CoDwelling | Organizer & Facilitator

Organized through Prairiewood Retreat & Preserve, CoDwelling was part artist residency and project commission with artists Aaron Treher and Delaney Gardner-Sweeney and part program series. Treher and Gardner-Sweeney designed and installed a new sculptural element for a pre-existing pavilion structure by Prairiewood’s Walnut Pond area. The new element was designed to attract barn swallow nesting while the pavilion itself continues to “attract” human interaction. This playful juxtaposition of wildlife and human life invites visitors to reconsider the often overlooked spaces and species that surround us, and observe our shared needs.

The project developed over the course of August 2020 with weekly public “open trail” days plus a series of three outdoor panel discussions featuring regional scientists and experts:

August 9, 2020 “Preserving the Patchwork” Panelists:

Jerry Jost - Kansas Land Trust (KLT), Executive Director
Tony Capizzo - The Nature Conservancy in Kansas, Flint Hills Initiatve Manager
Kail Katzenmeier - Prairiewood Retreat & Preserve, Owner
Courntey Masterson - Native Lands Restoration Collaborative, Owner
John Blair - Konza Prairie Biological Station, Director
Lynn Gentine - Ranchland Trust of Kansas, Executive Director

August 16,2020 “The Birds & the Bees” Panelists:

• Cindy Jeffrey & Dru Clarke - Northern Flint Hills Audubon Society
• Dan Sullins - Kansas State University Outdoor & Wildlife Management
• Shelly Wiggam - The Nature Conservancy, Flint Hills Conservation Stewardship Initiative Manager, Chair of Kansas Prescribed Fire Council
• Gary Haden - Audubon of Kansas

August 23, 2020 “Culture & Conversation” Panelists:

• Aaron Treher - Artist, Art & Rural Environments Field School + Archive
• Erin Wiersma - Kansas State University Department of Art
• Katie Kingery-Page - College of Architecture, Planning & Design at Kansas State University
• Bill McBride - Sculptor, Matfield Green Works