What does climate change look like? Framingham High art students have some ideas

FRAMINGHAM — Accompanied by the chirp of a wood thrush and sound of thunder, Framingham High students on Tuesday immersed younger pupils into the art of science.

Members of Framingham High School's Environmental Awareness Club presented their climate-themed art gallery, "A Few Degrees More: The Impact of Climate Change in Framingham & Beyond," to McCarthy Elementary School students. The gallery, hosted at the Saxonville Mills, seeks to shine light on four effects of climate change: flooding, invasive aquatic plants, species decline and coral bleaching.

McCarthy students were able to step inside the immersive exhibit and hear from their older peers about the effects climate change has on MetroWest.

"We are the ones that are going to grow up and we're going to live with these higher temperatures," Framingham High junior Hiranmayi Narasimhan told the Daily News. "So we need to make sure that our world is livable and we maintain the biodiversity that we have today."

She presented an exhibit on the species decline of the wood thrush, a small songbird.

Older students aim to have climate education stick at a younger age

Senior Eliza Rubel said the group decided to educate younger students to make climate education stick at an earlier age.

"We did some activity educating elementary students because we really saw that lack of knowledge at the high school level," she said. "So we decided to go on and start younger and hoping to kind of build that knowledge base."

Rubel presented on the invasive water hyacinth and water chestnut, both of which are not native to New England, but are now found in Framingham waters.

Behind the scenes, the gallery came together through a collaboration between science and arts students.

Senior Carly Nestor explained that through the collaboration, art pieces included giant water hyacinths, vines, chicks, sea life and even a car with functional headlights. The gallery also featured projects and sound.

"We gathered recycled materials from teachers and anybody that could bring their own recycling bags into the school," Nestor said. "We wanted it to be an immersive experience, because I feel like that's what sticks most with people, rather than just reading facts from a placard."

Education at the center of new climate gallery

By bringing in students from McCarthy, members of the high school Environmental Awareness Club hope that educating them will prompt them to take action earlier.

Rebecca Maynard, a co-adviser of the Environmental Awareness Club, said the education aspect came from high school students wishing they had learned about climate change and its effects earlier in their lives.

"We're hoping to reach as many people as we can," Maynard said. "We're hoping Framingham can work toward a more sustainable future. This helps us in bringing people to the root of the problem."

She said the exhibit was one of the most meaningful in her career.

"For me, I didn't learn about it (climate change) until I was in high school," said Madison Rieder, co-president of the Environmental Awareness Club. "Teaching them gives them more time to learn about it and become community advocates for climate change."

The exhibit is open to the public daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. through March 21 at the Saxonville Mills. It can be accessed through the mill's entrance at 2 Central St. Parking can be found by driving to the end of Watson Place.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Framingham student art gallery educates on effects of climate change