Gottuso, Saskia. CCE 4; Boundaries. Public Arts and Ecological Restoration, Winter, 2022.

Synergy and varied leadership are some of the other aims under IAS. I chose my CCE from public arts and ecological restoration to portray how I reached these goals. Although this particular typed assignment was solo, it reminds me of all the group work we did in that class. In my second drawing in the entry, I tried to portray our first day of class in fall quarter, when Professor Amy Lambert was giving us a lecture on a nature walk around the campus wetlands. We came to a bog where she proclaimed, “if anyone sees the wasps, let me know and we’ll turn around because we have to give them space!” I was immediately intrigued. I never got the chance to ask her why, however that alone sparked my interest in ecological restoration.

I was experiencing a rare moment in which my professor was able to collaborate education and nature directly together. It was also the first quarter back in-person, so I began to understand again, just how much correlating it takes to get people together. By the time we all met up at the Sierra Green Conservatory that day and formed a convoy on foot, we were a team for the rest of fall. At one point, we all had to go silent for a few

minutes, to create a sound-map. We closed our eyes and made dashes and ticks on notecards, based on what we were hearing. Then we discussed them with each other after the activity.

We visited Magnuson Park in Seattle, Rotary Park in Woodinville, the North Creek forest in Bothell, and more. We worked at every site, however one instance at Magnuson park stuck with me most out of all trips. We formed groups to uproot Himalayan blackberry bushes. Hadn’t it been for an older volunteer at the park, I wouldn't have known the difference between Himalayan’s and trailing blackberries. Thus, another moment in school I realized the importance of listening to others twice as much as I speak. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to sketch both experiences out, as it didn’t fit the guidelines for CCE 4, however the situation was a similar outdoor setting.