Backyard Wilderness Data Portraits

Backyard Wilderness III: Data Portraits, Casa Arts Centre project space, Lethbridge, Alberta, 2023.

I began working on projects involving our relationship to wildlife as part of the artists’ duo 12 Point Buck (2009-11). I continue to explore it today through exhibitions and public art. Wanting to enrich my understanding of the nature/culture divide, and to use art as a research method, I began my PhD in 2016. People often ask me what I plan to do with a PhD, and I explain that the degree isn’t a means to an academic end but a journey—a process through which I have been able to explore my interests in a supportive and challenging environment. My studies have allowed me to investigate our relationship to urban wildlife and to advocate for coexistence through my art practice.

This project, mixing animal portraits with charts and plots, may be the story of missing the mark. My goal is to create low tech, analog representations that are visually appealing, have people want to know more, read the labels, and begin to make sense of the artwork. I don’t want people to necessarily understand the data completely, so much as I want them to engage, and think about how urban wildlife fits into their lives. Previous exhibitions and public art projects (such as my billboard series) worked to attain this goal, but do these? I am now hoping to gauge reactions to the work, think more about what it is I want to achieve and how best to achieve it, and ponder it all. On one hand, I am a bit like cartoonist Lynda Barry who said, “I found myself compelled—like this weird, shameful compulsion—to draw…animals.” On the other hand, my goal really is all about engaging with audiences. To sum up, it’s all about process and I’m still working through it.

Take the NEW Backyard Wilderness Survey here.

You are invited to take this survey as part of a larger research project titled Backyard Wilderness. Your responses are anonymous and will be used to gauge public attitudes towards urban wildlife. (These answers, when combined with all other responses, will be used in publications and in presentations at conferences.) For more information on Backyard Wilderness please proceed to www.backyardwilderness.info or contact University of Lethbridge PhD student Leila Armstrong at backyardwilderness@shaw.ca.
The survey takes approximately 10 minutes to complete. It is hosted on Survey Monkey and their privacy policy can be found at www.surveymonkey.com/mp/legal/privacy-policy/.

CLICK HERE FOR SURVEY

BlueJay.jpg

A survey regarding the January 5, 2019 incident involving a Lethbridge police officer and an injured deer.

Blogdeer.jpg

You are invited to take this survey as part of a larger research project titled Backyard Wilderness. Your responses are anonymous and will be used to gauge public attitudes towards urban wildlife. (These answers, when combined with all other responses, will be used in publications and in presentations at conferences.) For more information on Backyard Wilderness please proceed to www.backyardwilderness.info or contact University of Lethbridge PhD student Leila Armstrong at backyardwilderness@shaw.ca. The privacy policy for SurveyMonkey can be found at https://www.surveymonkey.com/mp/legal/privacy-policy/. 

The survey takes 3 – 10 minutes to complete.

What are ALL the animals mentioned in the Backyard Wilderness Survey?

As requested, here is a list of all of the animals mentioned in the Backyard Wilderness survey, taken by Lethbridgians from March through December 2017: Skunks, Deer, Rabbits, Hares, Bats, Magpies, Blue Jays, Owls, Ground Squirrels, Raccoons, Coyotes, Porcupines, Rattlesnakes, Partridges, Toads, Mice, Doves, Pheasants, Hawks, Grouse, Woodpeckers, Crows, Sparrows, Black Birds, Moles, Flickers, Fox, Robins, Squirrels, Badgers, Chickadees, Wrens, Bees, Vultures, Bull Snakes, Finches, Marmots, Falcons, Weasels, Muskrats, Geese, Frogs, Possums, Voles, Salamanders, Nuthatches, Moose, Grackles, Seagulls, Eagles, Hummingbirds, Ducks, Quail, Ermine, Chipmunks, Killdeer, Brown Widow Spider, Butterflies, Raptors, Garter Snakes, Hornets, Ants, Thrush, Starlings, Kestrels, Dragonflies, Beetles, Crickets, Merlins, Northern Pocket Gophers, Wolverine, Pigeons, Grosbeaks, and Turtles.

Badger linocut by Leila Armstrong.

Badger linocut by Leila Armstrong.

Some Preliminary Results Of The Backyard Wilderness Survey Are Here!

Between March and December 2017 one thousand one hundred and forty-five people took the Backyard Wilderness survey. That's well over 1% of the city's population! Below you'll find some early results:

Where are respondents from? 293 are from North Lethbridge, 420 are from South Lethbridge, and 410 are from West Lethbridge. The rest hail from elsewhere in Alberta.

Where are respondents from? 293 are from North Lethbridge, 420 are from South Lethbridge, and 410 are from West Lethbridge. The rest hail from elsewhere in Alberta.

What are the ages of the respondents? 229 are 18-31, 295 are 32-45, 315 are 46-59, 245 are 60-73, 33 are 73-86, and 2 are 87+. The rest did not respond to this question.

What are the ages of the respondents? 229 are 18-31, 295 are 32-45, 315 are 46-59, 245 are 60-73, 33 are 73-86, and 2 are 87+. The rest did not respond to this question.

1058 out of 1145 people report that animals visit their yards.

1058 out of 1145 people report that animals visit their yards.

What types of animals do people report as visitors? 723 deer, 693 skunks, 509 rabbits/hares, 276 birds, 240 raccoons, 149 coyotes, 101 porcupines, 69 mice, 60 ground squirrels, and 141 other urban dwelling wild animals. 

What types of animals do people report as visitors? 723 deer, 693 skunks, 509 rabbits/hares, 276 birds, 240 raccoons, 149 coyotes, 101 porcupines, 69 mice, 60 ground squirrels, and 141 other urban dwelling wild animals. 

Stay tuned for more results, including how people know animals are visiting and what attracts wildlife to Lethbridge yards.