LASER TALKS ZURICH: BIODIVERSITY, WATER AND US

EVENT INFO:

When: 15^th June 2025, 14.00–16.00
Where: Papiliorama, Moosmatte 1, 3210 Kerzers, Switzerland

PROGRAM

1. Hydrologist/Scientist: Prof. Jan Siebert -University of Zurich Designer: Eliane Zihlmann - Somebodyelse, GmbH

2. Scientist: Dr. Kristy Deiner – SimplexDNA Media Artist: Prof. Dr. Jill Scott – SciArt Verein

3. Round Table with the Public Moderator:Dr. Toni Fröhlich - Physicst (MCAA)

Freshwater ecosystems are under threat from population growth, deforestation, and climate change. These pressures are degrading water quality and biodiversity at an alarming rate. Pollution, nanomaterials, and glacial melt are contributing to nutrient loss and species extinction. Addressing these issues requires transdisciplinary collaboration. Artistic and scientific partnerships can help the public engage with complex biodiversity data through creative and reflective approaches. A global citizen science network now monitors freshwater biodiversity using environmental DNA (eDNA), building a shared global data layer. By involving architects, policymakers, environmentalists, and designers, we can improve urban and surrounding freshwater environments. Round table discussions (in German or English) invite participants to explore how cooperation across disciplines can protect biodiversity and community action for healthier waters.

This Lasertalk is in three parts:  The first is called OBSERVING WATER, the second is about COMMUNICATION WATER BIODIVERSITY, and the third is a ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION WITH THE PUBLIC

SPEAKER SCIENCE PART 1: OBSERVING WATER by Jan Seibert

Water is essential for many aspects of our lives, including drinking, food production, sanitation, and transport. In Switzerland, water also plays a central role in the production of electricity. For effective water management, it is crucial to understand how climate change will impact the availability of water resources in the future. For such predictions, hydrologists need good (and many) water observations. While Switzerland is rich in such water data, even here, more data would be beneficial. In the citizen science project CrowdWater, we investigate how the public can participate in collecting data related to water quantity and quality. A smartphone app has been developed to support observing variables such as stream water levels, soil moisture conditions, the presence of water in temporary streams and water quality indicators. These data can be a valuable addition to existing monitoring, especially with respect to an improved spatial coverage. Data collected within CrowdWater can provide a basis for developing hydrological models, thereby improving the prediction of droughts and flooding. The data can also help to map the hydro-ecological status along stream networks. Here, we provide an overview of activities in the CrowdWater project. 

Jan Seibert is a professor at the University of Zurich, Switzerland, where he leads the group for Hydrology & Climate at the Department of Geography. He obtained his PhD at Uppsala University (Sweden) and then worked at different universities in the US and Sweden before moving to Zurich. He is interested in all aspects of catchment hydrology, with a main research interest in hydrological modelling at different scales in combination with experimental studies. Current research topics include the use of catchment models for land-use and climate change impact studies, runoff generation processes and topography, uncertainty analysis and risk assessment, the value of different data types, and opportunities for citizen science in hydrology. He has supervised numerous PhD students and, together with them and other colleagues, he has published numerous scientific publications, and he was awarded the prestigious Henry-Darcy Medal by EGU (https://www.egu.eu/awards-medals/henry-darcy/2025/jan-seibert/). http://www.geo.uzh.ch/~jseib/publications.html. 

SPEAKER ART PART 1: LIKE WATER by Eliane Zihlmann

Like Water is an interactive Virtual Reality experience that lets visitors embody the element of water. Through intuitive movement and immersive sound, users drift through different aquatic ecosystems – collecting raindrops, navigating streams and encountering fish and microfauna. Created by the Swiss design studio Somebodyelse, the project uses technology not to escape reality, but to deepen our connection to it. The talk will explore how immersive design can create emotional awareness for ecological issues – and how we can use sensory storytelling to shift perspectives. Like Water has been developed in collaboration with scientists, educators and environmental partners, and was funded as part of the #hallowasser project by the Canton of Zurich.

Eliane Zihlmann is a Zurich based designer. Her studio called Somebodyelse creates immersive and interactive formats to explore ecological, cultural and social themes. With a background in product design and technology, she is passionate about sensory storytelling and creating environments that open people up to new perspectives. Her work bridges design, science and technology – always with a strong focus on empathy and emotional experience. In her recent VR project Like Water, she and the team of Somebodyelse invites audiences to take on the perspective of water itself, using embodied interaction to foster awareness for aquatic ecosystems and their fragility. Eliane collaborates with institutions in science, education and the arts, and develops formats ranging from VR experiences with physical interactions and creative workshops. https://somebodyelse.ch/about/

SPEAKER SCIENCE PART 2:  MAPPING WATER BIODIVERSITY – MONITORING CHALLENGES by Dr. Kristy Deiner

Biodiversity is awe inspiring because of its complexity and variety, thus measuring and monitoring it has also been met with bewildering array of methods. Unfortunately, this complexity also meant that rapidly and comprehensive measures let alone routine monitoring of biodiversity are often infeasible. Recent and extensive work utilizing environmental DNA (or eDNA) that all living species shed into the environment, is an exciting monitoring method. It yields an accurate analysis of biodiversity from bacteria to birds in any freshwater source from a sample of water. Using easy to use sampler systems anyone can participate in helping to collect water for eDNA analysis. Kristy Deiner will discuss how a citizen science network hasbeen scaled to a global level and how collaboration with people from all backgrounds can create a special biodiversity data layer for the world. She will also talk about how artistic interpretations like the sonification of this data, can help people emotionally connect to eDNA evidence.

Dr. Kristy Deiner is president of a company called SimplexDNA. She has led several global research projects on Environmental eDNA monitoring. Her research and her company is designed to challengepeoples’ mindset and mental models, create empathy, cultivate trust and foster growth for the changesneeded to cultivate and restore the biodiversity in our environment. www.simplexdna.com

SPEAKER ART PART 2: WATER STORIES by Prof. Dr. Jill Scott.

How can immersive, interactive art and science projects bring biodiversity to life through images, sounds and stories about water. How can artists show how human impacts are affecting life in and around the very water we use to stay healthy. It seems that we need many stories to explore water. Some if these might be Jellyeyes – a project that explores the effects of climate change and pollution in the Great Barrier Reef where viewers can interact with various characters like jellyfish, squid, tourists and scientists. How can our communication with the public convey that biodiversity is essential for a healthy ecosystem and clean water? Healthy ecosystems can be categorized into producers, consumers and decomposers – all actors are reliant on each other to function and survive. In Worried Wings, an interactive installation by Jill Scott, four dragonflies tell stories about how we are affecting their habitats. Artists and designers can utilize their knowledge of semiotic, metaphorical and immersive tactics, to foster an ethics of care for this environment. More community collaborations are needed to cause more post reflective and lateral ways of thinking as well as communicate science.

Prof. Dr. Jill Scott is Professor Emerita from the Zurich University of the Arts, Switzerland. She founded their Artists-in-Labs Program in 2000. She is an Interactive Media Designer and Art/Science Researcher who has worked for a long time in Art and Science collaboration, particularly with neuroscientists andecologists. Her own artwork spans 44 years of production about the human body and body politics. In the last 20 years, she has focused on human health based on research into molecular biology, neuroscience, and ecology. She has had many international exhibitions in both art and science venues. https://www.jillscott.org

DISCUSSION PART 3

Using the Fishbowl method round tables in German and in English are set up to discuss how we can work together and help other communities discuss the following questions: What kinds of art and environmental science collaborations foster more post reflective and lateral ways of thinking? How can we help to rewild our water ways? Let’s discuss how these collaborative actors might transform the ecology and help the biodiverse system. 

SPONSORS:

The Leonardo/ISAST LASERs are a program of international gatherings that bring artists, scientists, humanists and technologists together for informal presentations, performances and conversations with the wider public. The mission of the LASERs is to encourage contribution to the cultural environment of a region by fostering interdisciplinary dialogue and opportunities for community building to over 50 cities around the world. To learn more about how our LASER Hosts and to visit a LASER near you please visit our website. @lasertalks