Thank you for your interest in Cary Art + Science!
Artist Hara Woltz and Cary educator Shelly Forster weaved together drawing prompts with Cary science to help you find a new way of observing your local ecosystem. You may want to print the PDF or download it to your mobile device so you can bring it outside with you.
Drawing prompts
All prompts (zip file)
Spanish
Por que guarda un cuaderno de campo
Prompts 1-5 focus on botanical exploration. You will draw leaves, investigate tree pests, track tree shadows, and go on a tree walk. You may want to spend an entire week getting to know one tree in depth or mix it up with a new tree each day. If you want to practice identifying trees as part of your study, there are a few recommendations for digital and print tree field guides at the end of the first lesson.
Bonus: Check out a recording of Dr. Gary Lovett’s talk, “Trees in Trouble.”
Prompts 6-10 are all about the wonderful world of birds. You’ll spend time getting to know the birds in your home ecosystem. You will create a soundscape map of bird songs, study their movement, observe feeding behaviors, and learn about how birds coexist in human-dominated landscapes.
Identifying birds isn’t an explicit part of the lessons, but if you want to practice bird ID we recommend these resources:
Print Guides
- Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern North America by David Allen Sibley
- Peterson Field Guide to Birds of Eastern and Central North America by Roger Tory Peterson (both currently available at Oblong Books & Music in Rhinebeck/Millerton)
Online
- Online Guide: All About Birds online guide from Cornell Lab of Ornithology
- Bird ID apps: Merlin, iBird
We hope you enjoy exploring local ecology through art! We also encourage you to post photos of your Art + Science creations to social media with #caryartandscience. You can find us on Instagram @caryeducation.
Please be in touch with any questions or concerns by emailing me at alreda@caryinstitute.org.
All the Best,
Ashley Alred
Education Program Leader
We are able to offer these materials for free thanks to the generous support of donors like you. We hope you will consider making a gift of $25, or whatever amount you choose so that we can continue to offer educational programs that help teachers and parents encourage the young scientists in their lives.
This project is made possible with funds from the Statewide Community Regrants Program, a regrant program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature and administered by Arts Mid-Hudson.