A University class and a federal agency have teamed up to plan a “forensic garden” for a laboratory that describes itself as “CSI for animals” because it investigates poaching and killing of endangered species.
Designed to educate the public about the work of the restricted-access National Fish and Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, the garden is part of a $10 million building expansion for the Ashland facility.
Students in a winter term Department of Landscape Design studio course drafted 14 plans for the garden based on interpretations of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service lab’s work, said class instructor Kenneth Helphand.
The lab, the only one of its kind in the nation, inspired students to portray in their work everything from animal skeletons, fur patterns and tracks to basic concepts of forensics and depictions of crime scenes, Helphand said.
“Since we can’t have public tours of the lab, we’d like this to tell our story,” lab director
Ken Goddard said in an April 3 story in the Mail Tribune, which ran in national news sources, including The New York Times, USA Today and ABC News.
The 14 drafts of the project were displayed inside the lab on Friday from noon to 8 p.m. Nine students from the class were able to explain their designs, and about 150 members of the public, who were allowed inside one area of the lab, gave comments on which designs would best serve the public and the lab, said Kelly Donahue, a landscape architect for the agency who received her master’s degree from the University in 1995.
The final decision will be made by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff. It hopes to have final construction drawings prepared by June, Donahue said.
“It’s a very different type of project, obviously dealing with a place where people aren’t invited to go inside, but we’re trying to invite them into the garden,” said Nick Nelson, an undergraduate landscape architecture student.
Nelson’s design is a sculpture of a poached whale displaying a large ribcage. He said students tried to create designs that would be educational, fun and representative of a building that deals with death and solving crime.
Kathryn Kuttis, a graduate landscape architecture student, wanted to create a section dedicated to endangered species.
“(My design) had a section memorializing endangered animals that were lost,” Kuttis said. “And another section celebrated endangered species that were recovered or taken off the list.”
Her plan also includes exhibits intended to teach the public about structures made by animals and to emphasize that the beauty of animal-made structures is lost when a species becomes extinct.
“They exceeded our expectations,” Donahue said. “They were able to really take on the problem in terms of what the lab does and how to represent that in the landscape. We’re very pleased.”
The collaboration has forged strong ties between the University and the federal agency, something the agency has been meaning to establish for some time, Donahue said. The federal agency paid the University about $4,600 for materials and travel, the Mail Tribune reported.
The studio class was allowed to take a tour of the lab, which is restricted to the public, so students could get an understanding what goes on inside lab doors.
“They had amazing collections of animal skins, skeletons, feathers … they had just beautifully sculpted elephant tusks that were obviously illegally poached ivory,” Nelson said.
Nelson said he saw many disturbing things, including reptile skins and skeletons that were made into ashtrays.
During the visit to the lab, Helphand gave a presentation on the history of scientific gardens that lab staff was invited to attend.
“It was a great opportunity for non-landscape designers to get that orientation,” Donahue said. “It really raised the enthusiasm level of the project.”
Contact the people, faith and culture reporter at [email protected]