Large Peace Garden photo collage celebrates 1,000 Species project

During this final push to get 1,000 Species in 1,000 Days identified on Dawson’s downtown Montreal campus, a gorgeous photo collage celebrating the project has been printed and posted around the college.

It was created by Doug Smyth, a faculty member in Physical Education. Doug has photographed hundreds of species and taken thousands of photos since the project was launched in the spring of 2023. Over countless hours, he painstakingly curated photos and assembled them over a backdrop of the Peace Garden at Dawson.

Doug told Chris Adam, Dawson’s Head of Sustainability: “This was a big project for me and helped further develop my skills with regards to photography and Photoshop. I looked at design, movement of colour, placed the Peace Garden in the background, reviewed different species seen on campus, and considered branding in the poster design.”

“The objective was to portray the number of species we have attracted to our urban campus. Overall, people don’t recognize what we have, and I wanted to celebrate the fact that we have so many and give access to this information to the casual observer.”

There is also a little game to play when observing the collage: try to find Doug, the photographer! “I hid myself in the mural for several reasons,” Doug said. “We tend to view ourselves as outside of the ecosystem. I thought humans should be represented as a species and at the same time, it is a fun method of identifying me as the photographer and adding some humour.”

The 1,000 Species in 1,000 Days initiative was launched after Dawson joined the Campus Biodiversity Network. In late 2022, the College committed to being part of the Nature Positive Universities alliance. Dawson has pledged to halting and reversing Nature loss so that species and ecosystems start to recover.

It has already garnered interest in other colleges across Canada. One of Dawson’s partners, Canadore College in North Bay, Ontario, has also announced a 1,000 species challenge, reported Chris.

Kanerahtiio (Tiio) Hemlock, Dawson’s Indigenous Pedagogical Counsellor, says that how we treat our landscape tells us much about our values: “When wildlife feels safe here, it suggests that students and staff have managed to direct the notion of a caring community beyond themselves. This bridge between species ultimately benefits everyone and is represented in the mural (photo collage).”

Photo credit: Celebration of 1,000 Species at Dawson photo collage by Doug Smyth, 2024.