Thirty acres of woodlands, wetlands and meadows sprawl across the Blue Heron Nature Preserve in north Buckhead. Many wildlife species inhabitant the space, like Black-chinned hummingbirds, painted lady butterflies, black-eyed Susans, and of course, Blue Herons. The nature preserve has partnered with Atlanta Public Schools and the Zucot Gallery in an initiative called “Fertile Ground: from Sankofa to Blue Heron.” It brings together students and artists to promote art and environmental stewardship. “City Lights” host Lois Reitzes was joined by Blue Heron Nature Preserve executive director Melody Harclerode and from APS, Fine and Performing Arts Department Dr. Sarah Womack with Dr. Sarah Erickson, to talk more about this partnership.
Interview Highlights:
About Blue Heron:
“This is a 30-acre nature preserve that is up above the city of Atlanta but managed by a non-profit called Blue Heron Nature Preserve. We provide year-round conservation programs, environmental education programs, and nature-inspired arts initiatives for nature lovers through the region,” said Harclerode.
The inspiration behind the initiative “Fertile Ground:”
“I think it’s really focusing on making sure our students have a wide variety of opportunities to learn about diverse artists. When we’re focusing on landscape artists, we’ve typically been taught about dead, white artists. *laughs* So, really we want to broaden our art teacher’s horizons and our student’s perspectives on Black landscape artists,” said Womack.
The importance of connecting students with landscape art:
“As an organization, I think it’s very important for us to seek different approaches to connecting people, especially kids, to nature,” said Harclerode. She continued, “Not only am I an executive director at Blue Heron Nature Preserve, but I’m an architect who is seeing beautiful works of art that has been drawn by nature. And I know that for myself, nature can be that muse…that source for inspiration. For us to use another channel to spark enthusiasm from students, as well as educators, I think we’re finding ways to promote environmental education, knowledge, and stewardship.”
There will be an artist talk on Saturday, March 26 from 2-4 p.m. Plus, an APS Student Artwork Exhibition April 21 – May 23. More information can be found here.
