The Art of Environmental Connection written for The Walleye
By Erin Moir, Co-Executive Director, EcoSuperior
Step into nature and take a moment to embrace the beauty that surrounds you.
For over 30 years, EcoSuperior has worked within the community to nurture a deep connection with nature and encourage environmental stewardship. Much of this work has focused on practical, hands-on efforts like organizing litter clean-ups, installing rain gardens, leading green infrastructure tours, hosting student conferences, and clearing storm drains. These initiatives create tangible change. But connection to nature isn't only built through action-it can also grow through creativity and emotional expression.
Art is a powerful form of human connection. When integrated into environmental stewardship, it adds depth, empathy, and personal meaning. Art has the ability to raise awareness, spark dialogue, and foster a lasting appreciation for the natural world.
During Culture Days in 2023, EcoSuperior co-hosted EcoArt Day, a celebration of creativity and climate action. Participants explored upcycling through various art stations, creating collaborative pieces that reused discarded materials. More than an art project, it became a shared experience-one that brought people together around a common cause and helped ease the burden of eco-anxiety and grief tied to climate change.
In early 2020 and again in 2021, we hosted Big Lake Reflections, a celebration of Lake Superior through the arts. The event featured speakers, dancers, clay and visual artists, each sharing their unique connection to the Big Lake. Through movement, sound, and storytelling, the event revealed the profound inspiration that nature offers, and the powerful emotional bond that can form between people and place.
From time-to-time EcoSuperior highlights nature connection by working with local artists. Projects like our incredible SeaCan make-over with Vik Wilen, creating artistic collaborations between artists and youth climate justice initiatives and many years of Painted Rain Barrels not only showcase local talent, but bring our love of nature to the forefront.
Art also plays a role in our youth programming. In Lil' Buds, children paint with tree needles and leaves, discovering natural patterns and shapes. They match colours from a collection of paint samples to nearby plants and use crayons to reveal textures in bark. These small acts of observation and creation spark curiosity and foster a lasting sense of wonder.
Whether you're weaving found objects into sculpture or tracing the outline of a leaf, art can serve as a bridge that connects people to nature and to each other.
The next time you step outdoors, take a moment to paint the landscape with a brush of gratitude-for people and the planet.
