The proposal for NR1 was to create an on-site installation by planting trees and grasses at Wadhwana Wetlands and to allow the creative process to be informed by the migratory routes of the birds and other water bodies (native and introduced); resting points, departure points, arrival destinations and travel paths. The data collected informed and impacted the artistic processes which took place.

The work brought together individuals and groups and was perceived as 3-way collaboration between art + community + science. It focused on the transference of knowledge via activities that were situated in the immediate locality, but also reached out and drew attention to global ecological concerns.

Workshops were a core component of the artistic and educational interactions of the Wadhwana Wetlands project with student participants from nearby schools in Shimoliya, Manjrol, Wadhwana, Gopalpura, Akotadar and Kukkad villages.

In July 2010, the artist and the collaborating team led several workshops that focussed on raising awareness about the local ecology of the wetland; mapping and map reading skills were also introduced. The activities were planned to coincide with the winter migratory patterns of birds and tourists flocking into the city. Saplings were planted by the students and teachers of 7 schools in the village next to the water. The students were provided with diaries and drawing materials and asked to record data from the wetland reserve over the course of a week. These diaries became an important tool and remnant of the project, in which the workshop participants recorded their interactions, learning and thoughts. Student participants were also invited to interview their family elders and teachers about the sites’ history, provoking them to consider the changes that had occurred over time, and thus draw connections between the preservation of ecology and the possible environmental degradation with the onset of tourism. The students were asked to express their thoughts and wishes for Wadhwana Wetlands and their village. The diaries were left with them for a week, after which they were collected and reviewed by the artists; once the data was collected the diaries were returned to the students and they were asked to continue mapping and recording data. Dialogue and interactivity were at the core of this project, with the artist and her collaborators urging the local community to reclaim ownership of this threatened site by engaging with its natural ecological vitality and significance.