Embargoed for release until:
12:01 AM PDT
August 8, 2007

Not-so-strange-bedfellows
Partnerships between scientists and artists

Organized Oral Session 21 – Not-such-strange-bedfellows: Partnerships between scientists and artists enhance ecological research, art, and ecological restoration.   Wednesday, August 8, 2007, 8:00 – 11:30 AM, A4&5 San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, CA.  Organizers: Nalini Nadkarni, The Evergreen State College (NadkarnN@evergreen.edu) and Frederick Swanson, Oregon State University (swansonf@fsl.orst.edu).

Art and ecology. Scientific method and artistic creativity. Or is it scientific creativity and artistic method? Either way, science and art can influence each other greatly. Researchers gain new ways to reach out to communities and new audiences, and artists gain a better understanding of their subjects.

In 2006, Nalini Nadkarni (Evergreen State University) gathered ecologists, writers, poets, sculptors, and other artists together in the  “Canopy Confluence.” This project occurred in the field research setting of an old growth forest in the Pacific Northwest. All participants climbed tall trees to study canopy ecology and to gather materials and understanding of the forest to communicate the complexity of the ecosystem to public audiences.  The resulting projects and works from the Confluence – as well as eight other  collaborative scientist/artist projects from around the country – will be presented at the Organized Oral Session on August 8, 2007. 

The session, co-organized by Nadkarni and and Fred Swanson of the H.J. Andrews Long-term Ecological Research Program, will present a diverse range of projects, from one-on-one encounters between researcher and artist, to large-scale expeditions that harnessed the expertise of over 50 researchers and artists.   The ten oral talks will alternate between scientists and artists, and will include scientific data from the scientists as well as poetry, dance works, excerpts from a  novel and visual art pieces from the artists.

This session provides the first gathering and formal reflection at a scientific meeting on how such potentially “strange bedfellows” can enhance our collective understanding and communication about ecosystems to scientists and a variety of public audiences.

For more information about this session and other ESA meeting activities, visit: http://www.esa.org/sanjose/.  The theme of the meeting is “Ecology-based restoration in a changing world” and some 4,000 scientists are expected to attend.