On Friday, Nov. 7, a team of professors from the University of Nevada, Reno presented alongside visiting artist Pujita Guha, an Indian artist and curator, and current Mahindra Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard University, on the power of interdisciplinary field work. The event highlighted the ways that science and art can be used simultaneously to enhance students’ observation and note-taking skills out in the field, and the power of work done in collaboration with local communities and fellow academics.

Matt Forister, Ph.D., Foundation Professor and Trevor J. McMinn Endowed Research Professor in Biology at the University, discussed the importance of careful attention when cataloging different species across field sites. In his presentation, he noted how student surveys of butterflies are contributing to a rich legacy of butterfly monitoring that tracks biodiversity loss in the Sierras in Northern Nevada and California. Additionally, training students in the art of noticing has given them skills that make them better prepared for professional fieldwork.

“When getting students outside, the best thing is seeing them learn and observe a few of the plants and animals around them,” Forister said during the panel. “It seems like such a simple thing, but in a few weeks of field work, they can go from seeing everything as just green and squishy to really noticing the intricacies of the natural landscape with the diligence of an artist.”

Teaching students to weave skills from art and science is part of a broader effort between the University of Nevada, Reno and the Nevada Museum of Art to connect the community to educational resources about art, the environment and sustainability. In coming months, the University of Nevada, Reno’s Tahoe Institute for Global Sustainability will continue to work alongside the Museum to host events and talks that continue the Institute’s mission of facilitating community engagement from local to global gatherings across the sciences, engineering, art, humanities, and journalism while promoting discourse, critical thinking, and collaboration across interested parties to solve society's pressing challenges.

Some upcoming events include:

• Feb. 12:  Sustaining transboundary watersheds – Reno film debut of The American Southwest and panel discussion focused on communications, art, and documentation of environmental changes in the Colorado River.
• March 13: Sustaining the Mekong River basin, seas of change from the delta of Vietnam to the mountains of China
• April 16-18,  Arts + Environment Summit: Under Pressure