Douro Art Studios - Ecological Art School

Rooted in Place

Art. Ecology. Community.

Creating Connections Through Art and Nature.

Vision Statement

The Ecological Art School will be a place where art becomes a pathway to ecological understanding, where creativity cultivates care for the natural world, and where communities gather to imagine and create more resilient futures together.

Rooted in Place. Growing creativity, connection, and ecological stewardship through art.

Vision:

Ecological art offers a hopeful, action-oriented response to eco-anxiety by transforming environmental concern into connection, connection into belonging, and belonging into stewardship.

The Ecological Art School is founded on the belief that art can help people reconnect with the living world. By fostering meaningful relationships with local landscapes and native plant communities, participants develop a stronger sense of belonging, greater ecological awareness, and a deeper commitment to caring for the places they call home.

The project seeks to transform: Environmental Concern → Eco-Art → Connection → Belonging → Wellness → Hope → Stewardship

Project Overview:

Rooted in Place is a community-engaged arts initiative delivered through the Ecological Art School at Douro Art Studios. The project brings together art, environmental education, community engagement, and nature connection to help people of all ages develop deeper relationships with local landscapes, biodiversity, and place.

The project responds to growing concerns about environmental disconnection, eco-anxiety, biodiversity loss, and social isolation by offering creative, hopeful, and action-oriented opportunities for learning and engagement. Through ecological art practices, participants are invited to slow down, observe, create, and build meaningful relationships with local plants, ecosystems, and communities.

Drawing on principles of environmental education, nature connectedness, community-engaged arts, and One Health, the project uses creativity as a pathway to ecological literacy, wellbeing, stewardship, and hope.

We are currently applying for funding to start our art school, if you are interested in collaborating or learning more please let us know using the form below!

Programming is intended to begin May 2027, pending funding. Advertising will go out through facebook groups and adds in local buildings (libraries, galleries, grocery stores).

Drawing and Journaling

Learning to slow down, observe, and develop a creative relationship with local ecosystems. Create an art journal and pressed flower album.

Printing with plants

Introduction to natural dyes and creating art with pigments from plants. Inks, flower hammering, making stamps and stencils from nature.

Eco-Printing

Using the natural plants around us to create prints on paper and cloth.

Cyanotype

Use cyanotype to create prints from pressed flowers and photo negatives on paper and cloth.

Nature-based Lino Prints

Introduction to lino printmaking to create nature inspired prints.

Painting nature

Explore various painting techniques used while painting nature; watercolour, acrylic, inks, spray paint and oils

Interested in learning more about the DAS Ecological Art School?

This website was created for grant application purposes. The Ecological Art School will be starting workshops in May 2027, pending funding. If you have questions about the future Ecological Art School, let us know by using the form below! We are always interested in learning what you are interested to learn more about.

Academic References to Support our Vision

Communities are increasingly facing interconnected environmental, social, and health challenges. Growing awareness of climate change, biodiversity loss, and environmental uncertainty has contributed to rising levels of eco-anxiety and climate-related distress, particularly among young people and those who are deeply concerned about the future of ecosystems and communities. Recent research highlights the growing mental health impacts associated with climate change and suggests that anxiety can become particularly challenging when individuals feel powerless to contribute to positive change (Nature, 2024; Betro', 2024). At the same time, many people report feeling increasingly disconnected from the natural environments that support both ecological and human health.

[nature.com], [frontiersin.org], [link.springer.com]

Research consistently demonstrates that stronger connections to nature are associated with improved mental wellbeing, increased resilience, and greater environmental responsibility. Nisbet, Shaw, and Lachance (2020), in research conducted in Peterborough, found that connectedness with nearby nature was associated with enhanced psychological wellbeing and reduced mental distress. More recent research has shown that individuals with lower levels of connection to nature experience fewer psychological benefits from encounters with natural environments, reinforcing the importance of programs that actively cultivate meaningful human-nature relationships. [nature.com]

Environmental education has been identified as one of the most effective pathways for fostering environmental stewardship and community resilience. Ardoin, Bowers, and Gaillard's (2020) systematic review of 105 environmental education studies found consistent positive outcomes related to environmental knowledge, stewardship behaviours, community capacity building, and conservation action. More recent research demonstrates that nature-contact environmental education significantly increases environmental responsibility and pro-environmental behaviour, while connectedness to nature remains one of the strongest predictors of conservation-oriented action.

[eepro.naaee.org], [frontiersin.org], [mdpi.com]

Rooted in Place responds directly to these challenges by transforming environmental concern into creative engagement, learning, and action. Through community-based ecological art experiences, participants will develop stronger connections to local ecosystems, increase ecological literacy, strengthen social relationships, and cultivate a sense of stewardship for the landscapes that support community wellbeing. By integrating creative practice, environmental learning, and community engagement, the project contributes to healthier people, more connected communities, and a stronger culture of environmental stewardship.

[frontiersin.org], [eepro.naaee.org]

Learn more through this reference list:

Eco-Anxiety & Climate Distress

Coffey, Y., et al. (2021). The mental health impacts of climate change. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Pihkala, P. (2020). Eco-Anxiety and Environmental Education. Sustainability.

Hickman, C., et al. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change. The Lancet Planetary Health.

Betro' (2024). From Eco-Anxiety to Eco-Hope. Frontiers in Psychiatry. [frontiersin.org]

Nature Connectedness & Wellbeing

Nisbet, Zelenski & Murphy (2009). The Nature Relatedness Scale.

Mayer & Frantz (2004). The Connectedness to Nature Scale.

Nisbet, Shaw & Lachance (2020). Connectedness With Nearby Nature and Well-Being.

Martin et al. (2020). Nature contact, nature connectedness and associations with health.

Environmental Education & Conservation

Ardoin, Bowers & Gaillard (2020). Environmental Education Outcomes for Conservation: A Systematic Review. [eepro.naaee.org]

Kudryavtsev, Stedman & Krasny (2012). Sense of Place in Environmental Education.

Zhao et al. (2024). Nature-Contact Environmental Education and Pro-Environmental Behaviour. [frontiersin.org]

Rodenburg & Dueck (2025). Wild Path Home: A Guide to Raising the Earth Stewards of Tomorrow. [newsocietypublishers]

Place Attachment & Community Wellbeing

Scannell & Gifford (2010). Defining Place Attachment.

Lewicka (2011). Place Attachment: How Far Have We Come in the Last 40 Years?

Maricchiolo et al. (2021). Place Attachment, Local Identity and Wellbeing.[frontiersin.org]

Eco-Art as a solution for wellness, Eco-anxiety, and Environmental Connection

Pinós (2025). Art, Biophilia, and Environmental Engagement: Promoting Community Resilience and Pro-Environmental Behaviors [ESSD]

Scheirich (2020). Coping with the Climate Crisis: Exploring Art Therapy for Sustainable Mental Health [Concordia]