Just launched: The Natural Histories Project
The practice of natural history – focused attention to the non-human world – is in decline. But it’s definitely not dead, and the profile of modern day naturalists has been a recurrent and important topic for us over the years. Last month we began a six-month assignment to chronicle the future of natural history and we’re excited to launch phase one of the project today at naturalhistoriesproject.org.
The Natural History Network, with support from the National Science Foundation, is producing a series of four workshops in 2011 dedicated to re-imagining natural history. They’re convening groups of thought leaders to explore natural history and society, education and research over four working meetings in Arizona and Washington.
We were asked by the Network to document these meetings so that the discussions could be brought to a larger audience. However, watching conference video is about as exciting as watching bristlecone pines grow. The challenge was to find a way to capture the ideas, people and conversations in a way that was interactive, exciting and could bring new people into the discussion.
Our solution has four parts:
AUDIO BOOTH
We set up a recording booth where participants could sit down in pairs to ask questions, share ideas and tell stories to each other. Modeled after StoryCorps, these “interviews” were largely self-directed, and followed the participants’ interest and topics. Sara only facilitated when necessary to keep things on track.
PORTRAIT STUDIO
After each conversation was complete, we’d make a black and white portrait of each individual as well as the pair. By using a simple background and portable studio lighting, we’ll be able to keep the series cohesive throughout the workshops.
BROADSIDES
At night, we’d parse the audio for short quotes that captured some of the big ideas from each conversation. Thanks to support from Canon USA, we were able to print 13 x 19 broadsides from each conversation and hang them in the common room by the next morning. Though it made for some long days, the instant feedback became a way of charting the discussion as it happened, valuing the contributions of participants, and making our work more transparent. Plans are in the works to exhibit these prints at a number of venues in the coming year (there will be over a hundred of them by June).
INTERACTIVE WEBSITE
Finally, we’ve just launched naturalhistoriesproject.org, a multimedia website that we designed to present the audio excerpts and portraits from these conversations. Built by our friend and frequent collaborator Darin Reid using a custom PHP framework, the site allows visitors to explore the content using a freeform, non-linear interface. You can browse conversations by theme, person or workshop and even search for specific words in the transcript. We’ve also built in social networking tools to comment on and share specific content.
The website currently features over 25 portraits and excerpts gathered from the Natural History and Society meeting. In March we’ll be collecting material from the Education and Research workshops, and in June we’ll do the same at the Synthesis meeting. There will be over 120 naturalists included by the end. Stay tuned as we launch new content in the coming months!