It is often easy to use empty metaphors or scientific jargon to explain the impacts and future related to coastal land loss. But when scientists take the time to elevate the voices of people that are losing their homes and livelihood, science and stories blend to have deeper impacts on those looking from the outside. In this talk, Madelyn Smith shares her photography, and the stories of people photographed, to illuminate the urgency and broader impacts of Louisiana’s coastal land loss.
When LSU student and storyteller Madelyn Smith set out to document the environmental changes to Louisiana’s coastal areas, her training in coastal science enabled her to intellectually comprehend the natural processes at play. But witnessing first-hand the people and places impacted by coastal erosion inspired her to tell the story of coastal land loss in a much more personal way - by leveraging her skills in storytelling. Her work seeks to humanize the problem of coastal land loss and illuminate the traditions and culture that will be lost without a comprehensive action to save Louisiana’s endangered coast. Madelyn spent a year traveling across the bayous and wetlands of coastal Louisiana photographing and writing about the communities and cultures threatened by coastal erosion for Louisiana Gone, her book (coauthored by Trent Andrus) dedicated to telling the stories that are disappearing with the state’s coast. A natural resource ecology and management major with a minor in painting and drawing, Madelyn leverages the powerful opportunities that occur at the intersection of art, social science and science.
When LSU student and storyteller Madelyn Smith set out to document the environmental changes to Louisiana’s coastal areas, her training in coastal science enabled her to intellectually comprehend the natural processes at play. But witnessing first-hand the people and places impacted by coastal erosion inspired her to tell the story of coastal land loss in a much more personal way - by leveraging her skills in storytelling. Her work seeks to humanize the problem of coastal land loss and illuminate the traditions and culture that will be lost without a comprehensive action to save Louisiana’s endangered coast. Madelyn spent a year traveling across the bayous and wetlands of coastal Louisiana photographing and writing about the communities and cultures threatened by coastal erosion for Louisiana Gone, her book (coauthored by Trent Andrus) dedicated to telling the stories that are disappearing with the state’s coast. A natural resource ecology and management major with a minor in painting and drawing, Madelyn leverages the powerful opportunities that occur at the intersection of art, social science and science.
