"Salmon Population Decline"
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Provided by: Jill Pelto Gallery|Published on: April 27, 2021
ArtworkScientist Reviewed
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Scientist Reviewed This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This watercolor by scientist and artist Jill Pelto shows the decline of the salmon population.
- This painting helps students understand the struggle of salmon populations as their spawning habitat declines due to lower water levels and higher temperatures in rivers.
Subjects: Biology, Visual and Performing Arts
Authors: Jill Pelto Gallery
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- Students' engagement with works of art enhances their creativity and communication skills.
- Students can learn about how animals adapt to environmental changes and the threats they face along the way.
Additional Prerequisites
- Students should be familiar with the following concepts: environmental threats, animal adaptation, melting glaciers, temperature rise, and climate change.
Differentiation
- In art class, students could analyze and interpret this painting and then create their own artwork on climate change from their point of view.
- An ELA teacher could present this image to students and ask them to write a descriptive paragraph describing the artwork and their interpretation.
- This picture could be used as a hook for a lesson on marine biodiversity and how it's changing. The teacher could show it on the screen and ask students to write down their observations.
- The teacher could ask students to design solutions to protect the salmon population.
- Another one of Jill Pelto's works of art is ocean acidification, which also relates to the effects of climate change on marine life.
Scientist Notes
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About the Partner Provider
Jill Pelto
Jill Pelto is an artist and scientist whose work focuses on communicating human-environment connections. She incorporates scientific research and data directly into her watercolor paintings — from local trends to global changes. Jill’s artwork was featured on the cover of TIME Magazine in July 2020 and has inspired online features in Smithsonian and PBS News Hour. Jill has created a science-art activity based on this idea and has worked with K-12 students across the U.S. and beyond. By pairing graphical information with visual imagery, Jill hopes students can learn about and connect to climate change topics (good, bad, and in-between) in ways that educate and are emotionally relevant. This data-art activity is flexible and allows students to make their own graph art to share topics they care about.
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
Learn about our review process →
