By Alison Hawkes
It’s easy to get depressed about the loss of biodiversity when every day, it seems, some new species pops up on a watch list like a death toll.
But there are success stories that offer rays of hope in a world beset by climate change and habitat destruction.
In 2008, retired psychotherapist Robbie Brandwynne was perusing the San Francisco Chronicle when she came across a story about brown pelicans being taken off the threatened and endangered species list.
“I thought about it and realized that’s not the kind of news people get in front of their faces very often,” she said. “Everyone needs that kind of message, particularly young people who feel they are inheriting a world that is pretty damaged.”
So Brandwynne sprang into action. Her outlet? Art. Over the course of more than two years, the hobby watercolorist and quilter gathered contributions from fellow artists depicting species saved from the brink of extinction through conservation and restoration efforts.
The culmination of her work opened on May 1 at the Tilden Nature Area Environmental Education Center in Berkeley. “Celebration: Illustrating the Success of Conservation through Art” includes 55 artists who each chose a species to portray. The vast majority of artists are from the Bay Area, and a heavy focus is on California and Bay Area species…
… Continue reading on Bay Nature, where this article first appeared, on April 27, 2012.
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