By, Darlene Mae Nowell O’Connor
This summer, in my happy place at Roger Tory Peterson Institute, curator extraordinaire Maria Ferguson has brought together works from some my favorite local artists, as well as, new to me artists that reflect the Interconnectivity between human existence and the natural world from the roots of time to the present day. I call this phenomenon “Tree Spirit”. For me it is an accurate expression for the very essence of what is best about life here in Jamestown and throughout the Southern tier.
It is our human recognition of our interconnectivity to and our historical reverence for, the natural world around us that makes living here an incomparable joy. We strive as a community to keep pace with progress and economic growth while remaining ever conscious of our ecological responsibilities. Organizations like RTPI, The Chautauqua Watershed Conservancy, The Audubon Society and of course everyone’s favorite arborist, Dan Stone of our Parks department, stand as vigilant protectors of all that: grows, fly’s and scurries over: land, water and air throughout our beloved hills. Dan is crucial to our efforts throughout the city of Jamestown to plant and care for the health of our lush green canopy. In the sky and under the earth, trees serve as the connective tissue between our human existence and the natural environment. They are responsible for filtering the air we breathe, provide haven for seed spreaders and act independently together as stabilizing stanchions holding together the earth beneath our feet. Trees symbolize the necessity, as well as, they reveal the degree of our success in the management of our symbiotic and undeniably interconnected relationship.
observation and the choice to be involved.
Roger Peterson, a Jamestown native whose pioneer efforts for the preservation and serious study of wildlife and environmental protection began with his with his compelling desire to understand the delicate nature and symbiotic relationship between all living things secondary to his interest in birds and how they and other creatures manipulate the natural environment to thrive. Through his endeavors he began to understand how nature is impacted by human interaction with it and more importantly the consequences of poor human stewardship. It is his legacy of love for the natural world that inspires us today, giving us the opportunity to experience and engage with exquisite works of heart.
I found this years, Art That Matters to the Planet exhibit to be even more hope filled and inspiring than last year. The 2023 works displayed more positivity in our human attempts at understanding and seeking means for protecting the marvels of nature. I find Noah Diruzzo’s pieces, while they express the common disconnect between human observation and the choice to be involved, these humanoids of organic bits of nature interwoven and dawned with a mechanical viewing apparatus, kind of say it all. We must protect and appreciate that of which we are made, to survive and thrive. Sitting on fences won’t be a good excuse if we just sit and watch the world burn, flood and break apart. Our observing should cause stirring there by motivating us to take action.
Kaycee Colburn brought much color with her electric pen and her vision of our region’s indigenous wild flowers, which there is chatter about it’s becoming a coffee table book. Spectacularly detailed and eye catching, they make me want to go trailing in quest of these beautiful plants. Of course, who today does a better job of capturing the likeness of our sky dancers than Mr. Joseph Grice. I am telling you these renderings of our feathered friends seemed as though they were literally breathing, especially the pieces where the subject was standing still. While I was viewing Michele Brody’s “Fragment from a lost Marshland”, Nature in Absentia piece, I could almost hear The Singing Cattails of my youth. Not so many years back when our marshlands were far denser, when the wind blew moving through the cattail reeds, they would rub against one another dispelling an earthen guttural musical sound. I have thought often of my grandmother since. She would walk me to where they could be heard singing when I was small.
If you have not yet been to, what I like to call the cathedral in the woods, make plans to visit soon. RTPI is working with Jamestown Renaissance Corporation and Dan at the Parks Department to help repopulate trees by planting new saplings throughout the city. The Northside of Jamestown in the neighborhood where Roger Tory Peterson was raised and embarked on his ventures and it is the target area for this year’s project. The program really helped in the beautification the Allen Park area where many households became involved when we were designated. My friend Mary Maxwell (716-708-7671) is the woman to contact for information and getting started. She is a delight and she is as funny as she brilliant and she is in charge. I learn so much with each visit I make to the JRC and I am there a lot!
Well, that’s it for now my friends, though I would like to remind those of us who are blessed to be living here; it is the Butterfly Effect that gives our world balance, so remember to be the change you want to see. So come see it all at Roger Tory Peterson Institute and introduce yourself to my friends: Amelia Duffee, David Niles, Maria Ferguson, Arthur Pearson, Jill Bornand. They are wells of information and more importantly “Earthly Enthusiasm” and “Tree Spirit”.