Student Gallery

From artifacts to portraits and landscapes of the living world, explore student artwork to encourage meaningful conversations in the classroom. Learn how to use the gallery.

Use Image Analysis Activity

Paula Calatayud (age 16)

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

I responded to the following quote by Robin Wall Kimmerer: “Living beings are referred to as subjects, never as objects, and personhood is extended to all who breathe and some who don’t. I greet the silent boulder people with the same respect as I do the talkative chickadees.” I created an Illustration and was specifically inspired by the following phrase from Kimmerer: “personhood is extended to all who breathe and some who don’t.” Inspired by the word extended, I used imagery to extend the roots of a tree so that they surround a pale, green-colored androgynous person whom I created without features. This person could be anyone, creating a direct physical connection between a person and nature through the extension of a form. The plant I chose was a weeping willow. I’ve seen this tree in many places; its form is flowy and helps to show extension since the tree leaves flow downwards. Along with the willow tree, I added a dove perched on a branch to illustrate an animal connection. Doves are symbols of peace and represent unity between the different parts of the natural world.

Tom Nesti (age 17)

Nantes, France

I have a reverence for nature. It was the season of roses and they were in full bloom. I rode my bike through the woods to a rose garden in my city. I had a feeling of wonder— there were thousands of roses, hundreds of hues, the smell of infinite fragrances, and the humming of innumerable insects. I caught a glimpse of a beautiful rosebush. I set my camera ready, I bent forward, intensely aware of everything around me, and waited for the perfect frame and the perfect moment when an insect would come and stay on my selected flower. A ladybug came. This powerful moment reminded me of the beauty of the symbiosis between all the beings of nature. We are nothing without this connection and link. I am nothing without it.

I know that when inspiration comes to me, I have to capture it and not let it slip. I learned how to recognize when I have inspiration. The film and the Earthrise photo informed me and inspired me to always seek new perspectives when shooting photos.

My beautiful city is important to me. It is where I grew up, where all my loved ones are living, and where I learned photography. I would like my place to be remembered for its beautiful gardens and flowers. I would like my city to be remembered for its commitment to protecting the environment, to protecting the planet, because we only have one—whether it is seen on a galactic scale, like in Earthrise, or on a minuscule scale, like a rose.

Suhayl Wright (age 18)

New Jersey, U.S.

Gabe Marusic (age 17)

Ohio, U.S.

Bought and Sold

Reciprocity is a two way road, and yet we have treated our Earth like a one-way highway, one in which we take everything without giving back. During the Covid-19 pandemic, I began to go on more walks as I found being in nature one of the best ways to escape from the hustle and bustle of the world. On one of these walks I found this sign and felt a strange irony in finding it in a forested area and decided to capture the emotion I felt behind it. In my photo, Bought and Sold, I try to capture the idea of how people often find they have the right to buy and sell nature to other people. I find that the harsh black and white film I used captures the raw emotion behind the ideas of this photo, as well as the natural sunset lighting that was used. The sign reads “sale pending,” implying the sale has not even happened yet, and yet the land is still being reserved rather than enjoyed by people. If we as people want to remain on this planet, maintaining a true relationship of reciprocity with the Earth is essential. When we just take from the Earth and never give back, we slowly kill the Earth. I found the following quote from Kimmerer especially relevant, “Birds, bugs, and berries are spoken of with the same respectful grammar as humans are.” It relates to the idea of nature and humans all being interconnected as one rather than being the two separate entities we paint them as. People tend to cut up and sell this planet we all share, but this is not our job. It was simply one we convinced ourselves we had.

Daniella Tsuji (age 14)

California, U.S.

I wanted to draw something a little bit out of my comfort zone: a person that's "one" with the things around them. When I refer to getting out of my comfort zone, I mean attempting an art style that is new to me. It was only two weeks ago that I adopted a new way of drawing.

In what ways can we listen to the living world with our whole selves? We can enjoy the things around us, knowing that everything could change over time. Enjoy things while they last and make memories.

Mayarae Taylor M (age 17)

Colorado, U.S.

Our hearts beat one and the same.

The will of tranquility is finite and still.
You can hear the sounds of energy flowing through the quiet silence.
Despondency has made its way into the lungs of so many, but not you.
You hear the notes playing a song of reverence.
Among the roar of inferno, there is something speaking to you softly.
You bind from root to feet, becoming something greater than what’s around you.
A blueprint of serenity, all by looking at the small things.
You blossom and bud alongside the entity of life.
It tells you of all that has been lost, but also all that is yet to gain.
Warmth becomes you. You become the future.

Eternity is only ever what comes next.

You listen.

Monika Łazar (age 17)

Rzeszów, Poland

Plants and living creatures can be our greatest teachers and mentors as soon as we open our hearts and eyes to witness the beauty and the diversity they have created over the millions of years of their existence. They have survived hurricanes, storms, droughts, fires, and floods. Thanks to them, every morning our lungs fill with oxygen, our plates fill with food, and animals’ bodies are given energy. They use that energy to reproduce, pollinate flowers, and spread seeds. Living beings play a crucial part in teaching us how to look out for each other and how to coexist in a world full of atrocity and selfishness.

Plants and animals help us realize that the only way to survive is not to abuse one another, but to focus on mutual flourishing, living in peace with each other and living in the spirit of equality and reciprocity. To listen to the living world with our whole selves means to acknowledge the past and understand our purpose. We should cherish the living world with our hands just as branches of the trees shelter billions of living creatures. Although we may not look alike, we serve the same purpose. We can uphold each other. Understanding that mosses and ferns are just as alive as tigers and sharks allow us to open our minds to notice similarities and kinship between living creatures, which is the most genuine way of listening and discovering the world.

Gabe Marusic (age 16)

Ohio, U.S.

When we think about our planet, we tend to think close-mindedly. We think the Earth is only the home of humans, but it’s the home of all beings. The fish, the birds, the plants, the bugs, and the germs all live on this planet with us. I want others to take a moment and look at their surroundings and really take it in. We tend to get so involved with what separates us from each other that we don’t realize how small we are in the history of this planet.

The Earthrise photograph puts the world in perspective. The life we lead can seem so large, but when you see the Earth all in one photo, you realize how small we are. This small robin in central Cleveland reminded me of this. As I think of how small this bird is in comparison with the rest of the Earth, it would seem almost unseen by most. I will never see that exact bird again, and yet I captured it forever in a photograph. That in itself is very beautiful. The bird is isolated, but the cigarette butts, the peeling concrete mold and flooring, and iron railings show that people have been there.

I want Cleveland to be remembered. In the Shaker Heights area, there are so many trees, rabbits, squirrels, and foxes that live there. Humans tend to dominate and we need to conserve nature for what it is, not what we want. Being trapped inside now from COVID-19 makes me realize just how much animals do in a day. Watching the squirrels is almost exhausting, as they do so much. This planet does not belong to anyone. We’re all renting out space until we’re gone. So while we are here, let’s make the most of it and cherish this big blue beauty of a planet.

Meagen Krige (age 16)

Caledon, South Africa

My artwork is inspired by the vulnerability of animals. All over the world animals are being affected by climate change, poaching, loss of habitat, and destruction of our wonderful ecosystems. Most of these destructive forces happen because of the species called mankind. This photo was taken in South Africa at one of our famous private nature reserves, Klaserie Private Nature Reserve. Unfortunately, this poor rhino called Mandgleve faced a traumatic experience with a poacher about two years ago. In this event he got shot, but thankfully the reserve was there to help treat his wound. He is still alive to this day and is doing very well, thanks to the vets and the nature reserve that helped him, because he could not help himself. I hope one day people can all see how the animals of our planet are suffering.

Enora Le Moal (age 16)

United Arab Emirates

We can change our perspectives to see our planet as one home by observing animals. In an ecosystem, there are thousands of organisms which rely on each other. They work together. Unfortunately, humans tend to forget about the importance of collaboration. We are so busy thinking about our own problems that we forget how important the people around us are. With global warming, pollution, and deforestation, it is time for us to work together to make this planet a home. By seeing each other as one family, we become more aware of our actions and become more careful towards our surroundings. We need to stop putting people in boxes because we are all humans in the end.

In the film Earthrise, the Earth is described as a “blue marble.” I created this image by using a telescope from Al Wathba Wetland Reserve in Abu Dhabi, or United Arab Emirates (UAE). The black color of the telescope surrounding the image represents the infinite darkness of the universe while the lake and flamingos represent our Earth. The Earth in the Earthrise photograph is also observed from afar, which is shown in my photograph through the use of a telescope. I wanted to convey that we should admire the beauty of nature instead of trying to control it and interfere.

The UAE is important to me as a European citizen. It allows me to become more open-minded by discovering new traditions, cultures, and religions. Interacting with different people has enabled me to view the world from different angles. I want the UAE to be remembered as a country that is multicultural, and which has shown that perseverance and cooperation is the best route to success. People of diverse religions, cultures, and nationalities live in the UAE. It is a country that embraces this idea of being ‘one.’ It takes in people from all around the world and it doesn’t judge them. It accepts people no matter who they are.“The Abrahamic Family House project” (where a synagogue, church, and mosque will be built in the same location in Abu Dhabi) is a perfect example of respect and harmony between people from all backgrounds, beliefs, and nationalities.

Mariangel Calixto Alonso (age 17)

New Jersey, U.S.

We look at flowers, trees, and animals and take pictures of them to capture their beauty. Sometimes we forget the little things like leaves, the texture of the wood on the trees, and the details on the grass and moss. Nature is filled with living organisms that create a cycle of life. Life is all around. Seeing things grow is one of the little things in life we often don't get to appreciate. One plant could be a home for an insect or food to support an insect's cycle. The stories of the moss, the barnacle geese, and the reindeer are something not everyone knows.

Maya Hernandez (age 16)

Florida, U.S.

“Do we treat the earth as if ki is our relative—as if the earth were animated by being—with reciprocity and reverence, or as stuff that we may treat with or without respect, as we choose?”— Robin Wall Kimmerer

Mirrors reflect the truth, the truest version of yourself. This plain chair set upon the neatly trimmed grass with a slight border of fencing is where we supposedly belong. To sit in that chair is to become the you everyone else knows. However, mirrors reflect the truth. On the inside, we are all more akin to the sprawling trees depicted here. This photograph represents the outsider looking in. We see the chair reserved for us within the parameters of the mirror. The twining, sprawling, wild branches of misdirection, and within that, the smallest glimpse of the truth: a grim face that almost blends in with the surroundings. With the trees. With nature. Our natural state.

Myles Gaffney (age 17)

California, U.S.

I have been fascinated by plants my entire life and no aspect of their development evokes a greater sense of awe in me than the way in which a newly germinated seedling emerges from the soil. Our family has several large organic gardens spread throughout our property and in large barrels on our rooftop deck. We sow several times a year. I took this macro image earlier this week of a bush bean seedling that grew from a seed I had planted eleven days earlier. In the days following planting, I checked the soil each morning, eager to see whether my seeds would come through for us. After a week with no sign of progress, some doubt crept in. Then, suddenly one day, anxiety turned to elation, as the surface of the soil broke with scores of small seedlings. In this photo, the first true leaves are developing in the center of the plant. The bean seed-shaped cotyledons surround it. They are embryonic leaves that will fall off after a few days, but they provide essential nutrition to the seedling until it can begin to produce energy photosynthetically. The whole process is a thing of wonder.

About fifteen months ago, a ferocious windstorm took down a towering eucalyptus tree in our front yard. Miraculously, no one was hurt, but our family was deeply saddened that a tree that had been growing for many decades, and was older than most of our neighborhood, was gone in seconds. Weeks later, we were still mourning its loss, unsure what to plant in its place, when the Covid pandemic struck. Suddenly, the shelves in stores were bare and it became nearly impossible to find fresh vegetables beyond what we could harvest from our own garden. We looked at the bare space in the yard vacated by the eucalyptus and knew what to do. We built trellises and cages and planted pole beans, cucumbers, tomatoes, and blueberries. We doubled the size of our planted area, and we’ve had enough fresh vegetables throughout the pandemic to share with friends and neighbors. We lost a mighty tree, but we will always honor its memory in our eucalyptus garden. The bean seedling in the image has emerged through soil that is teeming with life—from microscopic organisms to nightcrawler worms. Not a scrap of food waste in our household makes it to the landfill; it is all composted. My worm farm has expanded from one large bin to seven this past year. Thousands of wiggler worms break down the waste and decaying plants into bioavailable nutrients that help each round of crops flourish. I peer into the marvelous world of these creatures each day as I feed them. Our relationship is one of reciprocity in the truest sense. Both the bean seeding and I are grateful for it.

Samira Cackovic (age 13)

California, U.S.

Our planet holds countless artifacts of beauty, peace, and love, while simultaneously displaying tragedy, death, and heartbreak. Our planet gives us everything we need to survive and thrive, yet we slowly destroyed it. Our planet gives me a home where I feel fear yet safety, sadness yet happiness, and hate yet love. Our planet helps me realize how small I really am compared to the millions upon billions of vast astronomical wonders. Our planet also helps me realize how, despite my size, I can create a difference.

This wonderful beautiful planet allows countless organisms to call it home, yet we have devoured its distinctiveness and beauty. I believe the Earth is a gift— a sad thrown-away gift. It is the only planet in our solar system that is suitable for living beings. Pollution has led to the loss of entire ecosystems and species. The Earthrise photograph displays the vast space and infinite darkness that surrounds us. It puts a perspective on the size of each of us. An endless amount of possibilities surround us yet we are confined to one planet. My picture displays the North Star which has led people to freedom, possibilities, and discoveries. With Lake Tahoe beside us, my family and friends sit and watch the sunset, sunrise, or the stars. It provides a sense of peace to me and helps me detach from the horrors of the modern world. It opens my eyes to the beauty of the world and the universe around us. A beauty people can easily forget about. I would like to have a strong and powerful impact on the world. I want to be remembered as someone who has changed and helped the Earth.

Abigail Getty (age 17)

Illinois, U.S.

“Living beings are referred to as subjects, never as objects, and personhood is extended to all who breathe and some who don’t. I greet the silent boulder people with the same respect as I do the talkative chickadees,” writes Robin Wall Kimmerer. What happens when the world falls silent? When all falls still? Before this pandemic, we bustled and hustled through life, never looking further than our own field of vision we defined as our world. Our heads were in our phones, our gazes to the ground, untouched by life’s worst. The minute we were yanked from the routine comfort, and into the face of danger, we lost it. Each of us has become numb, terrified, scared, and more awake.

There are the trees to whisper secrets to and the water to awaken your memories, the birds to sing you awake, the frogs to sing you to sleep, the breeze to tickle your face during the day, and the fire to brighten your face in the dark of night. As humanity became isolated, we learned to cherish these things, some we may have never known. These are the fruits of life and they give themselves to us. Humankind has to remember its place in this shared beauty of the world.

Paula Calatayud (age 16)

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

Mayarae Taylor M (age 17)

Colorado, U.S.

Our hearts beat one and the same.

You listen.

Mariangel Calixto Alonso (age 17)

New Jersey, U.S.

Tom Nesti (age 17)

Nantes, France

Monika Łazar (age 17)

Rzeszów, Poland

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Student Gallery

Using the Student Gallery in the Classroom