Students Aid Conservation Through Science Illustration!
"Kill Your Lawn" Comic Book
During the summer of 2011, a core group of students in Los Angeles Audubon's Baldwin Hills Greenhouse Program completed artwork for the "Kill Your Lawn" comic book. This project was one aspect of the TogetherGreen Fellowship grant received by Los Angeles Audubon, and the goal was to create a comic-style brochure for the public about the conservation value of replacing lawn with native plant species. These students worked hard, dedicating five weeks of their summer break to the project, and they created outstanding comics that address the whys and hows of killing your lawn, how to care for native plants, and designing a food and native plant garden. We are extremely proud of the work these students have done! See the finished comics in the Kill Your Lawn Gallery. You can download the entire comic book here. Also, be sure to check out our facebook photo album with step-by-step details about how the students created the comic book.
Insect and Arachnid Illustration Workshop
In Fall of 2011 student in grades 3-5 at Leo Politi Elementary studied insects and arachnids. Students learned about insect and arachnid anatomy, life cycles, adapations for survival, and participated in an "insect symphony." To address the conservation problem of people killing these fascinating animals, Politi illustrators created illustrations that focused on explaining ladybug metamorphosis (which can be observed in the Politi School Yard Habitat), as well as the many ways that spiders use silk. Be sure to check out their diligent work in the Ladybug Metamorphosis Gallery and the Spider Gallery.
Least Tern Illustration Workshop
In Fall of 2010, Los Angeles Audubon received funding from the TogetherGreen Fellowship Program to integrate science illustration instruction into our environmental education programs. In December 2010, a group of Weemes Elementary School students in grades 4-5 participated in the Least Tern Illustration Workshop. They compared and contrasted the biology of the California Least Tern and Western Snowy Plover, both federally listed species, to gain a greater understanding of how these two species use sandy beach habitat in Los Angeles. They learned about how scientific names work and the importance of using words and art together in order to communicate ideas about conservation. Students then used science illustration techniques (and a lot of dedicated practice) to create detailed illustrations of the California Least Tern, both chicks and adults. Be sure to check out their excellent work and the tern facts these students want you to know in the Least Tern Gallery.
Bird Illustration Workshop
In Fall of 2010, Los Angeles Audubon received funding from the TogetherGreen Fellowship Program to integrate science illustration instruction into our environmental education programs. To kick off this new venture, we worked with students from Leo Politi Elementary School to help them create illustrations of the birds they've observed in their Coastal Sage Scrub Habitat Garden on campus. Students attended five after-school illustration sessions where they compared bird anatomy and morphology to that of mammals and insects, studied the work of other natural science illustrators, and spent hours carefully creating their own bird illustrations. Check out their work in the Birds of Leo Politi Elementary Gallery.Snowy Plover Illustration Workshop
In Spring of 2010, Los Angeles Audubon received funding from Audubon California, the Morrissey Family Foundation, and the Toyota Pennies for the Planet program to engage elementary school students in a poster art contest that focused on the threatened Snowy Plover. We worked with students from both Leo Politi and Weemes Elementary Schools. Through in-class presentations, fieldtrips to observe and collect data on Snowy Plovers in their habitat, and after-school science illustration sessions, students in grades 2-5 learned about Snowy Plover conservation and some fundamentals of science illustration. Over 50 students created posters to promote the idea of sharing the shore with Snowy Plovers. Checkout their excellent work in the Snowy Plover Gallery.Botanical Illustration Workshop
As a companion education program to Leo Politi Elementary’s School Yard Habitat Project, Los Angeles Audubon developed an after-school Botanical Illustration Workshop in the Spring of 2010. More than 25 students in grades 3-5 learned about flower anatomy by dissecting flowers and creating illustrations of the dissections, and students learned about field sketching and cartography by creating maps of their school garden. As a final project, students created botanical illustrations of native plants found in their coastal sage scrub habitat garden using photo references, real-life observation, and professional science illustration techniques. It took each student 2-3 hours to complete the final work you’ll find in the Native Plant Gallery.
Below are a few snapshots of these science illustrators in action!
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