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2017 Spring | Arts & Humanities, Education & Outreach

Seeing Humans as Nature through Urban Gardening and Traditional Knowledge”

Student(s):

Hannah Blaisdell

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Michael Lewis

Partner(s):

  • Landscape Architecture, Bellwether Designs LLC, University of Washington

Faculty advisor(s):

Joyce LeCompte

Urban populations are rising, and people are becoming more disconnected from the natural world. Practices of ethnobotany can seek to amend these disconnects; demonstrating the interconnectedness between humans and their environment, often through traditional methods. It is important to understand the ways in which humans define their environment, to better understand their behavior toward the environment. During my project, I attempted to better understand the relationships between humans and nature by conducting a survey and participating in the planning of an urban garden space, to challenge and educate the public on different cultural lenses through which to see nature.