considering the inherent ties between privilege and resilience to environmental shocks, my biggest challenge in this project was grappling with my own privilege: i am a multiethnic person of color and my communities are among those most affected by these inequities, yet i have the privileges of lighter skin and the resources and experience of my columbia education, among others. i had to think about how to communicate my investment in these issues, without centering the problems around myself and my own experiences as an individual.

willey looked at the creature as an artist, not just as a regular observer, and noticed the hairs on the eyeballs, the hairs on the legs, and all-around “cuteness” that he hadn’t seen before when bees were flying around in his yard.

while he didn’t know it at the time, the bee was sick and died a mere two hours after landing in willey’s studio. he put the bee in the backyard and came back inside to start researching honey bees. that’s when willey discovered a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder.

“i was fascinated that this giant, globally devastating thing was happening, and i had heard nothing about it, not a headline in the newspaper,” willey said.  

colony collapse disorder occurs when hives are abandoned by worker bees without a definitive cause. scientists have pointed to excessive pesticide-use, like roundup, and the presence of varroa mites – parasitic creatures that latch onto bees – as probable instigators of colony collapse.

more than 30 percent of hives in the u.s. collapsed in 2013 due to this phenomenon, according to the environmental protection agency.

altruistic self-removal – where bees remove themselves from a hive if they are sick – is also becoming a more common practice among honey bees who do so for the good of the hive. the bee instinctively realizes that their immune system is collective – it’s based on the hive and not the individual bee.  

beekeepers lost more bees in the summer than the winter months for the first time in 2015, even though hive collapse is more common in the winter. sustainability experts say if colony collapse continues at the same rate, honey bees managed for agricultural purposes will die out by 2035.

the sharp decline in honey bees will also impact agricultural costs, which are estimated to rise $5.7 billion each year, according to a 2011 natural resources defense council report. for major cash crops in california –  like almonds that generate nearly $3 billion each year – the decline in bees could have devastating results as almonds use about half of the honey bees in the united states alone.

now, willey leads the project “the good of the hive.” through the initiative – which he started more than three years ago – willey will paint 50,000 bees in murals around the world, the same amount of bees found in a healthy hive.

willey’s current focus is the smithsonian national zoo, where he will paint hundreds of bees on the walls surrounding the great ape house.

“by painting them really big on a wall and giving it emotional energy, to the bees as a collective, for the individual bees where they are, i think it changes the perception of the person when they’re in their yard with them,” he said.

the mural in d.c. follows the opening of the zoo’s “me and bee” playground in september – an interactive area of the zoo that aims to teach children about the important role of pollinators.

willey said the project could take more than 25 years, giving the initiative’s message time to spread from person to person.  

“that gives us enough time to have things come into focus,” he said. “it can actually be a joyful experience in repairing what needs to be repaired.”

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video by bridie o’connell and leah potter

the backyard project is about the greatest innovation anyone of us can make- ourselves and our perception. the root of the environmental crisis rests in every human being and our relationship with this planet- our home. how can we cultivate sustainable living on the large scale from the ground up, if so few individuals actually take the time to connect with the earth? sustainable living starts with the belief that the earth deserves our respect, care, and love.

the backyard project is a method that combines the principles of mindfulness along with a commitment to take at least 5 minutes to be outside and experience the earth. what results is an entirely unique experience for each individual who attempts this reflection, and prompts them to express their sensory experiences and insights through creative means- to create a story of their own. the art that results from these experiences has the potential to move people to reflect on their own relationships with the planet.  

this project harnesses the simple yet powerful idea of individual agency, and how people can be ripples that create a wave. in order to live sustainably with the earth, we must grow our roots together.

my submission includes my own artwork and story produced by applying these principles. see my full story here:  https://sansat.exposure.co/the-backyard-project?source=share-sansat

drawing inspiration from the vintage national park posters of the 1930s and ’40s, as well as from hannah rothstein’s national parks: 2050, i imagine a world where our parks are celebrated, not for the natural wonders within them, but for the resources we extract from them. i have chosen the top five most visited national parks in an attempt to bring this issue, that may seem far removed from the american public, closer to home. it is up to us to make our voices heard, before this worst-case scenario becomes our reality.

write to your state and federal elected officials and tell them why you care about public lands, support businesses that advocate for them, and get involved with organizations like outdoor alliance who are fighting fiercely to protect them. together, our support won’t move mountains, but keep them as they were meant to be, wild and free.

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for more information about the artist, visit: https://kaitevensen.wixsite.com/website

for the last 40 years, lonnie has been an artist and musician who highlights the realities of waste and environmental degradation. 

large-scale change involves a big group of like-minded people committed towards taking a step in the right direction. brandon wood, a graduate student at the university of california, berkeley, shares this view. wood is one of the students behind earth action initiative, a conference occurring in april at uc berkeley.

“the goal is to focus on actions, what we can do, and our central philosophy is that we want to reduce the barrier for people to take action,” wood said.

funding action through mini-grants

there is strength in numbers, and earth action initiative is a place where like-minded people are given the resources and support to work together towards a common goal.  

in addition to workshops on topics ranging from responsible consumerism to the role of narrative in science communication, the conference “matchmakes” students to external organizations. according to wood, there is a large number of students working on sustainability initiatives and solutions to environmental problems, and they should not have to reinvent the wheel.

wood worked on a conference last year called “fired up” that featured a similar matchmaking process.

“last year’s event filled an activism niche that had been missed by other organizations and events on campus,” he said. “i hope to incorporate that into earth action initiative.” this year’s conference will couple the matchmaking with mini-grants, another way to facilitate a tangible outcome. mini-grants can be as simple as funding a student group who wants to bring in a speaker for 500 dollars.

“we see [the mini-grants] as a way to keep our focus on action,” according to wood.

while most workshops are marketed towards students, the evening portion of the conference features a climate art experience. the website describes this event as as the usage of “art and food to convey climate science in an intimate and tangible way.”

“there’s these sort of ivory towers,” wood explained. “you have science on one side, you have humanities, you have different ones that don’t interact much. i think a lot of people [from different disciplines] care about climate, so it’s nice to have an event where groups can exchange ideas.”

art as a medium of communication 

additionally, art and food are ways people can connect to climate change and environmental health in a less abstract way. when we hear about problems that affect us globally, it is easy to feel removed from the situation. this part of the conference attempts to change that.

“a lot of times people have a negative response when they’re confronted with the enormity of these issues,” wood explained. “you have this knee-jerk reaction, and you want to put your head into the sand.”

the art show is a different way people can relate to and connect with these issues. “rather than looking at an atmospheric plot of carbon dioxide, art is something people can understand and be inspired by,” he said.

creating the resources for collaboration 

most of the time, one person trying to make a difference isn’t enough. while individual inspiration and motivation are important, collaboration is a necessity.

“we’re sort of inclined to break the problem down into smaller, solvable problems, but i think [that won’t work with] an interconnected, global issue,” wood said. instead, large-scale initiatives are needed. he cites the paris accords as a step in the right direction, and that small initiatives working separately won’t make the impact they want to.

the paris accords was an agreement between governments, which are riddled with bureaucracy, inefficiency, and many other issues that can make unilateral action difficult. organizations committed to improving environmental conditions can avoid some of these problems. the biggest issue is that most of them are too small and disconnected to act together. projects like earth action initiative can connect people and resources, so we can all work towards a better tomorrow.

a project like this would work best in a setting where young people, full of drive and resources, are in their intellectual and motivational prime.

“one thing we are thinking about is [scaling] this to other college campuses,” wood explained. college is where many people find what they want to do for the rest of their lives. if this is even tangentially related to sustainability or environmental health, a conference like earth action initiative can connect them with the right resources and organizations. from the opposite end, sponsors, whether local, national or international, could be interested in finding talent to further their goals. connecting organizations with students whose personal and career objectives align well with their mission statements is a win-win situation. wood hopes to maximize these connections so both actors have a greater chance of collective action and ultimately making a difference.

“i feel like climate is one of those things that can get you down pretty easily, because it’s not hard to get pessimistic,” wood confessed. “i want everyone coming away from this feeling inspired, with the realization that there’s a community at berkeley who cares”

margaret mead is thought to have said that a group of thoughtful, committed citizens is the only thing that has changed the world. i believe this is the key to restoring environmental health. all that’s left is for us to come together. 

on the reservation, you are constantly reminded of the cultural loss of a harmonious lifestyle with the land. consumerism and acts of violence against the native people from european americans took away more than a lifestyle, leaving trauma and broken human hearts in its wake.

as an european american growing up on tribal lands, i saw glimpses of the mindset that allowed humans to co-exist with animal and plant ecosystems in many of the native traditions.  one example is through hunting; there is a respect for the animal that you are preparing to eat. there is a careful preservation of each part of the animal to be used for leather, antler bone, and meat for food to regalia. i also saw knowledge of local plants and what they offer (or how they can harm) humans. the lifestyle was social, efficient, and sustainable, but none of it sprung out of a desire to be environmentally friendly; native communities simply live this way to survive and enjoy life.

in the city i am constantly exposed to extraneous resources. it is almost laughably easy to find free food, furniture, or even clothes! the major difference is the availability of land for plants and living spaces. there was a huge movement in the lower east side to reclaim urban spaces for community in the late 70’s and 80’s. it sprung partially out of a need for safety and security, and partially for the lack of monetary resources available in the neighborhood. the increase in abandoned land and buildings made it increasingly unsafe for the remaining residents, so there was a movement to take back this land from its absentee “owner” and use it for community good. this was the impetus for local gardens grown on empty lots, squatters refurbishing and making abandoned and broken buildings safe again. the mindset wasn’t out of a need to become environmentally friendly, but these communities started recycling, sourcing their food locally, reusing and re-purposing their waste and the “garbage” of others. they became sustainable and happy from creating a sub-culture and way of life within new york city that didn’t rely on consumerism.

in new york city and on the reservation, i saw that sustainability can grow out of a need; not just an ethical sensibility or a desire to become more efficient. today we see a lot of differences pointed out in the media between rural and urban communities – which may distract us from environmental issues – but why not examine the common sustainable ingenuity arising out of the simple will to survive anywhere?

as an artist these revelations and others like them have inspired my work, but i hope that these communities can inspire more than that. i want to be a part a movement of people who are re-thinking how they fulfill their needs without consumerism. we should be looking to those who had no choice but to develop their own community sans consumerism, or those who had lost faith in consumerism because it could no longer serve their needs. let’s not try to re-invent the wheel, let’s do this together with past generations wisdom to rely on.
 

the answer, of course, is a resounding “no.” the truth is that this apparent mismatch of personality and appearance is no mismatch at all, and the explanation lies in the nature of the “weapons” percy creates. not harbingers of destruction, but messengers of hope, happiness, and healing; the bombs the artist crafts are designed to spread life, not death. and this is not just an analogy, for each tiny bomb is filled with flowers rather than fire. to be more exact, percy’s bombs are brimming with seeds that will sprout into an array of wildflowers and other plants when they’re unleashed upon the world.

it is not just plants that grow from the seed-bombs percy creates, either. what these little works of art are really intended to cultivate is a relationship: a connection between people and the places that surround them. the artist’s mission is to help others develop and tend to their relationships with their local ecosystems, teaching them to care for and appreciate the living communities in which they are immersed.

ecology as inspiration

inspired by personal connections to the landscapes and ecosystems of new york’s southern tier, percy works to explore and honor these connections through art. much of the artist’s work incorporates place-specific materials, from seed-bombs filled with native plants to hand-made paper and books created using flowers, leaves, and other organic matter from nature.

“i don’t think my art practice and my love of nature have ever been separate,” percy said.

as a 2017 graduate of alfred university in alfred, n.y., classes that focused on making art based on investigating place and natural processes helped percy find a sense of purpose as an artist.

percy’s recent work is intended to evoke curiosity and inspire people to learn more about the ecological communities of which they are a part. while an artist in residence at the adirondack interpretation center (aic), run by the suny college of environmental science and forestry (suny-esf), percy encouraged visitors to appreciate and become stewards of the environment.

the paper percy created during the residency became not only a surface on which to write such a message, but an incarnation of the message itself. by transforming native plants into raw material for individual, hand-crafted sheets of paper, the artist carefully directs viewer’s attention to the beauty found in the native plants we often view as weeds. one of percy’s favorite sources is milkweed, a native plant that is a critical resource for monarch butterflies and also happens to produce a beautifully iridescent paper with an appealing, silky shimmer.

gathering the milkweed seed fibers, which is best done in fall after the first frost, also helps percy get in touch with the cycle of seasons. these seasonal shifts — along with other ecological topics like the distribution of species — figure prominently in much of the art percy produced during the summer residency at the aic. the science bound up in understanding these natural processes provides a clear link between percy’s work and the mission of suny-esf, focusing on both the technical and social aspects of sustainability. by taking an innovative and beautiful approach to exploring the environment and our connection to it, percy is advancing a creative model for inspiring people to learn about and safeguard the diversity of life on earth.

creating connections between art and science

so while they may seem an unlikely pairing, science and art are clearly linked in percy’s opinion. the artist holds that the two subjects aren’t as disparate as they may seem.

“art and science are both about investigation and navigating the unknown, using different tactics to articulate the experience of being in the world,” percy explained.

if art and science can come together to help people learn about the world around them, it isn’t so far-fetched to believe percy’s conviction that art is also tied to another seemingly unrelated cause: activism. in fact, art and activism are inherently complementary, according to percy.

“[art is] a way to introduce new ideas to society and to conceptualize alternative ways of being in the world,” percy said. if that doesn’t count as activism, then not much does.

returning to the subject of seed-bombs, one can see just how socially — and environmentally — conscious percy’s art really is. the act of scattering seeds may not jump out as an effective agent of social change, but the purpose behind these little packages of life illuminates their true power. seed bombs are part of a tactic the artist (and others) have termed “guerrilla gardening,” the act of intentionally growing plants on land that you don’t own. besides spreading beauty and restoring native species in everything from vacant lots to public parks and even private lawns, sowing these “illegal” seeds subverts the social fabric of property rights, while subtly challenging the separation of humans and nature that has become so pervasive in modern culture.

while they may not have the explosive force of their more dangerous cousins, seed-bombs have a transformative power of their own. by teaching others to make seed-bombs using plants native to their unique ecological surroundings, percy is fostering a connection between humans and the environment, speaking out against the alienation of people from nature and a myriad of other social constructions. percy says seed-bombs are just one of many creative strategies we can use “to cultivate life and be a steward of the land without boundaries.”

all of percy’s work, from paper, to books, to prints and hand-bound journals, supports this creative and forward-thinking style of activism. and the artist says they are not alone in using art to push for progress in society. “there are plenty of artist-activists out there finding ways to use art as a tool to change the world,” percy said.

for those looking to try their own hand at melding creativity and environmental awareness, percy suggests connecting with others who have already opened their eyes to the power of art as activism. according to the artist, the best way to learn is by “just having candid conversations with all kinds of people — about what’s important to them and to you, and about the place and the community you’re both in.”

ultimately, percy says that “making art of any kind means forging your own path.”

in other words, everyone will come to their own conclusions about how to reconnect with the landscape, take care of their ecological community, and encourage others to do the same.

watching percy blaze ahead on this creative course, it’s clear that a determined spirit blooms beneath the artist’s peaceful façade. it turns out percy is a warrior after all; with bombs full of flowers and a milkweed-paper shield the artist is charting a course towards a better future for people, plants, and the planet we call home.

“the exhibits i remember most as a kid were at the exploratorium,” he explained. “when i got to really interact with something, it stayed with me.” his goal is similar experiences- wonder and engagement- through installations that are “simple, playful, and interactive.”as an interactive artist, he wants to create exhibits with a universal appeal so that that everyone young, old, rich poor, can understand and interact with his work. phanichphant views design as a tool to help people solve problems. with this outlook, he decided to apply his design thinking to his artistic endeavors and see what problems he could tackle.

one of the issues he felt was drastically under-covered in the 2016 presidential election was climate change. armed with a robust education in both human-computer interaction and product design, as well as his “superpower” for making abstract things tangible, phanichphant decided he was going to tackle the issue of climate change.

stories are better than logic

that december, he had an exhibition in matsudo, japan called too slow to see. he realized that the best way to make your work accessible is to know your audience. before he started thinking about what to build, he thought about the best way to get to know the audience he was trying to connect with. he began talking to as many people as possible to get an insight on the matsudo culture, synthesizing that into information he could use for his projects.

he brainstormed with post-its plastered on the walls, connecting personal stories with larger ideas, dialogue with inspiration, thoughts and feelings with broader social patterns and norms. phanichphant saw patterns between micro and macroscopic perspectives, gaining a deeper insight to what would really get through, not to just the citizens of matsudo, but to people everywhere.

“the first idea i had was that stories and feelings have a greater impact than logic,” he explained, an idea that exemplifies not only this series of works on climate change but in his current approach to education as well. phanichphant uses a “user-centric” approach when he teaches marketing at the jacobs institute for design innovation at uc berkeley. this perspective contrasts with the often-used product-centered approach, where students will often try to sell something by extolling its features and benefits. phanichphant instead wants students to use a narrative approach to describe how the product can improve lives and and solve problems. he explained that storytelling was a crucial skill to have and it allows the artist to better connect with the people that view their work. people can read information in words and numbers, but stories are what stick with them. this insight was the foundation for the in three emojis exhibit, in which visitors shared thoughts on climate change with emojis rather than words, like in the example below. ​

local is better than global

“the second thing i realized was that local is more important than global,” meaning that what people see around them is what they will care about. it’s immediate. it’s present. it’s what affects our friends and our families. he needed to find a way to make climate change less of a “global” problem and more of an issue people felt connected to.

thus, he designed feel the warming, an exhibit in which a museum-goer stuck his or her head in the middle of a model of matsudo, and a heat lamp would stimulate the warming effects carbon emissions have on his or her hometown.

action is better than talking

the third insight was that action was more effective than talking. he created together we start, or what he refers to as “a piece of art in exchange for a promise.” each person who interacts with the piece takes a small cartoon drawn by the artist with a pledge on the back, to do something small like eat less meat or bring a reusable bag grocery shopping. over time, as more and more people take the drawings off the wall, a message is revealed: together we start. just talking about climate change won’t do much to lessen our impacts. taking the first steps to reducing one’s carbon footprint while we see how we are a part of a larger effort to reduce our carbon footprint gives us some perspective on how our individual pledges combine to a greater promise to save the planet.

many is better than one

the final thing phanichphant wanted to emphasize was that many was greater than one. this inspired his piece connect our efforts, the piece that catalyzed the enthusiastic participation of the young boy in the gallery. this piece illustrates the hopelessness of tackling the challenge of climate change alone and the possibility of real impact when we work together.

the importance of collaboration is the thesis behind the next project he was a part of: air miners. while giving a presentation on his interactive exhibits in matsudo, phanichphant was approached to join the team as a designer. “instead of thinking of carbon as a burden, air miners frames it as something we can mine, an opportunity,” he explained, comparing it to gold.

the website itself is an index of all the companies working to reduce carbon emissions, bringing people that care about the issue together. “it’s another way to make the abstract tangible. before this website, a lot of these companies didn’t know anything about each other,” he said.

even though this is a niche organization, he hopes this idea of bringing people together based on a demonstrated need and a desire to help the planet trickles down and creates jobs and awareness in other places.

the echo chamber

it may seem like phanichphant has reached all his goals, but he has one big problem: he’s trapped in the echo chamber. “in the context of art and design and even academia… the majority is on the liberal side of things, and it made me think of how my art wasn’t really changing the minds of people who don’t care.”

hence the echo chamber, where we bounce our ideas in a space of like-minded people while people who have other priorities, whether that’s people who are struggling to survive or people who prioritize getting rich over everything else, are outside our bubble. his next step is using a design process to answer his own question: “what’s the most effective way to change minds in the age of changing climate?”