Botanic Drawing: CEI Grant-funded Workshop

In the Spring, 2025 semester, Art faculty Eileen Parent and Biology/GEP faculty Wendy St. John collaborated on a 6-week workshop on Botanic Drawing. THis course was funded by a WATERS grant through the Center for Environmental Inquiry. We accepted 8 students who are majoring or minoring in Biology and/or Art. The focus of this workshop was to introduce students to the riparian vegetation along Copeland Creed, and to give them skills to do scientifically accurate illustrations of some of these riparian plants. Subjects taught included botany, plant identification, and the fundamentals of sketching, shading and color theory. Students were provided with all materials, including art supplies and plant identification guides. The course met on 6 Saturdays, with the first 3 meetings on campus, and the final 3 meetings on the Fairfield Osborn Preserve.