Microforest V - Spring 2023
Between February and March 2023 the Microforest project focused on biodiversity. Over the course of four sessions students of Blakestown Community College participated in a series of activities led by artists Gareth Kennedy and Eileen Hutton and members of the NovelEco research group in Trinity College Dublin, Dr. Marcus Collier, Dr. Melissa Pineda Pinto, Dr. Clair Cooper, Mairéad O’Donnell, and Natalia R. Castañeda and NCAD Critical Ecologies Students.
In this cycle of the Microforest project, artist Gareth Kennedy introduced the visiting guests to the Transition Year students at Blakestown Community School. Each visiting member was paired with a student group for outdoor activities, equipped with cameras or phones to capture images of plants for later species identification.
Together with the NovelEco team, students explored their perceptions of urban nature, discussing the challenges of caring for informal wild spaces and the importance of these environments for the future. They also reflected on how these ideas might relate to their career paths. Each group mapped the various wild spaces on the school grounds, photographing and sketching using paper and charcoal made from the Microforest. Students then identified plant species in two or three random quadrants, recording them on a template. Using acetate overlays, they designed a rewilding plan for the school grounds, envisioning how they would protect these spaces over the next 10 to 20 years. Each team focused on a specific area of the school, collecting materials to develop their plan and considering ways to engage the local community in the process. At the end of the session, students transferred their drawings and ideas onto a large communal map, incorporating charcoal sketches, old and new photographs, and collected materials. This group collage represented their vision for caring for the Microforest and other wild spaces at the school and in their community. The activity concluded with group reflections and feedback.
In the final sessions in March, Eileen Hutton led the group in creating Soil Chromographs, a technique for assessing soil health through photographic impressions made with local soil samples. Students had collected soil from their homes or nearby areas, preparing their samples with these three steps: 1. Brush aside surface debris and remove the top centimetre of soil. 2. Take a core sample about 12 cm deep, ensuring the sample is free from stones or other foreign materials. 3. Place 5-10 grams of soil into a clean glass jar, leaving the jar to dry in a warm location, such as on a radiator or windowsill.
The Seanchaí Microforest, located at Blakestown Community School, was created by artist Gareth Kennedy in collaboration with the Transition Year art class and their teacher, Mary Quinn. It offers students immersive, hands-on experiences in nature, encouraging learning around sustainability and climate action. The project aims to inspire young people to develop their own environmentally conscious initiatives. It is led by Kennedy in partnership with Fingal County Council Arts Office, Blakestown Community School, and The Arts Council of Ireland. Video by Arcade Film.
Eileen Hutton’s practice explores reciprocal relationships with nature, focusing on the vital roles of honeybees and birds in ecosystems. She constructs artificial habitats—such as nesting boxes and beehives—and creates collaborative sculptures with these species. Blending ecological and artistic intervention, her work reimagines human–nature connections. Her multidisciplinary approach includes small-scale construction, fibre techniques, photography, installation, and community workshops, alongside scientific methods like specimen collection, microscopic analysis, and museological display.
The NovelEco project team comprises a core research team at Trinity College Dublin, School of Natural Sciences and the SFI ADAPT Centre. Currently they have a Principal Investigator (PI), Professor Marcus Collier, two Postdoctoral Researchers, two PhD candidates, an MSc Researcher and a Research Assistant, as well as a Research Team Manager. They also host visiting researchers and external experts from our High-Level Advisory Board, as well as undergraduate and taught MSc students completing their dissertations on novel ecosystems, urban ecology, rewilding and the social-ecological interface.
Critical Ecologies at NCAD explores the intersections of contemporary art and ecology through hands-on, site-responsive learning. Centred on the NCAD FIELD site—an urban novel ecology—it serves as an outdoor classroom for nature connection, collaborative experimentation, and multi-species thinking. The course combines creative practice with critical inquiry, encouraging learners to explore ecological relationships through workshops, seasonal engagement, and environmental research. It also addresses the social, political, and historical contexts that shape our environment, helping students expand and challenge their artistic practices within a shared learning space.