Drawing in the landscape creates an awareness of place that is a distinct form of information gathering and of understanding the landscape that complements scientific data for stream restoration. The act of awareness in drawing involves our imaginative perception of landscapes: an act of active visual, physical and cultural relationship to the land.
Thus, drawing is a unique re-construction of one’s perception, a critical aspect of how one proceeds with visual research and in the art of restoring riparian landscapes. How we frame a view and how we define the view’s boundaries are critical dimensions for both the appreciation of and defining a landscape’s aesthetic. A drawing may show the essence of beauty (topography, water, plant associations…) as well as the essence of problems in the watershed (urban sprawl, overgrazing, channel incision…). In this sense, drawing is more than a tool; it is an intrinsic way of reading the landscape and discovering new ways to restore its processes.
For stream restorationists, the process of ‘gathering information’ at different scales by drawing from a reference site may not only help to replicate the essence of a place for its ecosystem value but also understand and ‘internalize’ the ecological structure and aesthetic dimensions of the stream landscape. Sharing this understanding with restoration colleagues and the general public will help communicate the synergy between art and science in stream restoration. In this presentation, graphic examples will be shown that highlight the value added contribution that drawing can make to stream restoration.