Art Meets Science to Educate Students on Shorebird Conservation

WRITTEN BY LIZ REGALIA | PHOTOS BY BRIAN PRINCIPE

It all started with a bird.

When Katie Morrison ’13 began her master’s of biology research on shorebirds at Miami University, she was instantly fascinated by the small, but mighty, red knot.

“They have one of the most unique migrations out of any bird that comes to South Carolina because they are flying 18,000 miles a year,” says Morrison, who is the Director of Education at Coastal Expeditions, a Charleston-based outdoor adventure company that offers guided tours throughout the Lowcountry. In 365 days, the red knot can travel from the tip of South America all the way to the Arctic and back, making it one of the longest-distance migrant birds in the world. But the species is disappearing.

After graduating with a degree in environmental studies from Sewanee: The University of the South, Morrison spent time as a research assistant in Hawaii working with humpback whales and dolphins. She returned to Charleston in 2019 to work at the South Carolina Aquarium prior to moving into her current role at Coastal Expeditions where she oversees all their educational programs.

For her master’s degree, Morrison specifically studied shorebird education and the positive impact education has on protecting coastal birds. “Red knot populations are declining and need further protection,” Morrison says. “With their incredible story, it makes for a great bird to teach our community about how to protect shorebirds.”

In the summer of 2022, Morrison set out to do just that. She recruited students, faculty, and alumnae from Ashley Hall to be part of a collaborative shorebirds study entitled Migrating Together. The project aimed to connect Upper School students in Charleston with ninth graders in San Antonio Oeste, Argentina through studying the red knot – who just so happens to stop in both coastal towns along their long migration. “Studying shorebirds is a great way for students from different parts of the world to communicate with one another without having language be a barrier,” Morrison says.

Inspired by her mission, Ashley Hall visual arts teacher Raul Miyar and Upper School biology teacher Allison Bowden brought their two departments together for a single purpose for the first time in the School’s history. “Our primary goal was to have a global conversation about conservation,” Bowden says. “What better medium than art? It’s a universal language – a visual language that everybody can read and relate to.”

Together with Morrison and educators in Argentina, Miyar and Bowden created a cross-curricular project for ninth grade Biology and Foundations of Art students to allow them to study shorebirds through science and wildlife art, both in the classroom and on the water.

In The Classroom

To kick off the Migrating Together project, Morrison and a biologist with Audubon South Carolina led a discussion with Bowden’s ninth grade biology students on coastal bird migration routes, feeding behavior, and the red knot’s unique life cycle and their tremendous

To introduce the project’s art component, students in Argentina met Fabian Pinasco, a local shorebird photographer and conservationist, and Ashley Hall students met alumna and bird photographer Cacky Rivers ’90. “I have been on several Coastal Expedition tours with Katie,” Rivers says. “She approached me on one of the whimbrel tours and asked if I would like to be a part of her Migrating Together project using my photography for the girls to draw from. I was thrilled because I believe in educating students on what’s going on in the bird world.”

“It was so cool to have these different generations of alums involved,” Bowden says. “Cacky spent an entire day with my classes sharing her photography. Her connection to the ornithological world is just tremendous.”

Through her photography, Rivers introduced students to a broad range of local shorebirds that would later inspire their own bird artwork. “Before seeing her photography, students really thought all the birds they saw on the water were the same,” Bowden says. “They just called them all herons or egrets. But the diversity of species they learned through Cacky’s photography enabled them to be able to name them when we got in the field.”

On The Water

In Argentina, educators chose Bahia de San Antonio, a protected shorebird beach in the northern part of Patagonia, Argentina, for their field study on shorebirds. Here in Charleston, Morrison chose the island of Crab Bank, which is home to thousands of migratory species. “Crab Bank is one of the areas where a lot of our shorebirds are going to come and stop and rest because there’s no development and it’s closed off from many people stopping on the island,” Morrison explains. Located at the mouth of Shem Creek in the Charleston Harbor, Crab Bank stretches 30 acres from end to end, and its preservation is crucial to the survival of coastal bird species. It is only accessible by boat, but luckily, Ashley Hall students have a connection.

On the first day of September, biology students boarded a Coastal Expeditions boat for a field trip, led by Morrison, to Crab Bank to work on their bird identification skills. They used binoculars to see the shorebirds more closely, then made a list of all birds they saw, using Morrison as a reference. “They also looked at them not just as individuals, but as groups of birds and their specific adaptations for that habitat they live in, which was fascinating to them,” Bowden explains. “Katie introduced the differences between shorebirds, pelagic birds, and wading birds in class, then they applied it once we headed out into the field.”

While it was the first time touring the waterways with an educational guide for most, there was one student who knew the drill: Annie Morrison ’26, Morrison’s younger sister. Last summer, Annie worked with her sister at Coastal Expeditions helping out on educational trips for kids. “I loved that the first year [of the Migrating Together project] could include my younger sister,” says Morrison, who plans to continue it with Ashley Hall next year. “She is always helpful in letting me know what students might prefer to learn more about.” And learn they did. “These birds are things they’ve seen their whole life,” Bowden says of her students. “But all of a sudden, when Katie was talking about them on the boat, it was like, ‘Oh, these are

Rivers began photographing birds for her father to keep his mind off of his illness. But what began as a hobby has now turned into much more. In November 2021, Rivers published Grounded in Flight, a photography book featuring more than three dozen bird species native to the Lowcountry. Perhaps the most breathtaking of her photographs are of birds soaring through the air, wings fully on display. “Photographing birds in flight is one of the biggest challenges I have faced,” Rivers says. “And I love a challenge!” keystone species. These are species that others rely on.’ I think it was a lightbulb moment for them.”

As a part of the Migrating Together project, Rivers shared her photography with students to introduce them to a broad range of local shorebirds. “Shorebirds are fascinating to watch as they all have different behaviors – how they feed, fly, and interact with each other,” Rivers says. Students then referenced photographs from her stunning collection of work, like the photo of the barred owl to the left, to create their own works of art. “Seeing my photos come to life with their art absolutely blew me away,” Rivers says.

Connecting Through Art

Back at school, students in both Charleston and Argentina then selected a bird they spotted from their field study that they would bring to life with paints and watercolors. Miyar connected with Carolina Perazzoli, the art teacher Morrison partnered with in Argentina, and they stayed in close contact with the goal of sharing each other’s work in the end.

“We ended up with a large variety of artwork because they chose birds based on their own preference,” Miyar says, who led the project for two classes of ninth graders. “They may have been drawn to that bird because of how it looks – its plumage, its shape – or its importance. It just had to appeal to them and be one they had studied.” Next, students chose a photograph to paint from. “A few students chose Cacky’s photography which was presented to them initially,” Miyar says. “Others researched online and worked from an image they were drawn to.”

With their birds selected, the students got to work on an intricate watercolor shorebird rendering. “I liked both the art and science parts of the project, but I think I like the art a little bit more,” Annie Morrison says.. “I really liked getting to see the red knot from a more detailed perspective.”

Students spent two months perfecting their life-like paintings, and once completed, they turned them into postcards to send to their partners in Argentina along with hand-written messages. Perazzoli’s students did the same. “By sharing both their art projects and field observations, all students gained a greater understanding on the importance of shorebird conservation,” Bowden says. “This global conversation reminds us how communication can help spread awareness and why it is important to protect these species.”

And it all started with a bird.