Ours/Theirs Mountain Gorilla Creature Conserve Collaboration with Natalie Tyler, Viral Reflections Photo: Jeff Masotti
LYNX-FRIENDLY WINE by INSIL CHOI. For her final project in Dr. Spelman’s Human-Animal Interactions, this artist designed a wine label to help protect both the oak forests where cork is harvested and the Iberian lynx that live in this habitat.
with a bit of time in the field (I have a long-running study on wild giant otters in Guyana, South America.) You can see examples of student work produced for various class assignments at rISd, online at Creature Conserve: http://www.creatureconserve.com/student-gallery. Also on the website are examples of artwork from our first Creature Conserve exhibition on the wildlife trade. How was it that you first started doing this work? What was the last straw that made you decide you must do something? Dr. Lucy: my best explanation—which takes 18 minutes—is my 2015 tEdx-Providence talk. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F05ZmfZunE0 I will share one story here. Several years ago I re-
member slogging along a muddy trail in rwanda, thinking about one-health medicine. It made so much sense; it was so easy to explain. Healthy mountain gorillas depended on healthy people and a healthy environment, and vice versa. the problem was getting people to act on it. For example, whenever there was an outbreak of respiratory disease in a gorilla group, we (the gorilla doctors) would reiterate the importance of preventive medicine for the gorillas. We recommended that everyone visiting the gorillas wear a face mask. our idea, later proven, was that international travelers were bringing respiratory infections to central Africa. We thought local people were getting sick in the same way. It was so obvious what needed to be done. Yet there was resistance. It seemed the mask was an acknowledgement of our failure to protect the gorillas. It was somehow shameful, a statement of a problem rather than the solution. I also remember feeling driven to do my work for the gorillas by a deep sense of responsibility. the relatively huge effort we were making for a single species did not bother me. I knew it was extreme. but I also knew the gentle giants I had grown to love depended on us for their health and safety. Working with the gorillas taught me how readily our emotions, our sense of compassion and our humanity influence conservation decisions. I finally understood that conservation is more than a science. I realized it was time to shift gears in my career and start teaching. I no longer wanted to work to save the last of a species or focus just on the science of veterinary medicine. I wanted to help inspire the next generation of conservationists, especially college-age students interested in nature, animals, science and health. What followed was a year-long visiting Assistant Professorship at brown university, where I taught a
primate behavior course and a freshman seminar on human-animal interactions. next came the opportunity to teach at rISd in the Liberal Arts division, which continues today. So far, I have developed seven new biology-based courses, including two based on international travel (Guyana in South America and South Africa in Africa.) At rISd, I encourage my students to learn the science behind a topic first, and then apply it to their art and design work in the studio. I challenge them to find new ways to make scientific information more real, understandable and meaningful. their creativity inspired me to start Creature Conserve. In what way is your work rewarding for you? Dr. Lucy: one of the things I enjoy most is teaching. I find it especially rewarding when an artist realizes that they are more than capable of learning science. I start by showing (rather than telling) my students that artists and scientists are not all that different. I share my experiences as a scientist, including examples of how I collaborate with artists. I choose scientific readings that are as user-friendly as possible. I try to help my students see that artists and scientists are both trying to understand the world around them. the process they use is also similar: both art and science require inquiry, creativity and peer-review; both result in a product that is shared publicly. And how is your work challenging? Dr. Lucy: As a professor and as a veterinarian, I never feel as though I know enough, or have enough time to do all that I want to do.
Have you always had a passion for animals? Dr. Lucy: Yes, animals have always been part of my life. I wanted to be a zoo and wildlife vet by the age of ten. Continued on next page... THE ARTFUL MIND JUNE 2017• 11