By Robin Meadows

The arts can reach people in ways that facts and figures can’t. “Even if you have the knowledge, there’s an element of activation,” says Nicole Ardoin, a Stanford researcher studying environmental behavior. “Art speaks to people on an emotional level that can create a spark.” This is particularly true for climate change, and is the impetus for many Bay Area artists. Consider Fairfax-based sculptors Daniel McCormick and Mary O’Brien and their work titled Submerged. It’s an array of rounded cones designed to transform into an oyster reef. Or San Francisco-based Reneé Rhodes, who plans to choreograph dancers to mimic the geologic processes in sand cycle landscapes.

 

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The Art of Environmental Restoration

By Robin Meadows

The arts can reach people in ways that facts and figures can’t. “Even if you have the knowledge, there’s an element of activation,” says Nicole Ardoin, a Stanford researcher studying environmental behavior. “Art speaks to people on an emotional level that can create a spark.” This is particularly true for climate change, and is the impetus for many Bay Area artists. Consider Fairfax-based sculptors Daniel McCormick and Mary O’Brien and their work titled Submerged. It’s an array of rounded cones designed to transform into an oyster reef. Or San Francisco-based Reneé Rhodes, who plans to choreograph dancers to mimic the geologic processes in sand cycle landscapes.

 

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About the author

Robin Meadows is an independent science journalist in the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s a water reporter at Maven's Notebook, a California water news site, and contributor to Chemical & Engineering News, Ka Pili Kai, KneeDeep Times, and Scientific American. Robin is also a Pulitzer Center grantee, an Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources fellow, a contributor to The Craft of Science Writing, a mentor with The Open Notebook, and a UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program graduate. Find her on Tumblr and Twitter.

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