The Backyard Biodiversity Book was made for Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research for them to use at the New Zealand International Science Festival 2023.
What is the Backyard Biodiversity Book?
The Backyard Biodiversity Book is made of pages depicting scenes in a backyard where participants can slip in their own hand-drawn or supplied illustrations of animals and plants. Participants could also write a text caption. Then they can tell a story with them and capture the story using photos or video. I constructed 5 template pages by cutting out and painting hardboard panels(see photos below). I also set up a system to capture photos and videos and display these at the event.
Backyard Biodiversity Book at the NZISF, 2023
The Backyard Biodiversity Book was just one of the offerings by Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research at the NZISF 2023. Check out the Backyard Biodiverity webpage for more information and activities. Also check out the NZISF page.
The event was held at the Golden Centre mall and was very well received by participants with a lot of positive feedback. Here are some photos and a video made by Catriona McLeod which shows how participants interacted with the books at the event.
How I made the books
Below are some photos which show how I constructed the books. Painting the books was the most challenging aspect of this project.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Catriona McLeod and Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research for funding this project. Thanks also for providing the photos and videos from the event for me to use on this page.