THE RAIN
PROJECT
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COVER ILLUSTRATION &
PHOTO (TO THE RIGHT) BY
CHRIS RUSINKO
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TABLE OF
CONTENTS
PART ONE:
Philosophy & Research
PART TWO:
Working Together
PART THREE:
Launching Day
PART FOUR:
After Thoughts
“The Rain Project has affected all of
the student participants deeply, enabling
them to form a sense of community
and allowing them to learn how to work
together with people of other majors,
opinions and approaches.”
Dr. Changwoo Ahn
The Rain Project photobook is designed & compiled by
Cameron Evans and Dr. Changwoo Ahn thanks to the
support of the OSCAR SDG grant for the project.
(Photo
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credits for the book: Changwoo Ahn, Victor Sumin,
and Evan Cantwell @ GMU Creative Services)
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PART ONE
PHILOSOPHY
& RESEARCH
“The enormously complex and more than
urgent problems humanity faces today erase
disciplinary boundaries, and provide for an
opportunity to get a hands-on, minds-on look
into other disciplines.”
Jackie Brookner, 5 EcoArtist
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Ahn, C. 2016. A creative collaboration between the science of ecosystem restoration
and art in an urban college campus, Restoration Ecology 24 (3): 291-297
A creative collaboration between the
science of ecosystem restoration
and art for sustainable stormwater
management on an urban college campus
by Changwoo Ahn
I designed “The Rain Project” as an urban ecosystem restoration model as well
as a collaborative pedagogical approach between ecological science and art
at George Mason University (GMU), Virginia, U.S.A. A group of students from
several disciplines (e.g. environmental science, art, civil engineering, biology,
communication, and film/media) participated in designing and constructing a
floating wetland for a campus stormwater pond as part of sustainable stormwater
management. The Rain Project has numerous implications for college
education, scholarship, and service while presenting a novel way of building a
sense of community among undergraduate students for ecological awareness
and literacy. This kind of interdisciplinary, campus project can facilitate the
changes we need to train higher education students to be able to both think
differently and communicate effectively. The Rain Project introduced students
to new learning strategies that connected “systems thinking” with art, ecological
science, and restoration practices.
... It is only through interdisciplinary
collaboration, particularly
in education and scholarship,
which we may be able to train
a generation of system thinkers
who can navigate through the
disciplinary boundaries to seek
answers to big, pressing questions
such as environmental
degradation and global
poverty...
... being able to quickly sketch
can be a tremendously useful
and powerful tool when used
to communicate an idea...
... Restoring impaired
ecosystems requires effective
communication skills to help
build the stewardship capacity
of the communities involved.
I believe that art can facilitate
such communication more
effectively...
... We chose a human kidney
as a shape for our floating
wetland, as wetlands have
often been called “kidneys in
the landscape” for their role
in filtering contaminants and
cleaning water passing through
them...
... Although interdisciplinary
education and scholarship are
much needed in contemporary
academia to prepare our students
to be able to understand
and build solutions for the complex
problems we currently face,
the language and professional
cultural differences make it difficult
to do so ...
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... Both artists and scientists
share a common drive to depict
and analytically explain our
experiences, and represent in
varying forms the outcome of
imagination. Innovation in
science often is linked to urges
to express oneself artistically...
... “Renaissance scientists” —
individuals with strong disciplinary
expertise, in addition
to the ability to communicate
effectively about science to
diverse audiences...
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... Artists offer communities a cultural
and visual context for engaging scientific
data and principles that can assist
with modifying behaviors, ultimately
transforming our environmental
stewardship...
... We must encourage, and strategically
position, scientists to work directly and
more actively with artists on ecosystem
restoration projects. And that can start
from a college campus. The current
crisis of the environment is a crisis of
education...
“
Long-term success of
ecological restoration, at
all scales from the local
to the global, necessitates
transformation of the
dominant ways humans
understand, behave, value,
and relate to natural processes and
ecosystems. Artists and scientists can do more together
to affect positive transformation than either can do separately.
It is not a matter of the scientists providing the
hard-core research and artists the soft outreach; rather,
the dynamics engendered in the space between disciplines
is full of information necessary to solve complex
problems at the systemic level…
” - The Late
Jackie Brookner
... I believe that art should be incorporated
in undergraduate curricula and
pedagogy of various college disciplines.
The Rain Project appeared to cultivate
“ecological literacy” among the participating
students. Students will be able
to better understand our relationship to
“the larger context of life” with stronger
communication skills through the
collaboration experiences they had in
this project...
https://jackiebrookner.com
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PART TWO
WORKING
TOGETHER
“This kind of project involved students in strong
collaborative training to work as a team to deliver
the outcome, which I believe is an important
…element for any ecosystem restoration practice
as well as for developing a sense of community in
higher education.”
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Changwoo Ahn
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Class Activities
“Involving art in science education can help students to enhance their intuition
because creativity and intuition are critical elements in scientific discovery and advance.”
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Class Activity with Test Beemat
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Small-Scale Floating
Wetland Simulation
March 2015
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PLANTING SCHEME FOR THE FLOATING WETLAND
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this is our kidney
shaped floating
wetland — about 1%
of the pond’s surface
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illustrated by
Chris Rusinko
(Student Participant in
the Rain 25Project)
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Meet the Plants
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Carex stricta 29
Tussock sedge
Iris versicolor
Blue flag
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Alisma subcordatum
Water plantain
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Juncus effusus
Soft rush
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Pontederia cordata
Pickerelweed
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PART THREE
LAUNCHING
DAY
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“
Art, and/or
artistic, endeavors
can involve students
in exercising their
creativity, which will
contribute to
successful training
of innovative
scientists.
”
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sed eos eos et fugiae officipsum hicidenis dolupta nestis sum
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A New Beginning
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Ecological Science
Communication & Outreach
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“K-12 participation is instrumental in
enhancing undergraduate research
and scholarship.”
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Plants are Growing...
Summer of 2015
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Harvesting
September 2015
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PART FOUR
“I see art as a catalyst for the changes we need to
make to close the gap that only science-based
ecological restoration work has been unable to fill.”
Changwoo Ahn
AFTER
THOUGHTS
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STUDENTS RESPOND
What do you think about the benefit of collaborating between
art and science in the Rain Project?
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STUDENT RESEARCH
& SCHOLARSHIP
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STUDENTS LAUNCH
FLOATING WETLANDS
ON MASON POND
MAY 13, 2015 | BY MICHELE MCDONALD
George Mason University students launched a 1,700-plant floating
wetland on Mason Pond Tuesday afternoon. The yearlong project
brings together art and science students and is designed to clean
the water as well as to spur ecological awareness.
“I learned how to think scientifically by working on this project,” said
Chris Rusinko, a senior art and visual technology major specializing
in printmaking. “Having a class that bridges the art department
and the science department is a personal experience in a lot of
ways.”
Environmental professor Changwoo Ahn was inspired to create
the wetlands, or “The Rain Project,” so students could make those
kinds of connections. Mason graduate students will monitor Mason’s
first floating wetlands for an ongoing research project. About
24 students were part of the two-semester class.
Wetlands help clean storm water that washes into retention ponds,
rivers and lakes and also aid in controlling flooding, said Ahn, a
professor in the College of Science’s Environmental Science and
Policy Department, and founder and director of EcoScience+Art.
Ahn said the goal of the project is to create sustainable stormwater
management in the era of climate change. Floating wetlands are
being used in North Carolina and other areas.
Sophomore Andy Sachs said he also learned how to appreciate artistic
aesthetics by working on the project. He originally thought the structure
should be rectangular to provide the most surface area. But with some
help from fellow students, Sachs says he learned that science projects
also need to be visually appealing when they’re in a public area. The
floating wetlands are kidney-shaped.
Combining art and science is an easy fit, in particular for environmental
projects. “Art is inspired by nature,” Rusinko says. Sachs plans to take
what he learns from the Rain Project and apply it to his summer internship
working on storm water maintenance. “This summer I’ll be able to
relate what I learned in this class to the professional world,” said Sachs,
who grew up in Leesburg, Va.
Sachs said he originally wanted
to be a marine ecologist,
but the internship last summer
changed his mind. He’s an integrated
studies major with a
concentration in ecological
sustainability.
“I probably learned more this
semester than in a year and a
half of classes combined,” Sachs says. “Hopefully we’ll get more classes
like this. We were able to see a full project through to actual finish, instead
of just theoretical.”
About 1,700 plants––including soft rush, upright sedge, duck potato, water-plantains,
pickerel weed, and blue flag––were chosen for their water
cleaning efficiency and their beauty. The prospect of combining plants
with art appealed to Rusinko, who grew up in Arlington, Va. He grows his
own food at a local community garden, especially unusual varieties such
as the Pusa Asita carrot, a dark purple carrot that originated in India.
The real benefit of Mason Pond’s wetlands will be sparking conversations
about finding different ways to clean the environment. “I think a lot
of the value is the social value,” Rusinko said.
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MEDIA
OUTREACH
STUDENTS SAY POND CLASS AT
GMU REALLY FLOATS THEIR BOATS
“And the innovative class project that George Mason University
has students hip-deep in mucky pond water. The Rain Project
is a floating wetland, designed by and involving both art and
science students. The hands-on effort creates awareness about
ecology along with cleaning the pond naturally. There are about
1,700 native plants in the floating wetlands. In August, students
will harvest those plants and remove pollution from the pond,”
reports NBC4
79news anchor Pat Lawson Muse.
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TEDx TALK AT GEORGE MASON UNIVERSITY
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
& SPONSORS
Thanks go to University Life, the
College of Science Dean’s Office,
Biology and Environmental
Science and Policy departments,
at GMU for their support of the
Rain Project.
Special thanks go to Mason 4-VA
Innovation Grant and OSCAR that
also sponsored the Rain Project,
as well as to the following three
classes for their participation:
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EVPP 378/BIOL 379:
Ecological Sustainability
EVPP 646/647:
Wetland Ecology & Management
EVPP 650:
Ecosystem Analysis/Modeling
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RAIN PROJECT
PARTICIPANTS
Abigail Armuth
Ashton Bandy
Khafre Barclift
Abigail Baxter
Jillian Brooks
Vinson Corbo
Charles Cressey
Suzanne Dee
Evelin Espana
Cameron Evans
Kathryn Faulcouner
Anthony Frank
Jesse Glendon
Zuhair Haleem
Bill Harper
Michael Harrier
Rebecca Jackson
Kelsi Jones
Alexander Krupp
Beatrice Laureno
Tulia MacDicken
Samar Madi
Brendan McAndrew
Mahek Mehta
Romaric Moncrieffe
Chris Rusinko
Andy Sachs
Stacey Spillman
Joanna Spooner
Victor Sumin
Victoria Van Dorn
Samantha Vo
Frances Yee
Dr. Changwoo Ahn
& many more volunteers!
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