What does a landscape mean to you? And what can we discover when we take a closer look at the ecosystems around us? Join us for a creative and participatory workshop organised by ASI and SaltyBEATS exploring how we experience, value and connect with saline and non-saline landscapes.
We’ll start with an ecosystem-services scavenger hunt, taking a walk through the local environment around VU. Together, we’ll actively look for the ways nature supports and enriches our lives — from food, water and biodiversity to recreation, culture and a sense of place. Back at the workshop, we’ll bring our observations together through collaborative ecosystem-services mapping, comparing the different things we notice and value in our surroundings.
We’ll then turn our observations into art. Artist Rafael Martig will guide us in creating cyanotypes using halophytes collected on Texel. By transforming salt-tolerant plants into striking blue photographic artworks, we’ll explore how creative practice can help us express and rethink our relationships with ecosystems and landscapes.
Afterwards, stay for a borrel and taste the landscape. We’ll share drinks and snacks featuring produce from saline agriculture and coastal environments, creating space to continue conversations, exchange perspectives and meet other participants in a relaxed setting.
No previous knowledge of ecosystem services or artistic experience is required. We welcome anyone curious about how we relate to our landscapes.
The workshop will be facilitated by Hannah Mortimer and Kate Negacz from the SaltyBEATS project, and Neele van den Bongardt from ASI. SaltyBEATS is a trans-national and multidisciplinary research project aiming to develop and upscale Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in sustainable food systems in salt-affected lands across Europe and North Africa. More information about the project can be found here.