The Biocrust Project
A film created for audiences of all ages to learn about biocrust through indigenous, scientific, and environmental perspectives. Drylands cover roughly 40% of the planet’s land surface, and within drylands, biocrusts are a photosynthetic soil surface and a dominant cover type. Biocrust–the desert’s living skin–is a complex community of lichens, mosses, and cyanobacteria living on about 12% of the Earth’s land surface. Biocrust plays critical roles in sustaining the world’s ecosystems and in protecting human health, and are under threat due to climate change and human impacts. Art and science can help us experience these small but important communities, allowing us to know, respect, and support them.
The Biocrust Project was created as part of Canyonlands Research Center’s (CRC’s) Artist in Residence (AiR) program, which seeks to educate and engage diverse audiences in ecology and climate solutions through explicit collaborations between artists and scientists. The CRC’s 2023 inaugural AiR project is a partnership between multidisciplinary artist Jorge Rojas and U.S. Geological Survey scientist Dr. Sasha Reed.
Very special thanks to Nikki Cooley, Diné, Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals’ Climate Change Program, and Kristen Redd, Canyonlands Research Center, for their voices and expertise, and to Blank Space for video production.
Country of Origin: United States
ALEC LYONS & COLBY BRYSON, Directors
The Biocrust Project was created as part of Canyonlands Research Center’s (CRC’s) Artist in Residence (AiR) program, which seeks to educate and engage diverse audiences in ecology and climate solutions through explicit collaborations between artists and scientists. The CRC’s 2023 inaugural AiR project is a partnership between multidisciplinary artist Jorge Rojas and U.S. Geological Survey scientist Dr. Sasha Reed.
Very special thanks to Nikki Cooley, Diné, Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals’ Climate Change Program, and Kristen Redd, Canyonlands Research Center, for their voices and expertise, and to Blank Space for video production.
Country of Origin: United States
ALEC LYONS & COLBY BRYSON, Directors
Alec Lyons- DP/Blank Space: Really likes cats
Colby Bryson- Producer/Blank Space: Takes frequent trips to Disneyland