Art and Science: The Power of STEAM

Last week, I helped the Wisconsin Water Librarian, Anne, install a very special exhibit in a UW-Madison campus library. Titled Under the Surface: A Photographic Journey of Hope and Healing, the exhibit includes photographs taken by teenagers at Northwest Passage, a residential treatment program in northern Wisconsin. Each photograph has an artist card next to it explaining the importance of that piece of artwork for the artist who created it.

Photo: one portion of the Under the Surface exhibit in Memorial Library. Photo taken by me.

The exhibit was eye-opening for me. I connected to aquatic sciences in a way I never thought possible, and at the same time I gained an appreciation for the healing power of artistic expression and scientific exploration.

While science has always been a passion of mine, I now understand that it is much more than that for some people. Science can provide a tether to real life, a sense of purpose, a way to connect with others, and an escape from one’s own thoughts. When combined with the expressive nature of photography, science is transformed from facts and figures into an indescribable experience. Art has a way of bringing out the beautiful side in science, allowing people to connect to it in unique and personal ways.

Northwest Passage is doing just that. They are creating opportunities for struggling teens who are looking for a way to share their experiences. In turn, the photographs they create are bringing awareness to aquatic issues and allow for a more humanist perspective when it comes to environmental sciences. It is amazing to witness, and I feel lucky that I had the chance to help display the artwork to the UW-Madison community. The artwork is also being displayed at the Alicia Ashman branch of Madison Public Library, an important step in reaching the public with this message as well!

Photo: “Looking Up” by Jade, 16. Part of the Under the Surface series, In a New Light, Northwest Passage, Ltd.

Photo: “Within the Chaos” by Ndolo, 17. Part of the Under the Surface series, In a New Light, Northwest Passage, Ltd.

This combination of art with historically numbers-driven fields is an emerging concept often referred to as STEAM. As a variation of the acronym STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math/Medicine – the A is added to represent the role art can play in disseminating scientific information and garnering public support for scientific issues.

Other artists and scientists have also recognized the influential role that art can have on scientific opinions and awareness. For example, the work in Alexis Rockman: The Great Lakes Cycle is a perfect demonstration of STEAM. Alexis Rockman creates larger-than-life paintings representing the past, present, and potentially terrible future of the Great Lakes. The more you look at the paintings, the more you realize how many little hidden surprises there are and how they all play into the larger artwork. In some of his artwork, he even uses materials he has gathered from the lakes, like sand, to create images.

Photo: Cascade, 2015, Alexis Rockman. Photo from Grand Rapids Art Museum.

Photo: sand art representing fauna of the Great Lakes, Alexis Rockman. Photo taken by me at the Chicago Cultural Center.

There are many artists working on STEAM projects, and academic institutions often get involved. Here at UW-Madison, the Wisconsin Water Library and Center for Limnology have worked on Art and Science projects in the past. Each of these examples have one thing in common: they recognize the important role that artistic expression can make in connecting people with science.

I’m proud that I attend a university with a library system that supports endeavors like Northwest Passage. I’m proud of the fact that many, many patrons already stopped to talk to me about the exhibit while we were setting up. And I’m proud that I get to work with a librarian and other staff at Sea Grant who see the greatness in projects like Under the Surface, provide funding for these experiences, and find a way to demonstrate the impact to a larger community.

If you check out the exhibit, prepare to be amazed!

Links to things I mentioned in this article:

Information about the exhibits at UW-Madison Memorial Library and Madison Public Library.

More information about Northwest Passage.

To support Under the Surface, purchase prints and other merchandise here.

This week, I wanted to highlight a TED Talk about the Great Lakes. I searched every possible combination of words I could think of for the Great Lakes on the TED website, but I kept getting zero results. Silly me, I chose my topic before I looked into what talks actually exist!

But then I started to wonder… what’s going on here? How is it possible that there isn’t a single TED Talk about the largest collection of fresh water in the world? Sure, there might be Great Lakes talks at regional TEDx events, but are there actually zero on the primary website?

In a way, this says a lot about peoples’ perception of the Great Lakes. TED Talks are usually focused on global crises, innovation, and curiosities. The fact that none exist about the Great Lakes is a sign that the lakes aren’t seen as a priority worth discussing right now, despite the many challenges they face today and rising concerns over water security.

Photo: Great Lakes in winter from NASA Visible Earth project, https://visibleearth.nasa.gov/.

Even though I couldn’t find a TED Talk on the Great Lakes, there are plenty about water scarcity and contamination. Rather than focus on the negatives, I chose a talk that highlights a cool way to improve the climate situation globally while supporting aquatic ecosystems as well.

Simone Bianco and Tom Zimmerman present the wonderful world of plankton, the “Elders” who have survived for millions of years on nothing but the power of the sun and CO₂!

Bianco and Zimmerman tap into a common strategy in conservation work: use a charismatic megafauna species to make people more sympathetic toward environmental issues. You’ve seen this before. Polar bears trapped on a small block of ice, dolphins playing together in the ocean, and pandas munching on bamboo are a few common examples.

Photo: another charismatic megafauna, the koala, and her joey at the San Diego Zoo, https://zoonooz.sandiegozoo.org/.

The problem is that plankton, the foundation of life in many ecosystems (including the Great Lakes!), aren’t exactly the most relatable or charming creatures out there. They aren’t fluffy or playful or cute. In fact, they don’t seem like they are much of anything at first glance.

Photo: plankton under a microscope, https://www.britannica.com/.

These two TED Talkers set out to change the way we view plankton.

In an amusing demonstration reminiscent of Fantastic Voyage, Innerspace, and Magic School Bus, Bianco and Zimmerman take you “scuba diving” with the plankton in a single drop of water. They present amazing facts about different types of plankton and explain their importance to other species, water quality, food production, the economy, and climate change. By providing a first-hand look into the life of plankton, the speakers hope that people will connect more with the little organisms and appreciate the ways they influence our lives.

Photo: screenshot of the TED Talk taken while Bianco and Zimmerman explore plankton, bit.ly/2RZKG6U.

Plankton have been a near-perfect indicator for water quality and invasive species trends in the Great Lakes.¹ They are an important enough part of the ecosystem that Great Lakes phytoplankton and zooplankton are both monitored by the EPA.^{2, 3} Bianco and Zimmerman are right: we need to be paying more attention to the smaller species in the water, even if they aren’t always as exciting as salmon or sturgeon. Great Lakes life would be impossible without them!

Bianco and Zimmerman are goofy and engaging presenters and their talk is worth a watch: bit.ly/2RZKG6U. It might just inspire you to take a closer look at the tiny creatures that make up our world!

Check out the Wisconsin Water Library’s resources on plankton here, and find some slightly more serious TED Talks on water here.

Resources I mentioned in this article:

¹ Reavie, Euan D., et al. “Phytoplankton Trends in the Great Lakes, 2001–2011.” Journal of Great Lakes Research, vol. 40, no. 3, 20 May 2014, pp. 618–639., doi:10.1016/j.jglr.2014.04.013.

² “Great Lakes Phytoplankton Monitoring.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 14 Dec. 2017, www.epa.gov/great-lakes-monitoring/great-lakes-phytoplankton-monitoring.

³ “Great Lakes Zooplankton Monitoring.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 4 Sept. 2018, www.epa.gov/great-lakes-monitoring/great-lakes-zooplankton-monitoring.

Every year, the Chancellor at UW-Madison chooses a hot-topic book for the Go Big Read initiative. Discussions about the book are held at public libraries and the book is read in college classes. It’s an impressive program that involves both campus and the surrounding community, and past books have covered a ton of different topics!

This year, the Go Big Read book is The Death and Life of the Great Lakes by Dan Egan, which addresses challenges and opportunities for the Great Lakes in the 21^st century. As you can imagine, my coworkers over here at the Aquatic Sciences Center (where the Wisconsin Water Library lives) are pretty thrilled about the choice!

Photo: cover of the Go Big Read 2018 book, The Death and Life of the Great Lakes, Dan Egan.

After reading the book, I took away three important ideas (and a ton of amusing facts that will serve me well in trivia nights).

First, the Great Lakes are basically one big environmental mess right now. And they have been for a long time because of human decisions. Ecological imbalance, habitat destruction, erosion from high water levels, and aquatic invasive species are a few of the largest issues the lakes are facing today.

Photo: Quagga mussels, a small aquatic invader with a huge impact. https://www.newscientist.com/.

Second, tackling the topic of Great Lakes challenges is no easy feat! When we consider the Great Lakes, we have to talk about much more than just ecology. Here are a few examples of other important aspects of Great Lakes conversation:

• Political forces that drive decisions about the lakes and determine who has access to the precious fresh water resource
• International relations with our Canadian neighbors
• Water and environmental education for diverse communities
• Fishing and recreation economies and the environmental protections that are needed to maintain them

The list could go on forever! Because fresh water is such a scarce and essential resource, it touches every aspect of life.

Photo: fishing on Lake Michigan, a critical economic activity on the Great Lakes. https://www.boatsetter.com/.

The third thing I learned while reading the book was that all hope isn’t lost. Despite the enormous challenges that face the Great Lakes today, there are still opportunities to revitalize and protect them. It’s not too late, but the status quo needs to change ASAP!

Our experts here at the Aquatic Sciences Center at UW-Madison and regional colleagues weighed in on opportunities for improving Great Lakes conditions. They have some great insights and advice:

• Funding for Great Lakes research and programming is good right now, so we need to use it wisely while we have it
• Citizen science, citizen restoration, and other individual actions make a huge impact
• Great Lakes literacy is improving through place-based, experiential programs for communities
• Green infrastructure can help prevent stormwater runoff and untreated pollutants from contaminating the Great Lakes

Again, this list could go on forever! With each challenge facing the Great Lakes today, there is an opportunity to improve it. Just think of how many chances we have to make a change!

Photo: Lake Superior in the fall. http://bobber.discoverwisconsin.com/.

If you’re interested in learning more about Great Lakes challenges and opportunities, here is the schedule of events for Go Big Read (you can come even if you haven’t read the book, but you should totally read the book). Dan Egan himself is the keynote speaker at the free October 16th event. On top of that, our very own Anne Moser from the Wisconsin Water Library is leading a few discussions and presentations at local libraries! Hope to see you there!

Welcome to the AquaLog reboot with Morgan! I’m a graduate student working toward my Masters in Library and Information Science, and I have an undergraduate degree in Hydrology and Geology. In other words, my role as a project assistant at the Wisconsin Water Library is right up my alley!

Photo: Morgan in Istanbul, Turkey, 2015.

I started working at the Water Library in August 2018 and will be here for about a year. Now that I’ve settle into my position a little more, AquaLog will become part of my weekly (or bi-weekly – we’ll see how motivated I am to write each week!) schedule here at the Water Library. If there are any topics you would like me to cover, please reach out at mcwitte@wisc.edu.

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Now on to this week’s topic!

In honor of Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I chose Native American connections with the Great Lakes area as my first AquaLog topic.

Photo: Portland Mercury Events, https://www.portlandmercury.com/events/19362162/indigenous-peoples-day-celebration.

When I started doing research for this post, I was overwhelmed with information! From historical documents and primary sources to art exhibits and cultural artifacts, the history between Indigenous populations and the Great Lakes is rich and diverse. I knew I couldn’t do all of that history justice in one blog post, and I’m no expert on the topic, so I decided to focus on three modern-day themes:

1. Acknowledgement of native contributions to Great Lakes states

During my search, a recent news article from the Great Lakes Echo stood out to me among the sea of information: “Rethinking, retelling Native American roles in Great Lakes history.” Historical markers throughout Michigan rarely recognize the contributions of Native Americans to the state and are often offensive and Eurocentric. Michigan is collaborating with native groups in the state to right these wrongs so that the state’s historical monuments reflect a realistic history. I’ll definitely be following this story to see how the process plays out!

2. A commission that makes a big impact on the Great Lakes

On a more regional scale, the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, or GLIFWC, also works to maintain rights for native peoples. Representing eleven Ojibwe tribes in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, GLIFWC is an expert organization that protects hunting, fishing, and gathering treaty rights, provides legal analysis, and reinforces conservation and natural resource management practices. The commission makes an impact on Great Lakes research through monitoring projects, mercury contamination reporting, and environmental education. Basically, GLIFWC has so many amazing resources available that I can’t cover them all. Go check them out for yourself here!

3. How Indigenous knowledge can help us think about water crises

Written by Dr. Deborah McGregor, Traditional Knowledge: Considerations for Protecting Water in Ontario provides insight into First Nations perspective on water crises in Ontario, Canada. As an Anishinabe woman, McGregor presents “lessons and teachings from Elders, knowledge holders, practitioners, Anishinabe thinkers, scholars and others” in relation to water management. (1) McGregor’s article is engaging and informative, and she covers topics from Creation beliefs to political history to current activist movements in relation to water. Give her article a read for a First Nations scholar’s perspective, I promise it won’t disappoint!

Photo: Lake Ontario, 2006. Mother Earth Water Walk, an activist group mentioned in McGregor’s article. http://www.motherearthwaterwalk.com/.

If you’re interested in finding out about the history behind today’s current events and present-day organizations, the Wisconsin Historical Society and UW-Madison Libraries have great collections. Librarian tip: using Subjects to narrow your results will help you squeeze out the good information without needing to guess what words to use in your search!

Oh, and did I mention that the Wisconsin Water Library has a great selection of books on Indigenous literature and history, too? Head on over to the library website for curated reading lists on many topics, including Native Americans and Water!

Resources I mentioned in this article:

Evans, Maxwell. “Rethinking, Retelling Native American Roles in Great Lakes History.” Great Lakes Echo, 8 Apr. 2018, greatlakesecho.org/2018/04/13/rethinking-retelling-native-american-roles-in-great-lakes-history/.

Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, www.glifwc.org/.

McGregor, D. (2012). Traditional Knowledge: Considerations for Protecting Water in Ontario. The International Indigenous Policy Journal, 3(3).