Arts and humanities inquiry in the Long-Term Ecological Research Network: empathy, relationships, and interdisciplinary collaborations

The Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER)
Network is a collection of 25 National Science Foundationfunded
sites committed to long-term, place-based investigation
of the natural world. While activities primarily focus on
ecological research, arts and humanities inquiry emerged in
2002 and since then, a substantial body of creative work has
been produced at LTER-affiliated sites. These art-humanitiesscience
collaborations parallel a wider trend in universities
and non-profits. However, there is little empirical work on
the value and effectiveness of this work. After launching a
survey in 2013 to assess the values and challenges associated
with arts and humanities in the LTER Network (Goralnik et al.
2015), which identified empathy as a meaningful potential
outcome of this creative work, we conducted a follow-up
analysis to understand the following: the relevance of empathy
in the LTER Network; the role of empathy in bridging arts,
humanities, and science collaborations; and the capacity of
empathy to connect wider audiences both to LTER science
and to the natural world. Our research included phone interviews
with representatives from 15 LTER sites and an audience
perception survey at an LTER-hosted art show.We found
that arts-humanities-science collaborations have great
potential to catalyze relationships between scholars, the public,
and the natural world; cultivate inspiration and empathy
for the natural world; and spark awareness shifts that can
enable pro-environmental behavior. Our research demonstrates
the potential for art-humanities-science collaborations
to facilitate conservation attitudes and action in the Network
and beyond.
Keywords Environmental arts and humanities . Empathy .
Interdisciplinary . Place-based . Conservation . Awe .
Relationships