In collaboration with Sienna Arts Studios, we are developing creative ways to share the research that I, the Feijó Lab, and fellow researchers are conducting in Peru’s Manu Biosphere Reserve. This work explores bats’ vital roles in pollination and seed dispersal, the connections that sustain tropical forests, and how climate change is reshaping Andean biodiversity. Filmmaker Jonah Wafula-Card has also joined the project, bringing visual storytelling to our efforts to share fieldwork and help audiences connect with the research and what it means for conservation. A planned exhibition at Chicago’s Climate Action Museum will bring these stories to broader audiences and raise support for conservation in the Andes–Amazon region.

I am also working with Visual Communication Design staff at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) to develop SciArt collaborations in the classroom. Through these collaborations, students will draw on biodiversity research to create visual expressions of scientific data and explore what conservation means to them. Researchers, in turn, will gain accessible ways to share their work with broader audiences through creative approaches that connect with people’s emotions, experiences, and values. Meaning-making is central to this work: creating opportunities for people to interpret the science, find personal connections, and consider what they care about protecting.

Updates coming soon!