketchup, and other visuals used collaboratively to educate the public about the issue at hand. Students should use Google Earth as a map of their community to pinpoint areas they are focusing on in their PSAs. They can use sketchup to highlight certain areas, i.e. building complexes, rivers/lakes/creeks, factories, ect. that relate to their PSA topic.

- written outline or script for PSA



Materials/Supplies: computers, digital video recorders, film editing software, Google Earth and Sketchup programs, any other artistic mediums needed to make visuals



Introduction to Lesson: Students will first be asked to research ecological and environmental issues affecting our community. Teacher will then explain a public service announcement, and show examples of different PSAs on a number of topics to students to give them inspiration for their own PSAs. Teacher will then divide the class into teams of three students each, and each team will be asked to narrow their research down to one topic to focus their PSA on. Students will then be introduced to some new technology: Google Earth and Google Sketchup, computer programs that could potentially be used in the PSAs as helpful visuals to assist in educating the public. For example, Google Earth could be used to document certain community ecological issues on a map, and Google Sketchup could be used to highlight potential damage of community areas from problems such as Global Warming. Students will also be given an introduction to the school’s digital film technology and computer editing software.



Directions:

1. Research ecological and environmental issues effecting our community using the Internet

2. Get into your assigned teams of 3, and decide on a main idea for your PSA

3. Using critical thinking and analysis, come up with a rough draft on paper for your PSA idea. You should answer these questions:

- What topic did your group decide to focus on and why?

- How do you plan to utilize technology to educate the viewer about your issue?

- What do you believe are the most important points to touch on, and how will your group effectively do that in under 3 minutes?

4. Once your draft has been approved, come up with a final script for your PSA

5. Construct any visuals you need for your PSA before filming

6. Document and edit your PSA using digital film equipment and technology



Critique/Evaluation/Assessment: Teacher will hold a screening at the end of the project, and the class will watch all of the PSAs. Each student will have to write their responses to questions about each PSA directly following its screening, such as, “Was this PSA effective? Why or why not? What was done effectively and what could be done better? Did you learn anything from this PSA that you did not know before? What do you think about the group’s use of technology and visuals to educate viewers?” After all PSAs are viewed, students will be asked to read constructive comments to the class, and a discussion will ensue.

Students will also set up a class blog where they will post their PSA videos. This is a way they can get feedback from the blogosphere, as well as learning how to set up a blog. This will be a place where students can also share ideas about art and ecology.



Time Allotment: Several weeks



Vocabulary:

Public Service Announcement- a non-commercial advertisement typically on radio or television, broadcast for the public good. The main concept is to modify public attitudes by raising awareness about specific issues.



Bibliography/References:

Greenmuseum: Online environmental museum

· http://greenmuseum.org/c/aen/Curric/dublin.php

· http://greenmuseum.org/c/aen/Curric/intro.php

· http://greenmuseum.org/c/aen/Curric/charac.php

Wikipedia

· http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_service_announcement

Google Technology Programs: Google Earth & Google Sketchup

· http://earth.google.com/

· http://sketchup.google.com/

High School Lesson Plan: Artcology in the Urban Environment

Artcology in the Urban Environment

Teacher: Kate Kaliner

Grade Level: 9-12

Brief Background:
“Recognizing art as a useful and necessary behavior is a way for us to understand humanity's relationship to the rest of the world, and to attempt to restore our role in the cycles that envelop us, unrecognized, all the time.” (Creative and Green: Art, Ecology, and Community, by Sarah E. Graddy)

In the past 50 years, Philadelphia has suffered a significant loss of population, due largely to a declining industrial base and shifting population patterns. One of the results has been a huge and growing inventory of abandoned land. At last count, there are over 31,000 vacant lots in neighborhoods throughout the city, representing a blight that diminishes property values and discourages reinvestment opportunities.

A well-kept park reflects a community with a healthy quality of life, while a neglected, trashed space reveals the despair of a struggling neighborhood. Many cities across the country are faced with decreasing budgets, and this often trickles down to adversely affect their parks and public spaces. It raises a tough question: With limited resources, how do we best care for our neighborhood parks, whose condition in many ways mirrors and even influences that of their larger communities? (The Pennsylvania Horticultural Society: Protecting Our Open Space Investments)

Involvement in the transformation their environment will provide students with a personal connection to the community. By taking an artistic approach, students may creatively express themselves while assuming a productive role in making their world and better, more beautiful place.

National Art Content Standards:
9-12 Content Standard 1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
9-12 Content Standard 2: Using knowledge of structures and functions
9-12 Content Standard 3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas
9-12 Content Standard 5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others
9-12 Content Standard 6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines

National Education Standards for Technology:
1. Basic operations and concepts
- Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.
- Students are proficient in the use of technology.

2. Social, ethical, and human issues
- Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.
- Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.

3. Technology productivity tools
- Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
- Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.

4. Technology communications tools
- Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.

5. Technology research tools
- Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
- Students use technology tools to process data and report results.
- Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.

6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
- Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.
- Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.

Goal: Working in groups of three, students will create an original design for restoring a vacant lot in the local community, by transforming it into a beautiful, sustainable environment.

Objectives:
1. Students will understand the effect of abandoned land in their community, and on the environment as a whole.
2. Students will use synthesized information from several disciplines to solve real-life problems.
3. Students will use action-oriented inquiry strategies that involve direct experience, observation and reflection, critical thinking, and planned action in their art and ecology projects.
4. Students will investigate how art, aesthetics, culture, and ecology are interconnected.
5. Students will recognize art as a useful tool for understanding, evaluating and restoring humanity’s relationship with the rest of the world.
6. Students will study the political, social, cultural, spiritual, economic, and scientific issues that impact the development of a sustainable, healthy ecosystem.
7. Students will improve skills in collaborative learning and critical thinking.
8. Students will use technology to explore and create designs in ecological art projects
9. Working in groups of three, students will create an original design for restoring a vacant lot in the local community, by transforming it into a beautiful, sustainable environment.

Requirements:
1. Individual student research and reflective writing on the political and ecological factors relating to the abandonment of land in the urban environment, arts-based revitalization efforts, and issues of sustainability.
2. Visual evidence of individual and group planning, and testing of materials (i.e. sketches, exemplars, lot layout, color choices, etc.)
3. 3D rendering of lot design in Sketch Up.
4. Group philosophical/ artistic statement (explanation of design and plan for sustainability)

Resource Materials/ Visual Aids:
1. Books/ Magazines relating to eco art, sustainability, urban planning, etc.
Readymade: Instructions for Everyday Life (green design magazine)
2. Websites (starting points for research)

Supplies/ Materials:
1. Computers/ Computer programs Google Earth and Sketch Up
2. Paper
3. Pencils
4. Markers
5. Paint
6. Various other materials to be used in production of plans and examples of designs

Teacher Preparation: Teacher will research and understand trends in eco art, urban/ community planning/development/revitalization, sustainability, and green design. Teacher will be familiar with artists working with eco art, and the computer programs Google Earth and Sketch Up.

Introduction:
Class will visit a vacant lot in the local environment, and while there will discuss, take notes, and document the environment and what is found there. If a class trip is not possible, the teacher may show video or photographs of a vacant lot instead.
Afterward, the class will discuss what they observed, and the issue of land abandonment in the urban environment. The teacher will introduce the class to artists working with eco art, and will ask the class the class how they might use eco art to transform the vacant lot in a way that would benefit the community and the environment.
The teacher will divide the class into groups of three, and each group will be responsible for coming up with an original design which they will render in Sketch Up. Each student within in the group will choose an aspect of the environment and/ or design on which to focus, and will be responsible for individually researching and writing a response to his/ her findings.

Directions:
1. Within groups, each student will choose an aspect of the environment on which to focus their design. Examples might be turning the trash into sculpture, incorporation of plants and flowers, etc.
2. Students will research political and ecological factors relating to the abandonment of land in the urban environment, arts-based revitalization efforts, and ideas of sustainability. Students may use Google Earth to explore other such efforts or eco art in other parts of the world.
3. Students will write a one-page response paper on their findings and ideas.
4. Working within groups students will devise an original design, plan for sustainability, and rendering in Sketch Up.

Critique/ Assessment: Each group will share their designs and plans with the class. The class will discuss their success in reclaiming and redesigning the environment, and what they have learned in the process.

Time Budget/ Allotment: Several weeks

Extension: Class may decide upon the strongest aspects of each group’s design, and explore the possibility of putting the plan into action. What steps will need to take place? Class may also decide upon ways to educate and bring design ideas to the community.

Vocabulary:
Ecology- the study of the relationships and interactions between living organisms and their natural or developed environment

Sustainable- able to be maintained; exploiting natural resources without destroying the ecological balance of a particular area

Green- supporting or promoting the protection of the environment; produced in an environmentally friendly way, for example, by using renewable resources

References:
Creative and Green: Art, Ecology, and Community, by Sarah E. Graddy
http://greenmuseum.org/generic_content.php?ct_id=238

Artful Trash Management, RiverCubes, & Cultural Contagion, by Bob Johnson
http://greenmuseum.org/generic_content.php?ct_id=273

Great Public Spaces: The Village of Arts and Humanities
http://www.pps.org/great_public_spaces/one?public_place_id=567&public_place_id=567

The Eden Project
http://www.edenproject.com/index.html

Protecting Our Open Space Investments
http://www.pennsylvaniahorticulturalsociety.org/phlgreen/protecting_open_space.html

Treehugger (everything green)
http://treehugger.com

Susan Leibovitz Steinman: Environmental & Public Art Installations
http://www.steinmanstudio.com/index.shtml

Middle School Lesson Plan: Eco-Walk

Eco-Walk

Teacher: Nathan Reinhold

Grade Level: 5-8

Title: Eco-Walk (Google Earth and SketchUp activity)

Brief History and Background:

Eco-Walks are exploratory walks where people can learn about and experience nature while being respectful of the environment. The popularity of Eco-Walks has led to Ecotourism where people who want a similar exploratory experience in other places. Ecological tourism is ecologically and socially conscious tourism that focuses on a local culture and natural environment while attempting to minimize the adverse effects of the tourism on both the local people and environment. While people have loved to explore their own natural environments as well as the natural environments of others for a very long time, ecotourism as it is currently defined, developed in the 1980s. In 2002, the United Nations celebrated the "International Year of Ecotourism".

The natural world has influenced countless artists over the years starting with the early cave painters, who lived their lives in nature, through to contemporary artists such as Andy Goldsworthy who makes artworks in nature by arranging the natural objects he finds there including twigs, stones, mud, snow, flowers, and leaves. Talk about how Richard Long uses Eco-Walks as both a source for inspiration and a location for creating artwork. Landscape painters and photographers have been going into nature for a very long time to find subjects and inspiration for their artworks. Artists go out into their natural environments on a journey, much like an eco-walk.

National Art Content Standards:

5-8 Content Standard: 1:
· Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
5-8 Content Standard: 2:
· Using knowledge of structures and functions
5-8 Content Standard: 3:
· Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and ideas
5-8 Content Standard: 4:
· Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
5-8 Content Standard: 5:
· Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and merits of their work and the work of others
5-8 Content Standard: 6:
· Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines

Technology Foundation Standards for Students:

1. Basic operations and concepts
· Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.
· Students are proficient in the use of technology.
2. Social, ethical, and human issues
· Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.
3. Technology productivity tools
· Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.
· Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
5. Technology research tools
· Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.
6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
· Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed decisions.
· Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving problems in the real world.

Goal:

Through this lesson students will produce an eco-walk by researching environments using Google Earth and Google SketchUp.

Objectives:

1. Students will learn to use Google Earth as a research tool.
2. Students will learn to use SketchUp to create a plan.
3. Students will learn to use Google Earth to explore nature parks and preserves all over the country.
4. Students will plan an Eco-Walk.
5. Students will create an artwork responding to the environment.

Resources Materials/ Visual Aides:

· Google Earth demonstration
· Google SketchUp demonstration
· Images of cave paintings
· Images of Impressionist paintings
· Images of Cézanne’s paintings
· Images of Ansel Adams photographs
· Images of Andy Goldsworthy sculptures
· Images of Richard Long’s artwork

Supplies / Materials:

· Computer Lab
· Internet Access
· SketchUp
· Google Earth
· Notebooks
· Writing Tools
· Projector
· Art Supplies
· Printer

Teacher Preparation:

· Projected demos of Google Earth and Google SketchUp
· Directions on how to use Google Earth and Google SketchUp
· Sample SketchUp Eco-Walk plan
· Plan an Eco-Walk to a local park
· Prepare art visual aides.

Teaching:

How to look closely and experience nature for to inform ones appreciation of art and culture. How to plan an experience to enrich themselves culturally, aesthetically while also learning about the natural world both near and far.
Introduction: Students will be introduced to this lesson with a brief introduction of several parks and nature preserves. Students will discuss artists that they think have been inspired by nature in their art. Through a power point presentation, students will be introduced to various artists that have used or addressed nature in their art. Talk about cave painters, landscape painters, Monet, Andy Goldsworthy, and Richard Long are some examples of many. Students will go on a Eco-Walk in a local park and then produce an artwork from it. The students will receive a demo on the use of Google Earth as a research tool. Next, they will be given a demo on the operation of Google SketchUp. The instructor will then explain how these tools will help them with the lesson.

Directions:

1. Go on a walk in a park with the class.
2. Take notes about observations about what you saw and how you felt.
3. Create artwork from this trip.
4. Use Google Earth search tool to find nature preserves and natural parks.
5. In Layers, check all “Parks and Recreation” checkboxes.
6. In Layers, check all “Geographic Features” checkboxes.
7. Select 5 natural sites in the U.S. and save them to your “My Places.”
8. Make a list of each of the 5 sites.
9. Visit each of these 5 sites exploring through Google Earth using different views and zooms.
10. Pick one site and write a short description about it from what you saw on Google Earth and using the links.
11. Use the “Path Tool” to make a path anywhere in this park.
12. Play a tour of your path.
13. Open Google SketchUp.
14. Import scene from the path into Google SketchUp.
15. Print out copy of your path from Google SketchUp.

Extension:

16. Create a sculptural artwork in Google SketchUp for somewhere along your path.
17. Export into Google Earth.

Critique/Evaluation/Assessment:

· Teacher Lead Student Critique
· Teacher Assessment Rubric
· Student Assessment Rubric

Time Budget: 6 – 7 Class Periods

· 1 class for introduction of assignment
· 1 class for research on Google Earth
· 1 class for class trip to a park
· 1 class for SketchUp plan
· 1 class to presentation
· 1 class for presentation of completed project

Vocabulary:

Eco-Walk – An Eco-Walk is a walk where people can learn about and experience nature while being respectful of the environment. For the purpose of this lesson, it is both actual and virtual walk where the participant explores and learns about nature.
Eco-Tourism – Tourism where people can learn about and experience nature in a respectful manner.
Environment Art – Refers to art which involves the creation or manipulation of a large or enclosed space, many effectively surrounding its audience. Many earthworks would qualify as environment art too..
Google Earth – A free program available for download from Google.com, Google Earth is a program that allows the user to explore the world through satellite imagery, maps, terrain and 3D buildings.
Google SkecthUp – A free program available for download from Google.com, Google SketchUp is a powerful yet easy-to-learn 3D software tool that enables you to build and modify 3D models quickly and easily. Google SketchUp allows you to place your models using into Google Earth.
Landscape – A painting, photograph or other work of art which depicts scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers and forests. There is invariably some sky in the scene.
Natural Environment – natural environment comprises all living and non-living things that occur naturally on Earth.
Safety Concerns: Safe and respectful exploring of park or natural environment.

Bibliography/References:

Google.com. (n.d.). Google Earth. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://earth.google.com/

Google.com. (n.d.). Google SketchUp. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://sketchup.google.com/

The International Ecotourism Society. (n.d.). Natural environment. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://www.ecotourism.org

ISTE NETS. (n.d.). NETS for Students. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-netss.html

The Kennedy Center Arts Edge. (n.d.). Standards. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/standards.cfm

Richard Long. (n.d.). Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://www.richardlong.org/

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Andy Goldsworthy. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Goldsworthy

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Eco-tourism. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eco-tourism

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Lascaux. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lascaux

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Natural environment. Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_environment

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.). Richard Long (artist). Retrieved April 3, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Long_%28artist%29

Middle School Lesson Plan: Exploring Naturalist Art and Ecology

Exploring Naturalist Art and Ecology

Teacher: Emily Neubert

Grade Level: 5-8


History/Background
In this lesson, students will make connections between ecology and their own art making process. For naturalist artists, creating and sharing artwork that celebrates the beauty of their environment can also be a way to draw attention to the need to preserve that very environment.

By studying works by artists such as Ansel Adams, Andy Goldsworthy, Georgia O’Keefe, and John James Audubon, students will learn to experience and evaluate artwork from both an aesthetic and political/cultural standpoint. Additionally, a focus on collaborative group work echoes the necessity of cooperation to advance the goals of the ecology movement.

National Standards for Visual Arts
Content Standard #1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
Content Standard #3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter, symbols, and
ideas
Content Standard #4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and cultures
Content Standard #6: Making connections between visual arts and other disciplines

National Education Standards for Technology
1: Basic operations and concepts
2: Social, ethical, and human issues
3: Technology productivity tools
5: Technology research tools

Goal: To observe, study and document the unique natural features of our community.

Objectives
Students will:
1. Become familiar with naturalist art and its connections to ecology.
2. Work collaboratively to document and identify natural objects.
3. Gain proficiency with the online program Google Earth.
4. Apply knowledge of the natural world to the art making process.
5. Develop and reinforce technical and observational drawing skills.

Resource Materials/Visual Aids
Samples of finished project
Teaching boards
Slides and books highlighting featured artists
Small natural objects for observation

Supplies/Materials
Sketchbooks
Pencils
Digital Camera
Computer with online access to Google Earth
Bristol paper 11” x 14”
Fine tip black markers
Colored pencils
Watercolors
Oil Pastels

Teacher Preparation
Instructor will prepare teaching boards, slide presentation, and presentation on Google Earth. Instructor will also create sample projects and gather a small collection of natural objects for students to study in the introduction to the lesson.

Introduction
--Begin by discussion the relationship between art and ecology. Questions to be explored might include:
How do we define ecology? What about naturalism?
How might art and ecology interact?
How have some artists explored the connections between art and nature? (Ansel Adams, John James Audubon, Andy Goldsworthy, Geogia O’Keefe, etc.)
Can art have an impact on our planet? How?
Do you think of your environment and community as art? Why or why not?
--After a brief lecture/slide presentation, use these points to generate small group discussion in groups of 3 or 4. Encourage students to discuss these ideas in terms of their personal/lived experiences.
--Give a short overview of the project and its various components. Brieflly introduce Google Earth, final project, media to be used, etc.

Directions
Field Observation: Working in their small groups, students will spend time outside in their community observing and documenting features of nature, including plants, trees, flowers, insects, animals, landscapes, etc. Students should document their findings through note taking/journaling, sketching, and/or digital photography.

Back in the classroom, students will use the Internet to identify the items they observed in nature. Using Google Earth in their small groups, students can also learn more about their community and the general local environment. Groups will compile and print their findings to share with the rest of the class.

Based on their new in-depth understanding of natural objects and features, each student will choose one item from their notes to explore in a piece of art that echoes the naturalist style and perspective.

To create their naturalist drawing, students should focus on realism and use their notes, sketches and/or photos to help them.

Closure
First, each small group will give a brief, informal presentation to the rest of the class. Using their notes, sketches, photos, and Google Earth printouts, they will speak about their process and experience with the project. Then, each student will speak about her or his individual drawing and how it relates to their understanding of ecology art and naturalism. Finally, students will have an opportunity to discuss their ideas and opinions about the class’s body of work, with an overall emphasis on the successes of each piece.

Critique/Evaluation/Assessment
Students will be assessed by their individual and group work:
Did the student work collaboratively with the other members of their group?
Did the student/group complete all assignments and turn in work on time?
Did the student follow directions?
Did the student participate in small group and class discussions?
Did the student speak articulately in critique, making connections between their work and the major themes of art and ecology?

Extensions
Students who finish early can either work on another drawing based on their field observation, or can spend more time exploring Google Earth.

Time Budget
This project will be completed in 5 consecutive 45-minute classes as follows:
Class #1: Introduction
Class #2: Field Observation
Class #3: Google Earth Group Work
Class #4: Studio Time
Class #6: Finish Project, Class Critique

Vocabulary
Artist/Naturalist--a person whose intelligence and sense of self is embedded in Nature, and who expresses that deep connection through making art. (from morning-earth.org)

Ecological Art Education--Education has the power to influence the way individuals think of themselves in relation to their environments. An ecological approach to art education explores the interdependency of individuals with all living organisms and ecosystems with environments that surround them. (from greenmuseum.org)

Safety Concerns
N/A

Bibliography/References
Morning Earth: Artist/Naturalists Past and Present
http://www.morning-earth.org/Artist_Naturalists.html

Audubon Naturalist Society
http://www.audubonnaturalist.org/

ArtCylcopedia: The Guide to Great Art on the Internet
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/

Green Museum: Art & Ecology Homepage
http://www.greenmuseum.org/c/aen/

Acorn Naturalists: Resources for the trail and classroom
http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/Art-Science-Nature-C41.aspx

ARTSEDGE: The National Standards for Arts Education
http://artsedge.kennedy-center.org/teach/standards/standards_58.cfm

Middle School Lesson Plan: Bottle Art (Wind Chimes Made from Recyclable Soda Bottles)

Teacher: Jayme Miller

Grade Level: 5-8

Brief History and Background:
Assemblage Sculpture - A three-dimensional composition made of various materials such as found objects, paper, wood, and textiles.
Found Material or Found Object - An image, material, or object, not originally intended as a work of art, that is obtained, selected, and exhibited by an artist, often without being altered in any way. The cubists, dadaists, and surrealists originated the use of found images / materials / objects. Although it can be a natural or manufactured image / material / object, the term readymade refers only to those which were manufactured (known in the French, objet trouvé).
Wind Power Development - For human development to continue, we need sources of energy. The cost of coal and natural gas as an energy supply is on a constant rise. To protect our environment we need to produce energy that does not place damaging stress on our ecosystem. The history of wind power shows a general evolution from the use of simple, light devices driven by aerodynamic drag forces; to heavy, material-intensive drag devices; to the increased use of light, material-efficient aerodynamic lift devices in the modern era. The first windmills were developed to automate the tasks of grain-grinding and water-pumping and the earliest-known design is the vertical axis system developed in Persia about 500-900 A.D.


National Art Content Standards:
5-8 Content Standard: 1: Understanding and applying media, techniques, and processes
5-8 Content Standard: 2: Using knowledge of structures and functions
5-8 Content Standard: 3: Choosing and evaluating a range of subject matter,
symbols, and ideas
5-8 Content Standard: 4: Understanding the visual arts in relation to history and
cultures
5-8 Content Standard: 5: Reflecting upon and assessing the characteristics and
merits of their work and the work of others
5-8 Content Standard: 6: Making connections between visual arts and other
disciplines


Technology Foundation Standards for Students:
1. Basic operations and concepts
• Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of
technology systems.
• Students are proficient in the use of technology.
2. Social, ethical, and human issues
• Students understand the ethical, cultural, and societal issues related to
technology.
• Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and
software.
• Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support
lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.
3. Technology productivity tools
• Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity,
and promote creativity.
• Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-
enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.
5. Technology research tools
• Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from
a variety of sources.
• Students use technology tools to process data and report results.
• Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological
innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.
6. Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools
• Students use technology resources for solving problems and making informed
decisions.
• Students employ technology in the development of strategies for solving
problems in the real world.

Goal: Through this lesson students will learn how to promote the protection of our environment through the production of energy and art that does not place damaging stress on our ecosystem.

Objectives: Students will…
• Learn the developments of wind power and how wind can produce energy that
does not damage our ecosystem.
• Learn to use Google Earth to explore regions of the United States that use
wind power verses electric, oil or gas.
• Learn about assemblage sculpture, found material or object, and various
artists.
• Learn to use SketchUp to create a prep-sketch or plan.
• Use recyclable materials to create art that encourages recycling and wind
power.
• Be able to present and discuss their art work with pride and confidence.

Resources Materials/ Visual Aides: (Examples of works incorporating found materials)
• Green Museum (greenmuseum.org) collaboration between artists and
environmental force(wind).
• Louise Nevelson (American, born Russia, 1899/1900-1988), Sky Cathedral, 1958, found wood assemblage sculpture, painted black, 115 x 135 x 20 inches, Albright-Knox Art Gallery, NY.
• Louise Nevelson, Royal Tide V, l961, found wood assemblage sculpture.
• John Chamberlain (American, 1927-), Scull's Angel, 1974, welded painted
steel, 29 x 45 x 38 inches (73.7 x 114.3 x 96.5 cm), Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, TX. For this and many other sculptures, Chamberlain used junked automobile parts. Although he has also used other kinds of debris scavenged from the industrial environment, such as paper bags, urethane foam, and Plexiglas — he is best known for his lyrical, evocative assemblages of twisted, crushed metal.
• Yayoi Kusama (Japanese, 1929-), Baby Carriage, 1964, repainted c. 1966, baby carriage, cloth, stuffing, silver metallic paint, 38 x 23 1/4 x 40 inches (96.5 x 59 x 101.6 cm), Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, OH.
• Deborah Butterfield (American, 1949-), Horse #2-85, 1985, found materials: barbed wire, pipes, fencing, an old tire, and corroded scraps of metal and wood, 33 3/4 x 48 x 109 inches, AZ State U. Art Museum, Tempe.
• Tony Feher (American, contemporary), Suture, 1997, fifty-seven plastic bottles, water, food coloring, wire, and rope, dimensions variable, Whitney Museum of American Art, NY.
Quote:"Not everything is art, but everything is art supplies."
Lew Alquist (1946-2005), American sculptor and art educator. Quoted by Jim White, fellow sculptor and colleague at Arizona State University, in a text published for a 2006 restrospective of Alquist's work.

Supplies / Materials:
Computer Lab Internet Access SketchUp Google Earth
Fishing Line Needles Soda Bottles Coffee Lid
Sea Shells Bells Soda Bottle Caps Scissors
Exacto Knives Paint Brushes Newspaper Water Cups
Paint Brushes Hole Punch Paper Acrylic or Spray Paint

Teacher Preparation:
• Video: Full Focus: Wind Power Project February 7, 2006 KPBS March 8, 2006. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7840165070597196117&q=WIND+iNSTITUTE+Videos
• Power Point of resource material / visual aides:
o Wind Energy Today Phil Dougherty – National Coordinator – U.S. DOE's Windpowering America Presentations from Regional Legislative Wind Institute June 10-11, 2005 Richmond, Virginia Presentations from the Wind Institute 2005 National Conference of State Legislatures A Forum of America’s Ideas http://www.ncsl.org/programs/energy/windinst605.htm
o Where Windpower Fits Mike Jacobs – Deputy Policy Director – American Wind Energy Association Presentations from Regional Legislative Wind Institute June 10-11, 2005 Richmond, Virginia Presentations from the Wind Institute 2005 National Conference of State Legislatures A Forum of America’s Ideas http://www.ncsl.org/programs/energy/windinst605.htm
• Sample Project (step by step prepped materials for demo – cut soda bottles and fishing line)
• Cut the tops of the soda bottles for students prior to lesson
• SketchUp Sample

Teaching: A balance between the delivery of information (verbally & with visual references/aides, the demonstration of a procedure, and opportunities for students to apply that information in hands-on practice and exercise.

Introduction: Students will be introduced to this lesson with a brief introduction to energy and wind power. The students then will research using Google Earth various parts of the United States that use wind power. Students will be introduced to various artists through a power point presentation on assemblage sculpture. Students will discuss ways they can recycle and create art that employs wind power.

Directions:
1. Cut your soda bottles into various shapes/forms.
2. Cut your fishing line. (You can also use twine, yarn, or string.) For each object you want to use, cut one, eight-inch piece of line and set aside.
3. Cut holes into your soda bottle pieces. Using a hole punch, cut holes into your plastic soda bottles. You'll need one hole for each piece of line.
4. Paint the soda bottle pieces & lid. You can use acrylic paints or spray paint. Set aside to dry.
5. Glue one end of each piece of yarn to a piece of the soda bottle, shell, bell, bottle cap, etc. Allow to dry completely. (This may take several hours.)
6. Attach each piece of line (with the object already attached) to the lid by stringing the line through the hole and tying a knot. Continue until all your objects have been strung.
7. Cut three additional pieces of fishing line. Measure each one, making sure they're all exactly 9-inches long.
8. Tie. You'll want to space your 3 pieces of fishing line evenly around the top of your lid. (This is what will hold you wind chime up.) Find 3 holes and knot your fishing line to the lid.
9. Knot. Gather the 3 loose pieces of fishing line together and knot them. Trim any loose ends.
10. Find a hook and hang.

Critique/Evaluation/Assessment:
• Teacher Lead Student Critique
• Teacher Assessment Rubric
• Student Assessment Rubric

Time Budget: 5 – 6 Class Periods

Vocabulary:
Assemblage Sculpture - A three-dimensional composition made of various materials such as found objects, paper, wood, and textiles.
Found Material or Found Object - An image, material, or object, not originally intended as a work of art, that is obtained, selected, and exhibited by an artist, often without being altered in any way.
Recycle – process used or waste material so that it can be used again
Wind Power / Wind Mill – the force of the wind harnessed by windmills and wind turbines that convert it into electricity, or the electricity produced in this way
Energy – physics a supply or source of electrical, mechanical, or other form of power
Ecosystem - a localized group of interdependent organisms together with the environment that they inhabit and depend on

Safety Concerns: Cutting plastic soda bottles with exacto knives (do not cut towards the body) and watch the cut edges of the plastic when handling the wind chime pieces. Pre cut the tops of the soda bottles for the students.

Bibliography/References:
Adams, Clive. Greenmuseum.org. “A Brief Introduction”. 2007.
http://greenmuseum.org/generic_content.php?ct_id=60

Bianco, Adriana. Ecological Art. “Ecological Art and Ethics.” 1996-2007.
http://www.ecologicalart.org/ecartandet.html

Corredor, Nohra. Ecological Art. “Ecological Art & Poetry.” 1996 – 2007.
http://www.ecologicalart.org/artecpoet.html

Delahunt, Michael. ArtLex Art Dictionary. 1996-2007. http://www.artlex.com/

Dodge, Darrell M. . Illustrated History of Wind Power Development. Littleton, Colorado © 2001-2006 Darrell Dodge and TelosNet Web Development http://www.telosnet.com/wind/early.html.

Doughterty, Phil. Wind Institute 2005 National Conference of State Legislatures A
Forum of America’s Ideas. “Wind Energy Today .” Richmond, Virginia. 2005.
http://www.ncsl.org/programs/energy/windinst605.htm

How to Make Stuff.com. “How to make a wind chime – suncatcher.” Submitted by:
admin. 2003. http://www.howtomakestuff.com/directory/Detailed/951.html

ISTE NETS. “Curriculum and Content Area Standards
NETS for Students”. 2000-2005. http://cnets.iste.org/currstands/cstands-netss.html

Jacobs, Mike. Wind Institute 2005 National Conference of State Legislatures A Forum
of America’s Ideas. “Where Windpower Fits”. Richmond, Virginia. 2005. http://www.ncsl.org/programs/energy/windinst605.htm

KPBS. “Full Focus: Wind Power Project”. Recorded on February 7, 2006. Aired on
March 8, 2006. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7840165070597196117&q=WIND+iNSTITUTE+Videos

Worldwide Nature Artists Group. “Artists for Conservation”. Worldwide Nature Artists Group, Inc. 2007. http://www.natureartists.com/

Elementary Lesson Plan: Conservation through the Arts

Conservation through the Arts

Teacher: Ginamarie Yacovelli

Grade Level: 1-4

Brief History and Background:
Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamps, commonly known as “Ducks Stamps,” are pictorial stamps produced by the U.S. Postal Service for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. They are not valid for postage. Originally created in 1934 as the federal licenses required for hunting migratory waterfowl, Federal Duck Stamps have a much larger purpose today.

National Education Technology Standards
1.Basic operations and concepts
2.Social, ethical, and human issues
3.Technology productivity tools
4.Technology communications tools
5.Technology research tools
6.Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools

NAEA Standards:
1.8 Research
3.8 Science, Technology and Human Endeavors
4.3 Environmental Health
4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions
4.8 Humans and the Environment
9.1 Production of Visual Arts
9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts
9.3 Critical Response
9.4 Aesthetic Response

Goal:
After studying waterfowl anatomy and habitat students may articulate their newfound knowledge by drawing, painting or sketching a picture of any North American waterfowl species.

Objectives:
1 Students will articulate their newfound knowledge of waterfowl anatomy by sketching a picture of any North American waterfowl species.
2 Students will incorporate the technology of Google Earth to research duck regions of the United States of America
3 Students will learn about Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling (creator of the duck stamp)
4 Students will look at examples of duck pictures
5 Students will practice interpretive skills during critique
6 Students will discuss vocabulary words

Supplies/Materials:
Paper
Watercolor Paints
Watercolor Pencils

Teacher Preparation:
-Teacher will bring in book of different duck specifies
-Teacher will show basic steps to go about illustrating a duck
-Teacher will have access to Internet
-Teacher will write vocabulary words on the chalkboard
-Teacher will have write questions on the board to stimulate students’ creative process

Introduction to Lesson:
The teacher will begin class by using a tool to make duck noises if it cannot be made by mouth naturally. The teacher will ask students if they recognize the sound they just heard. Class will discuss their knowledge achieved from Science class regarding ducks in North America. The teacher will show examples of all the different species of ducks. The teacher will talk about how important it is to conserve for the animals sake and for humans sake. The teacher will then introduce Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling and discuss his role in the duck stamp. The teacher will then introduce the use of Google Earth as a means of locating the different locations of the duck species they are referring too, so they can provide an accurate background for the assignment. After the students have finished their duck prints they will discuss the region chose, and how it is reflected in their work. The teacher will then submit the artwork to the Junior Duck Stamp Contest.

Directions:
1. After researching the different duck species in Science class, students will create a stamp to help support the conservation of ducks.
2. Students will pay close attention to detail as they try to illustrate the duck’s living space by referring to the images from GOOGLE EARTH.
3. Students will use watercolor paints and watercolor pencils to create the image.

Critique/Evaluation/Assessment:
-The teacher will discuss finished products with students

Extensions:
N/A

Time Allotment:
1 - 45-minute class period:
15 minute introduction
25 minute production time
5 minute clean up

Vocabulary:
Conservation - (1) protection of valued resources - the preservation, management, and care of natural and cultural resources; (2) protection from change - the keeping or protecting of something from change, loss, or damage

Endangered - in great danger or at risk of dying out

Preservation - protection from harm - the guarding of something from danger, harm, or injury

Google Earth- Offers maps and satellite images for complex or pinpointed regional searches.

Safety Concerns:
N/A

References:
1.US Fish and Wildlife Service www.fws.gov/data
2.Google Earth www.googleearth.com
3.National Center for Ecological Analysis www.nceas.ucsb.edu

Elementary Lesson Plan: Nature is art!

Teacher: Yadira Toledo

Age: 6-9 Grade Level: 1-4

Title: Nature is art!

This lesson can be modify to fit the needs of all ages.

Brief History:What is "Environmental Art"?

Artwork created by artists concerned with the state of our environment worldwide, and with their local situation. Environmental artists often work in these ways:Artists interpret nature, creating artworks to inform us about nature and its processes, or about environmental problems we face. Artists interact with environmental forces, creating artworks affected or powered by wind, water, lightning, even earthquakes.

Artists re-envision our relationship to nature, proposing through their work new ways for us to co-exist with our environment.Artists reclaim and remediate damaged environments, restoring nature in artistic and often aesthetic ways.Ecological art, or eco-art to use the abbreviated term, addresses both the heart and the mind. Ecological art work can help engender an intuitive appreciation of the environment, address core values, advocate political action, and broaden intellectual understanding.

Ecological art is much more than a traditional painting, photograph, or sculpture of the natural landscape. While such works may be visually pleasing, they are generally based on awe inspiring or picturesque, preconceived views of the natural world. Ecological art, in contrast, is grounded in an ethos that focuses on communities and inter-relationships. These relationships include not only physical and biological pathways but also the cultural, political and historical aspects of communities or ecological systems.The focus of a work of art can range from elucidating the complex structure of an ecosystem, examining a particular issue, i.e. a type of relationship, interacting with a given locale, or engaging in a restorative or premeditative function.

Eco-art may explore, re-envision, or attempt to heal aspects of the natural environment that have gone unnoticed or reflect human neglect. The work may challenge the viewer's preconceptions and/or encourage them to change their behavior. Metaphor is often a key element of ecological art. Metaphors help both to make apparent existing patterns of relationship and to envision new types of interaction.

National Education Technology Standards

1.Basic operations and concepts
2.Social, ethical, and human issues
3.Technology productivity tools
4.Technology communications tools
5.Technology research tools
6.Technology problem-solving and decision-making tools

NAEA Standards:

1.8 Research

3.8 Science, Technology and Human Endeavors

4.3 Environmental Health

4.6 Ecosystems and their Interactions

4.8 Humans and the Environment

9.1 Production of Visual Arts

9.2 Historical and Cultural Contexts

9.3 Critical Response

9.4 Aesthetic ResponseOwls of Huitapec.

images are on the site

(Housing project for endangered owls) Reservoir Tree (for roosting and nesting by colony nesting water birds)

Goal: To grow and awareness of ECO ART.

Objectives: Students will/ be able to:

1. Discuss the meaning or purpose of art in nature.



2. Make their own image using tools in sketch it and a scene in nature.



3. Use skills learn through Photoshop as well as Google link.

Teacher’s Prep Visuals:

1. computer

2. magazines

Supplies and materials:

1. slides

2. internet google earth, sketch it, ask.com

3. pictures

4. magazines

Teaching:Discuss the difference between environmental art from humans and art within the land or nature. Show images to test the knowledge of students. Have students go on the links listed on a link sheet and have them pick an image they would like to interpret or improve themselves on sketch it.Ulrike Arnold

Directions:
1. Students will get in groups of four.

2. Look at several images on the internet.

3. Students will then decide what continents they will like to research.

4. Find an artist from that country and look at ECO Art.

5. Look at the natural scenes and pick one of each.

6. Write a short summary of artist chosen.

7. Go into Sketch it and make a landscape of your own natural scene.

8. Have a critique and share natural image. ECO ART

Extensions:Students can go to Photoshop and change their image.

Critique/Assessments:At the end of the class students will share their images.

Closure:Students will put their image on our class site.

Time Budget:Two -45 minute classes

Safety Concerns:Take 5 minute breaks after 20 minutes to rest eyes.

Vocabulary:

1. Art Eco
   
2. Photoshop
   
3. Sketch It
   
4. Google


5. Earth Eco design

Bibliography:

1. www.greenmuseum.org



2. www.artecodesign.ca/history.php



3. www.highbeam.com



4. http://ecodesign.bioneers.org



5. www.ecoartspace.org



6. http://artsedge-kennedy-center.com



7. http:/www.wsu.edu



8. http://www.weartist.org



9. http://www.sfsu.edu/~gallery/eco/Arnold.htm



10. http://greenart.info/guide/painting.htm



11. http://www.studiotara.net/ecoart/