MT Outdoors published 2 of my water monitoring photographs!

The photos Montana Outdoors published in their July-August issue are some of my favorites.

In fact, I sent (and reminded) the arts editor of the set of photographs which include these two…several times over the past year or so. Click here to view the photographs and read the article.

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post, my love affair with drawing insects started during my tenure at the Watershed Education Network (WEN).

WEN was also where I learned about the importance, and simplicity, of basic water quality monitoring methods. The children pictured in these photographs were part of a student field trip I led years later, in a totally different part of Montana. But, our water monitoring methods were essentially the same as those taught by WEN.

It was happy convergence of art, science, and community engagement that led first to my learning about water quality concerns and later to teaching about them myself. That’s why I’m totally thrilled these images are now out there engaging readers from across the continent in a story about Montana water.

Additionally, one of these photos, that of the girl scrutinizing a vial, was the inspiration for the line drawing that became my logo!