Exploring integrated ArtScience experiences to foster nature connectedness through head, heart, and hand

1. Human activities continue to inflict profound detrimental impacts on
biodiversity, yet we have not observed a commensurate shift in people’s
mindsets to achieve a more harmonious relationship between people and
nature. As such, the need to shift the publics’ perspective and awareness
of their interconnectedness with nature continues to drive education and
communication programs that aim to deepen the connection between people
and nature.  2. This has led to mounting interest in integrating
art with science as an influential communication practice to tackle
complex concepts such as climate change and biodiversity loss. Art can
provide alternative pathways of knowing and understanding the ecological
crisis through provoking embodied, mindful, and emotional responses. The
arts create a dais for personal expression and reflection that traditional
education and outreach methods typically cannot. 3. Here, we explore an
arts-based approach to science communication and nature connectedness
through a series of participatory ArtScience workshops. These workshops
were delivered at The Living Pavilion, an Indigenous-led, temporary event
space that took place in Melbourne, Australia. An integrated and
transdisciplinary approach using interactive and participatory ArtScience
workshops underpins the key outcomes and findings of this research. 4. Our
analysis revealed three themes emerging from the participants’ experience:
discovery, where participants learn or discover something new about
biodiversity which is a thrilling and motivating experience; being in a
state of flow where participants are intrinsically motivated, focussed and
find joy in the activity; and attunement, where participants experience
ecological awareness, relational knowing and a mindful connection to
nature. 5. Integrating the head, heart, and hands learning framework into
the ArtScience workshops allowed a more nuanced and ground-up approach to
our research and helped further understanding of how people create
connections to more than human nature. The interrelated themes of
discovery, flow and attunement open the potential for new ways of noticing
and knowing nature, creating an embodied and holistic relationship with
the more than human world. We suggest this is a strong foundation to
deepen ecological awareness, which may lead to subtle yet positive changes
in attitudes and behaviours towards biodiversity at a local level.