UF has partnered with the Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art to introduce a new course that gives students the opportunity to create and display their environmental artwork on campus.
The one-credit course, “DIY Campus Eco-Art,” is open to students of all majors and will begin Summer B.
The course will teach students about Florida’s ecosystems and teach how to combine art and science.
Eric Segal, the education curator of academic programs at the museum and co-instructor of the course, said the projects will stay in the lab throughout the summer and into the fall.
“It is a chance to take your learning outdoors and to do something with real-world impact that is by learning about Florida’s natural environment,” Segal said.
Students in the course will work on an art project that will enhance the natural environment around it.
Once the artwork is completed it will be installed in the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory, a 60-acre tract located near the entomology and nematology building.
The course is also a part of Creative B, a summer program that aims to raise cultural activity at UF, and will provide students with a small budget to purchase the materials needed to complete their projects.
Assistant extension scientist and co-instructor of the course Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman said the class will meet at the 60-acre environmental teaching lab for most of the semester.
“What we’re really trying to do is get people to look at our ecosystems that we have here in Florida and find ways of putting sustainable art out,” Gillett-Kaufman said.
The course is divided into two sections and both will be team-taught by Segal and Gillett-Kaufman. The two sections are ENY 4905 and HUM 2930.
Gillett-Kaufman said she wants every student on campus to come out to the Natural Area Teaching Lab to use and enjoy.
“Come and take it because you never know when a course like this is going to be offered again,” she said.
