As the inaugural recipient of the Lydia Wevers Scholarship in New Zealand Studies, Nikki's experience underscores the value of the connections that can be forged between art, science, and community engagement to tackle environmental issues.
Nikki’s interest in the natural world and the arts goes back a long time. She co-founded charitable trust Nature Through Arts Collective in 2015 to deliver imaginative art-science projects to engage people within their communities. “I have always been interested in the natural world and how artistic expressions speak to our engagement and entanglement within it,” she says.
This experience inspired her to take up further study. When she spotted an advertisement for an Art and the Environment course at Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington, she started talking with Dr Tim Corballis and Professor Susan Ballard about a postgraduate opportunity to explore the interconnections of art, science, and insect pollinators. 40 years after graduating with a Bachelor of Arts, she returned to Te Herenga Waka. Nikki’s artistic sensibilities gave her a unique lens through which to examine complex societal and environmental dynamics through her Master’s thesis, ‘The Art of Pollinator Paths’.
Nikki describes returning to University as a “thought-provoking, collegial, and challenging” experience “which was exactly what I was looking for,” she says. Her co-supervisors, Dr Corballis from the School of Science and Society, and Professor Ballard of the School of English, Film, Theatre, Media and Communications, and Art History, provided an invaluable opportunity to "cross-pollinate interdisciplinary knowledge”, particularly within the field of environmental humanities. She says this exposure broadened her understanding of how art, literature, film, philosophy, and cultural narratives shape our relationship with the planet and influence our interactions with nature.
“My experience owes much gratitude to their wisdom, interdisciplinary skills, and academic guidance.” She also acknowledges the other staff, postgraduate students, and researchers in the School of Science in Society, and she still attends a weekly online writing workshop with colleagues there.
Nikki was drawn to study pollinator insects due to the "curious paradoxes" in our relationship with these essential insects. She observed the deep cultural, spiritual, and economic significance of pollinators alongside the modern industrial practices that threaten their survival. “In Aotearoa we know relatively little about our native pollinator insects like native bees (ngaro huruhuru), moths (pūrerehua), butterflies (pepe) and flies (ngaro), who have evolved alongside the country’s diverse native plants, which in turn support a huge range of other species of bird, insect and arthropod.”
Her project explored the human-pollinator relationships within her neighbourhood of Whitby/Pāuatahanui. Using a range of methodologies, including close observation, journaling, photography, videography, drawing, and mapping, she created a multi-media blog and planted an eco-art berm with native shrubs to provide pollen, nectar, and host leaves for native bees, moths, and butterflies.
Her work connects the stories of these insects with the history and ecology of the landscape and the experiences of human neighbours, beekeepers, entomologists, artists, and the local council. “These are vignettes of wonder, unknowns, and uncertainties that argue with the progress narratives of the human world and its preset logic. They are also tales of companioning and reciprocity within our shared times of precarious futures,” she says.
Discussions sparked by the eco-berm have led to approval for a larger community-led pollinator planting on council land on the street, with the potential to expand this concept to other interested neighbourhoods. Nikki is also looking into creative ways to further explore our relationship with insect pollinators, including art, writings, podcasts and more.
Nikki encourages anybody contemplating a return to University after establishing their career to give it a go. “I was inspired by octogenarians who have completed medical doctorates. We are never too old to learn new stuff! Don’t be put off thinking you have left it too late or don’t have the right skills. A career or life experience counts for a lot.”
She recommends looking for scholarships or grants, and contacting university staff to help you with advice, workshops, or to brush up on study skills. “As a mature student returning to study, I found the workshops delivered by the VUW postgraduate association were useful to quickly upskill in a range of topics like effective research and critique.”
She also recommends studying at a pace that suits you and your lifestyle. “I undertook my Master's on a part-time basis. It was important to balance it with other work and my role as a key caregiver in my family.”
Nikki will cross the stage to receive her Master of Science next week, 40 years after graduating with her Bachelor of Arts in 1985.
Find out more about the Lydia Wevers Scholarship in New Zealand Studies here.