Native Garden
Photography courtesy of Missouri Department of Conservation
Created in 2021 by Foundry Art Camp children, the Foundry Native Garden is a unique eco-art project used for art engagement, nature, and conservation, and offers a native habitat for birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Located a stone’s throw from the Missouri River and downtown St. Charles, artists and teachers utilize the garden to complement the Foundry Art Centre’s environmental art and nature art programming.
In the summer of 2021, at Monet’s Magical Monarchs camp session children planted more than 25 native plants, embellishing the garden with black-eyed susan, milkweed, garden stones, and birdhouses. They watched Painted Lady butterflies transform from caterpillar to full-flight before releasing them into the garden. Each plant and garden stone represents the Centre’s commitment to artistry and conservation in an urban landscape.
Ecological art, or eco-art, aims to educate, restore, and preserve the functions and resources of Earth’s ecosystems. Eco-artists address environmental concerns, natural processes, or natural phenomena in a way that informs or interprets relationships with nature. Eco-art is often directly placed in the environment, and eco-artists tend to have an intimate relationship with nature. Their work usually holds a firm stance on policies and cultures that influence the conditions of Earth’s ecosystems.
To learn more about this art genre, check out these contemporary eco-artists!
Angela Haseltine Pozzi – Washed Ashore project
Interview with Chris Jordan
Open Door Interview: Aurora Robson
Andy Goldsworthy - Earth Artist and his Process
