Marc Adami wrote the feature and supplied the photo.
Adami wrote, “A great thank you goes to Flood Control and Water Quality expert, Professor Larry Weber from the University of Iowa. He spoke to us in April 2022, with a great presentation and Question and Answer session.
“The Whiteside Forum season finale will be held in the Odell Public Library Program Room, 307
S. Madison Street, Morrison, IL. On Thursday, June 9, starting at 6:30 p.m., we will host native son, Jacob Campbell. He will speak about his work and focus at the Field Museum in Chicago, IL. The presentation describes how humans interact with their environment and why that matters. A brief synopsis follows. We welcome you to join us.”
Biocultural Artistry: Equitable Green Space Design on Chicago’s South Lakefront
In 2016, teams of artists and community-based organizations from Bronzeville, Pilsen, and Chinatown transformed Chicago’s largest Park District Natural Area, by installing five public art Gathering Spaces along lakefront, wood chip trails. Their designs were inspired by cultural traditions from these neighborhoods, which honor the environment and ancestral connections to the land. Since then, the artists and partners have brought these spaces to life, with multilingual programming through the Roots & Routes initiative. They include dance and musical performances, cultural festivals, and poetry workshops. Gathering Spaces have become vital sites for community engagement, cross-cultural exchange, and wellness in the outdoors.
This presentation will explore how park design benefits from a focus on the intersection of culture, art, and nature. It will describe the Field Museum’s role in this Chicago example.
Jacob Campbell is an Environmental Anthropologist with the Keller Science Action Center at the Field Museum, where he leads the Social Science team for the Chicago region program. His recent applied research, pedagogy, and collaborative programming has focused on cultural connections to the natural world, in urban areas. He works with partners across Chicago to create more equitable City institutions and green spaces, that help communities thrive.
Campbell specializes in participatory research that informs decision-making about Biodiversity, Conservation, Land Management, and Public Space Design. Jacob also is Adjunct Professor of Environmental Science at DePaul University. Previously, he worked with artists, organizers, and educators on Chicago’s West Side, as Program Manager with the Center for Community Arts Partnerships, at Columbia College Chicago.
His approach to community-based research and applied anthropology has emerged, through two decades of work with groups that include the Zuni Tribe, U. S. Gulf Coast fisherman, and Trinidadian oilfield workers. He earned an M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Arizona.
Questions, comments, and suggestions for future programs are always welcome. Contact Marc Adami at 815-718-5347 or marcadami53@gmail.com.