Last year I received a request from the University of Guelph Institute for Environmental Research (GIER) to commission some natural science illustrations.
The institute had received a small grant to create unique communications/knowledge mobilization pieces that would help disseminate research results to the general public. Being an interdisciplinary institute, GIER’s grant proposal included the hosting of five interdisciplinary teams, each composed of a researcher, an end user, and an artist. Their objective was to bring together the natural sciences (their researchers), the social sciences (representatives of ‘end user’ organizations who know about how research results should be presented), and the arts (artists who bring more creativity to the conversation). Each team would work together in creating their own unique product, based on their communication/knowledge mobilization needs,
GIER’s Knowledge Mobilization Project kicked off on Feb 10, 2021 and ran for 6.5 weeks.
A Bit About Guelph Institute for Environmental Research
GIER’s vision is to “harness the extraordinary existing environmental research capacity across all seven colleges of the University, as well as build a new robust collaborative platform beyond campus. In our vision, we break down barriers among disciplinary silos and bring the arts, the sciences, the humanities, and the engineering together to tackle complex environmental problems.” – GIER website
GIER 2021 Knowledge Mobilization Project
The Buzz - A colouring story inspired by bee research at rare
This “bee pollination” colouring book represents the interdisciplinary collaboration between Janean Sharkey (U of G’s bee pollination researcher), Jenna Quinn (representative of ‘end-user’ rare Charitable Research Reserve), and Suzanne Matheson (Natural Science Artist/Illustrator). Our team was one of the five brought together by GIER.
Follow The Buzz to download a free printable copy.
The Buzz Gallery of Illustration
These illustrations have been designed to accommodate fun, informative text
provided by the end-user, rare Charitable Research Reserve.
This project was developed in collaboration with Guelph Institute for Environmental Research (GIER) and the University of Guelph’s Food from Thought Knowledge Mobilization Fund, M.Sc. student Janean Sharkey and Professor Nigel Raine in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph, and the rare Charitable Research Reserve. Funding was provided by the Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF).