Fall news update-
It’s been a busy late summer and fall with lots to share.
In August I made my second trip to Svalbard, this time on the Special Circumnavigation of Svalbard with the Arctic Circle. This trip, on the ship Ortelius, took 97 artists, writers, scientists and musicians all around the archipelago. We saw walruses, whales, puffins, polar bears and more but overall the thing that will stick with me forever was melting glaciers, rain, mist and mud.
It was a beautiful, dramatic, and heartbreaking trip. I brought a field microscope and a plankton net, the last courtesy of the University of Michigan Bio Station. To my dismay every sample set had microplastics present. It was a remarkable but shattering experience and one I’m very much still processing. You can see many pix from the trip on my instagram
I also spent a few weeks in Iceland which is also a place changing fast due to climate change. I’ve never spent time in a landscape so utterly formed by vulcanism and to say that it was dramatic and thought provoking is an understatement. I came away deeply impressed by the resilience and resourcefulness of the original settlers there. It was a very hard place to live until well into the 20th century.
Coming back from the high latitudes was an intense re-entry. I dove hard into two projects - one ending and one really just getting started. The ending one? Finishing my class to become a Certified Michigan Naturalist. I learned so much about the ecosystems and geology of my home state - enough to realize how much I still have to learn. This course brought me into a wonderful group of people focused on stewarding our natural communities.
The second project? A few months back I was lucky enough to be chosen to join an interdisciplinary group focused on the issue of dust on snow in the 4 corners area. Dust on snow sounds innocuous but it’s not. It causes serious dust storms severe enough to lead to multi-car pile-ups, major erosion and significant respiratory challenges. It’s worst in the spring months when the region has extremely high winds but can happen at any time.
The Wright Ingraham Institute and the Mountain Studies Institute brought a group together to work on the problem including soil scientists, ecologists, soil conservation officers, filmmakers, grant writers, poets, storytellers and visual artists. Last week we met in Cortez Colorado to prepare and hold a symposium attended by more than 70 people. This article from the Colorado Sun gives a great overview of the problem and our symposium.
This is the beginning of a longitudinal project which will work to develop innovative approaches to improve the situation including landscape restoration, major dust reduction and therefore less trouble with water. Dust on snow leads to bursty and early snow melt at a time when the ground is still frozen so the water runs off rather than sinking in to restore aquifers and help farmers and ranchers. I’m excited to be part of this group and hoping my visual skills will be put to good use documenting the work and developing K-12 curriculum on the subject.
Winter will bring a lot of contemplation on how these ideas about climate, stewardship and communication interconnect - and a lot of making in the studio for an exhibition in the spring at Norwest Gallery in Detroit. In the meantime I will hope for a good result to the elections and a peaceful and productive fall into winter for you all.
Thanks for reading!
warmly-
Leslie
