Those of you who know me know what I think about bringing art and science together — it’s essential! So it warmed my heart to see this short animated movie (below) that was created by a collaboration between NOAA and the Pacific Northwest College of Arts.
From the NOAA web site: “Balancing waterfront development with the needs of salmon is a continuous challenge that requires innovative thinking…Art students challenged NOAA to develop new ways of communicating this complex environmental and societal issue; and NOAA provided students with the opportunity to apply their talents in a professional setting. Working together, NOAA and the students bridged art with science to create a call to action. The students produced an animated short story to communicate the importance of shorelines, looking at traditional methods for protecting them so they can be modified to support healthy salmon habitat.”
Of course, salmon aren’t the only creatures to whom the shoreline is important, but they’re often used as ecological place-holders for all of the other creatures that are part of a sustainable ecosystem: insects, eggs, fish, kelp, sea slugs, eelgrass, barnacles, clams, etc.
