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working on urban and environmental issues in our ecosystem. The trick for us is to
how to engage them in our work—what is in it for them when they appear to be
doing quite well on their own.” This feedback loop between the art and the science,
and a clear picture of how they might inform each other, is a persistent theme that
would benefi t from further thought. “We have sporadically tried to connect with
artists/humanists with variable success” one site explains. “Distance is a problem,
but also conceptual barriers on both sides as to what the inherent value and or intent
is of the effort is.” Both physical and ideological distance can present a barrier. But
sites appear to realize the potential benefi t of these relationships for their under-
standing of their particular site. One site shares that there is a “rich history of art
involving nature which we would like to connect to.”
Despite these challenges, participants were enthusiastic about the development
of arts and humanities inquiry. Several sites expressed energy for a network-wide
initiative to help with momentum and direction, and a number of sites described
current project- and relationship-building. Our “program is developing rapidly with
tremendous interest and participation from the community,” writes one site. Others
are “establishing an artist-in-residence program,” collaborating with regional col-
leges to do work “involving ecology, music and visual arts,” “Plan[ning] to expand
current Art and Ecology workshops.….[, and] adding a Nature Writing class this
winter.” A number of sites plan to nurture current projects, while others intend to
develop new work by seeking research opportunities, adding genres, or developing
programming. This momentum creates opportunities for research on the impact and
effectiveness of this work, potential collaborations between artists and scientists,
and participation with the LTER network by wider and more diverse audiences.
16.4
Relevance to LTER Goals and Mission
If arts and humanities inquiry is consistent with established LTER network goals,
then demonstrating its relevance and value gets easier, and so might addressing
some of the logistical and practical challenges. In a draggable bar question, we pro-
vided participants a list of 12 responses related to the goals and mission of the LTER
network: six (
Understanding, Synthesis, Information, Legacies, Education,
Outreach
) taken directly from the “LTER Goals” on the LTER network website
(LTER Goals
n.d.
), three (
Conservation, Communication, Environmental Impact
)
using language from the “LTER Network Vision and Mission Statements” (LTER
Network Vision and Mission Statements
n.d.
), and three (
Relationship Building,
Human Dimensions, Long-term Ecological Research
) written to refl ect the LTER
network's commitment to place-based, long-term research (Wattchow and Brown
2011
; Billick and Price
2010
; Farnum et al.
2005
; Kurdryavtsev et al.
2012
; Cross
2001
) (Fig.
16.10
).
Similar to the earlier question about perceived value, respondents associated arts
and humanities inquiry most closely with (1)
Outreach
and (2)
Communication
,
followed by (3)
Relationship Building
, (4)
Human Dimensions
, and (5)
Education
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