Experiential Learning Lab bridges art and environmental science
"Experiential Learning Lab bridges art and environmental science" was first published in the UF/IFAS Blog on January 5, 2026.
Graduate students from the UF School of Art and Art History gathered at the Department of Soil, Water, and Ecosystem Sciences’ Experiential Learning Lab (ELL) throughout 2025. They were in Professor of Art and Technology Katerie Gladdys’ fall seminar, The Vegetal; Assistant Professor of Ceramics Grace Sachi Troxell’s fall seminar, The Poetics of Clay; and instructor Anna Metcalfe’s spring seminar, Graduate Seminar in Ceramics. Ann Wilkie, a SWES professor and ELL director, facilitated the opportunity for students to connect their art to natural elements at the ELL. As a result, they toured the facility and engaged in outdoor art activities. These ranged from harvesting clay for artwork to barrel-firing their creations.
“Graduate seminars encourage students to continue rigorous studio practice while simultaneously studying with a professor on a theme of the professor’s choosing,” explained Grace Sachi Troxell. “In all three seminars, students explored material agency and vibrancy.”
The Vegetal seminar
Students explored how an art practice rooted in plant consciousness, ecological awareness and interspecies collaboration can generate new ways of thinking and making. As part of their exploration of plant-human relationships, students visited the ELL to learn about its biodigester and composting demonstrations.
“The biodigestor and compost systems reframe decomposition as an active, cyclical exchange between humans, plants, microbes, and technology,” said Katerie Gladdys. “Dr. Wilkie demonstrated how organic waste ferments to produce biogas. She used that to boil water for tea to enjoy with cookies during our visit.”
“Watching waste turn into something that fostered conversation and community made the system feel especially tangible,” she added.
Wilkie also explained how the on-site Compost Cooperative and Gardens operate. She invited students to compost their own organic waste, offering them a way to practice sustainability.
“I hope that learning about these processes prompted the class to consider decay, time, and transformation as regenerative, rather than an end point,” Wilkie said.
The visit included a tour of the lab’s algae experiments, where glowing green flasks gently bubbled, captivating students with their unusual beauty. Altogether, the hands-on experience expanded students’ understanding of plants and ecological systems. That positions ecological fieldwork as a form of studio practice.
“I didn’t know about the biodigestor. It essentially ‘digests’ food scraps and turns them into biofuel and fertilizer,” said third-year MFA student Aurora Pavlish Carpenter. “I found this concept especially inspiring. I often think about waste in my art practice, and how to turn waste into something new.”
Read the full article at: https://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/swsdept/2026/01/05/art-environmental-science/