2016-2017 Project Summary
STEAM Global_India
AFC Flag Expedition#15, Thar: The Great Indian Desert
I am grateful to the Artists for Conservation Foundation for their generous support of the AFC Flag Expedition #15, Thar: The Great Indian Desert, and the 2016 STEAM Global_India educational outreach. The AFC Flag Expeditions Program is a unique program established and operated by the Artists for Conservation Foundation (AFC), making possible the artistic field study and rendering of unique, threatened habitats, and rare or endangered species deserving of greater public attention.
For more information, visit www.artistsforconservation.org
AFC Flag Expedition#15, Thar: The Great Indian Desert
I am grateful to the Artists for Conservation Foundation for their generous support of the AFC Flag Expedition #15, Thar: The Great Indian Desert, and the 2016 STEAM Global_India educational outreach. The AFC Flag Expeditions Program is a unique program established and operated by the Artists for Conservation Foundation (AFC), making possible the artistic field study and rendering of unique, threatened habitats, and rare or endangered species deserving of greater public attention.
For more information, visit www.artistsforconservation.org
The expedition was an exploration of the flora, fauna, and landscapes of the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. At the invitation of Shri Jasnath Asan, a 500-year-old ashram, in Panchla Siddha, India. Sharon K. Schafer spent two and a half months photographing and illustrating the unique natural history of the region. This multi-phase project was committed to arid land environmental education and dedicated to fostering an understanding between cultures of our shared responsibilities to our fragile planet.
The project was conducted in three phases:
• Phase I_Information & Media Library
• Phase II_Educational Outreach/STEAM Global_India
• Phase III_EcoTours/Environmental Education
Phase I_Information & Media Library
Sharon K. Schafer of Skydance Studio traveled to Shri Jasnath Asan (SJA), a 500-year-old ashram, in Panchla Siddha, India. This historic ashram, located in a remote rural area in the heart of the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India is one of the region’s oldest educational, social, and religious institutions. During her two month stay there, with the help of a guide, interpreter, driver, and vehicle supplied by SJA, she explored and documented the flora, fauna, and landscapes of the region.
A library of natural history educational images including digital images, field sketches, and watercolors were created and made available for unlimited use by the ashram in their interpretive brochures, websites, as well as in adult and student educational presentations and publications.
Phase II_Educational Outreach/STEAM Global_India
Schafer and Nevada Virtual Academy, Somerset Academy, and Adelson Educational Center instructors and partners developed and implemented the STEAM Global_India, a virtual environmental studies lab, to connect students across the continents. The project was a group of southern Nevada educators, professionals, artists, and student ambassadors that worked together with their peers in Panchla Siddha, India on related STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) projects.
The goal was to connects children, ages 8-12 , in the Mojave Desert of southern Nevada with their peers in the Thar desert of Rajasthan, India. Students were able to experience project-based-learning on a global scale and gain an understanding of, not just the issues being faced in their community, but also of similar issues and concerns around the world. Beginning with a small group of 8 children in November 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada and Panchla Siddha, India, the pilot program will be expanded to additional students in 2018
Phase III_EcoTours/Environmental Education
Though still in the early planning stage, it is suggested that, Aptus Group, WANT Expeditions, and other partners and regional experts, would work under a separate cooperating agreement with SJA, to help design and build a remote ecotour camp as well as research and develop itineraries for birding and photography ecotours designed for the traveler that desires an in-depth understanding of the arid land ecosystems of the Thar Desert. Schafer will develop interpretive materials for these programs from the resources and images compiled in Phase I.
The development of ecotours in the region will promote environmental awareness in both the travelers that participate, as well as the local guides that are trained to lead them. The tours will also provide much-needed economic development for the region by providing income for both the village of Panchla Siddha and SJA. The ecotour program would encourage the local populations to further embrace the environmentally sustainable path the ashram has followed and promoted throughout its long history. In addition, such programs will further promote the idea that protection of the native flora and fauna is of value and greatly deserving of of our care and concern.
Final STEAM Global_India Project:
Natural and Cultural History Photo Mural
Students in both regions documented the cultural and natural history of their own region with photographs. A selection of photos for each desert (the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India and the Mojave Desert, Nevada, USA), were compiled into two 4 x 12 foot murals and displayed, at the Nevada State Museum-Las Vegas. At the opening reception for the murals, the southern Nevada participating students, spoke on their experiences studying the two deserts and interacting with their peers in India. The show then traveled in southern Nevada to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Desert National Wildlife Refuge, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. All signage and interpretive appeared in both Hindi and English.
The murals have been printed on fabric and will be taken to the SJA in India in 2018. They will be displayed at the ashram so the Rajasthani students and their families can also enjoy the international exhibit they participated in.
The project was conducted in three phases:
• Phase I_Information & Media Library
• Phase II_Educational Outreach/STEAM Global_India
• Phase III_EcoTours/Environmental Education
Phase I_Information & Media Library
Sharon K. Schafer of Skydance Studio traveled to Shri Jasnath Asan (SJA), a 500-year-old ashram, in Panchla Siddha, India. This historic ashram, located in a remote rural area in the heart of the Marwar region of Rajasthan, India is one of the region’s oldest educational, social, and religious institutions. During her two month stay there, with the help of a guide, interpreter, driver, and vehicle supplied by SJA, she explored and documented the flora, fauna, and landscapes of the region.
A library of natural history educational images including digital images, field sketches, and watercolors were created and made available for unlimited use by the ashram in their interpretive brochures, websites, as well as in adult and student educational presentations and publications.
Phase II_Educational Outreach/STEAM Global_India
Schafer and Nevada Virtual Academy, Somerset Academy, and Adelson Educational Center instructors and partners developed and implemented the STEAM Global_India, a virtual environmental studies lab, to connect students across the continents. The project was a group of southern Nevada educators, professionals, artists, and student ambassadors that worked together with their peers in Panchla Siddha, India on related STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) projects.
The goal was to connects children, ages 8-12 , in the Mojave Desert of southern Nevada with their peers in the Thar desert of Rajasthan, India. Students were able to experience project-based-learning on a global scale and gain an understanding of, not just the issues being faced in their community, but also of similar issues and concerns around the world. Beginning with a small group of 8 children in November 2016, in Las Vegas, Nevada and Panchla Siddha, India, the pilot program will be expanded to additional students in 2018
Phase III_EcoTours/Environmental Education
Though still in the early planning stage, it is suggested that, Aptus Group, WANT Expeditions, and other partners and regional experts, would work under a separate cooperating agreement with SJA, to help design and build a remote ecotour camp as well as research and develop itineraries for birding and photography ecotours designed for the traveler that desires an in-depth understanding of the arid land ecosystems of the Thar Desert. Schafer will develop interpretive materials for these programs from the resources and images compiled in Phase I.
The development of ecotours in the region will promote environmental awareness in both the travelers that participate, as well as the local guides that are trained to lead them. The tours will also provide much-needed economic development for the region by providing income for both the village of Panchla Siddha and SJA. The ecotour program would encourage the local populations to further embrace the environmentally sustainable path the ashram has followed and promoted throughout its long history. In addition, such programs will further promote the idea that protection of the native flora and fauna is of value and greatly deserving of of our care and concern.
Final STEAM Global_India Project:
Natural and Cultural History Photo Mural
Students in both regions documented the cultural and natural history of their own region with photographs. A selection of photos for each desert (the Thar Desert, Rajasthan, India and the Mojave Desert, Nevada, USA), were compiled into two 4 x 12 foot murals and displayed, at the Nevada State Museum-Las Vegas. At the opening reception for the murals, the southern Nevada participating students, spoke on their experiences studying the two deserts and interacting with their peers in India. The show then traveled in southern Nevada to Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, Desert National Wildlife Refuge, and Lake Mead National Recreation Area. All signage and interpretive appeared in both Hindi and English.
The murals have been printed on fabric and will be taken to the SJA in India in 2018. They will be displayed at the ashram so the Rajasthani students and their families can also enjoy the international exhibit they participated in.
|
|
TWO DESERTS, ONE SKY
Student photography exhibit at Nevada State Museum-Las Vegas.
Student photography exhibit at Nevada State Museum-Las Vegas.