In this course, we will explore the relationship of photography and environment. Centering on hands-on engagement with New York City’s coastlines, parks, and community gardens you willl use your creativity—along with photography and social media—as advocacy tools for sites you choose, supporting broader environmental initiatives. Through care-based actions like planting, cleaning, repairing, and maintaining, you will explore how these activities intersect with contemporary art. Blurring the lines between art-making and activism, the course includes visits to various ecological and community sites, where we will meet with local stewards and nonprofit organizations dedicated to their care. we will examine the environmental and commercial threats these spaces face and create work that advocates for change. we will also explore Indigenous histories of the land and how they relate to current land management struggles and contemporary artistic practices. Throughout the semester, we will study artists whose work merges social practice, activism, and environmental engagement.