Prairie and wetlands once covered much of Iowa. In this GSC location, at a Story County Conservation Park, a pocket of land provides a glimpse into a valuable prairie and wetland ecosystem. It is an important refuge for birds, amphibians, fish, a host of plants, and more. During a recent visit, I was struck by how these organisms made me aware of their presence in an orchestra of calls, croaks, and melodies. Take time to listen and record what you hear alongside your sketches in this location. If you see any garbage during your adventure, be kind and pack it out—help keep our natural areas and parks clean. It’s a good idea to ward off ticks here with bug spray here. Happy geosketching!
GSC Location 2, Latitude: 42° 5' 18.58" N, Longitude: 93° 37' 11.352" W (Copy) /
Waterways carve and shift the landscape, creating a dynamic and ever-changing environment, perfect for sketching and finding an array of visually interesting elements—something new can be found during each visit to this riparian location in a Story County Conservation Park. All beings and materials here are interconnected and tell a story about the past, present, and future ecosystems. Pay close attention to the big scene with reflected light and shifting forces as well as the smaller organisms growing and surviving here. Sketching what you find is really a documentation of change over time.
! This GSC location is a bit harder to find than others (note that you may need to wade through tall grasses, duck under invasive honeysuckle, and scramble up a muddy riverbank). Look for chert, shale, bones, feathers, insects and aquatic plants to sketch. Note their size, location, behavior. What is the weather and time of day? Jot some notes about what you see and make some predictions for the upcoming months. If you see any garbage during your adventure, be kind and pack it out—help keep our natural areas and parks clean.
The First Geocache Sketch Crawl Location! 42.09675˚ N, 93.57464˚W /
This first box can be found in one of my favorite locations in a nearby Story County Conservation Park in Ames, Iowa.
It’s in the heart of one of nature’s best tricks: the recycling of nutrients. Here, decomposers, such as shelf fungus or polypores, find purchase, animals, such as raccoons, find home, beetles make galleries, and carbon is sequestered. Too often people see sites of decomposition as disorder and feel the urge to clean it up. But, if we look closer, we can see the usefulness of these sites, the importance of nutrient cycles, and notice the life that still exists in what initially appeared as “dead.” Nature knows how to make use of all elements and keep connections alive. I am eager to hear what you find here and see what you sketch!
The GPS coordinates for this geocache sketch box are: 42.09675˚ N, 93.57464˚W. Good luck and enjoy!
Begin! /
What is a Geocache Sketch Crawl?
Geocaching is a hide and seek game of sorts where the seeker uses GPS locations to hike outdoors and locate a cached container with unknown contents of various sorts—usually for trading—visitors take something and leave something in exchange. It stems from and is related to orienteering. Geocaching participants typically find the challenge of finding the geocache fun and exciting and feel rewarded when successfully navigating to its location to discover whatever treasure may be enclosed.
A Sketch Crawl is when people go from location to location to document what they are interested in and see at that site in a sketchbook.
A Geocache Sketch Crawl (GSC), then, is a combination of the two, where the geocache is sought in order to discover a place where one may be inspired to take a moment to observe and sketch. The idea is to notice the natural surroundings, consider how elements relate and work together in the ecosystem, and to capture a few thoughts and observations in a sketchbook.
Even better, in this geocache sketch crawl, what is observed and noted at one place can be shared with others to make a compilation of recordings over time, marking a location’s unique characteristics. It will capture a sense of place. Participants just need to take a photo of their work and upload it to the GSC drive or leave behind a sketch in the geocache box for me to collect. I will upload sketches to this blog to share. Over time it will culminate in a kind of informal gallery.
I generated this fun challenge because I love being in the woods, on the prairie, and rambling outside to discover the elements and beings we share our natural world with. My idea came to fruition as a capstone project for an Iowa Master Naturalist Course (www.iowamasternaturalists.org), directed and taught by Elisabeth Swain. Inline with a naturalist’s goal, I wanted to help people slow down and engage with nature. As an artist and scientific illustrator, I know first hand how sketching can draw one into the subject matter, reveal intricacies usually passed by, and encourage a sense of appreciation or wonder.
I hope you will join me and participate! To Begin, see the next post and GPS coordinates to get started. Each box will have sketching materials and a QR code for liking to the site to post sketches. Leave me a note or sketch from the locations you find! I am eager to learn about what you unique elements you observe!