WaterGarden: Marine Permaculture Simulator
Arlington, VA
2020, Senior, Interactive & Multimedia
Project Description: In this simulator, users start in a dead zone of the ocean, devoid of life or features. But they have five kelp ‘sprouts’ to plant. By clicking and dragging the ‘sprouts’ onto the ocean floor, users can grow a kelp forest. In each stage of the kelp forest’s growth, users can click on the buttons in the top right corner to view the kelp’s impact on three systems: oceanic carbon dioxide levels, economic opportunities, and ecological diversity. Each system reacts to the number and placement of the kelp, and comes with labels that the user can hover over for more information. In the end, the user has created a carbon sink, an economic boon, and a biodiversity hotspot where there once was nothing.
Reflection
Reflection
I created WaterGarden as an antidote to the myths about humanity's supposedly innate destructiveness, and to let people experience the feeling of their small actions seeding beneficial change. WaterGarden is based on the concept of marine permaculture: a climate solution that harnesses the human skills of creativity and forethought to kickstart the older, more complex biological systems that can sequester carbon and rebuild habitats in ways we don't completely understand. Simply put, humans grow baby kelps and put them on the seafloor, and then the kelp grows rapidly and becomes a towering, photosynthesizing home base for many species. It's simple, low-tech, fast-acting, high-impact, and acts as a solution to multiple problems at once. So much of the 'hope' that gets circulated in the world of environmental activism is hope that humans will reduce their harmful behaviors, seal themselves away from nature, or even cease to be. But if we are to address the full scope of the climate crisis, our ethos cannot be one of diminishing our impact. We must transform our impact from negative to positive, and then amplify what we do. I am hopeful that through scientific research, indigenous knowledge, and grassroots action, humans can re-integrate into the natural world as niche-creators and biodiversity-facilitators. I envision WaterGarden as a spark of inspiration for people to think of their species--and themselves--as a force for good.