Erin Bentley, a second-year UW master’s student in botany from Green River, was one
of 40 artists and scientists selected to The Arctic Circle, an annual expeditionary
residency program, now in its 12th year. Bentley will be part of the summer solstice
expedition, scheduled June 7-24, 2021. Here, Bentley is in Cambodia as part of a volunteer
trip in which she worked on an elephant sanctuary in Thailand. (Sarah Verhey Photo)
Erin Bentley soon will have something in common with renowned explorer Robert Peary.
While Peary is famous for traversing much of the Arctic by dogsled, Bentley, a University
of Wyoming second-year master’s student majoring in botany, will explore the Arctic
aboard a research ship -- one that could have been from Peary’s time -- next summer.
Bentley is one of 40 artists and scientists selected for The Arctic Circle program. The Arctic Circle is an annual expeditionary residency program, now in its
12th year. Bentley will be part of the summer solstice expedition, scheduled June
7-24, 2021.
“On this trip, I hope to learn more about the microbial diversity of the region, but
I also hope to engage the public in the mission of the Microbestiary,” says Bentley,
from Green River. “By engaging with the other scientists and artists on this expedition,
I intend to develop new projects that combine art, science and education. I am hopeful
that other members of this expedition will be able to give me some novel insights
in that pursuit.”
The Microbestiary is an outreach project coordinated by Bentley, who studies the consequences
of rarity for plant genetics and plant microbiomes in UW Professor Alex Buerkle’s
botany lab. Bentley says the Microbestiary started out as only a website. Over the
past year, the site has expanded to include working with schools, holding classes
for the public and hosting free activities at summer farmers markets.
“The Microbestiary strives to show the public, in welcoming and memorable ways, that
the microbial world is populated by strange and beautiful characters. We are transitioning
over to focusing on the diversity of microbes across a landscape, and the opportunity
to take this to the Arctic was too good to pass up,” Bentley says. “A piece of my
current studies focuses on microbial diversity and, since the purpose of my involvement
with this expedition would be to characterize the diversity of the microbes present
in the snow, water and soil of the Arctic, it fits in nicely with my current research.”
The Arctic Circle program brings together international artists of all disciplines,
scientists, architects and educators who collectively explore the high-Arctic Svalbard,
an Arctic archipelago located just 10 degrees of latitude from the North Pole. The
research group will sail aboard a specially outfitted barquentine, or schooner vessel.
The ship is equipped with workspace, common areas and ample room for privacy and creativity.
In summer 2021, UW master’s student Erin Bentley will sail aboard this specially outfitted
barquentine, or schooner vessel, as part of The Arctic Circle program. During the
research expedition that combines science and art, Bentley plans to characterize the
diversity of the microbes present in the snow, water and soil of the Arctic. (Photo
courtesy of The Arctic Circle)
The program supports the creation and exhibition of new and pioneering work, and aims
to empower the creative individual while fostering collaboration. The program provides
a shared experience for its participants to engage in issues relevant to the present
and to develop professionally through fieldwork and research, interdisciplinary collaborations,
exhibit opportunities, and public and classroom engagement.
To be considered, Bentley had to submit an application that included her essay, titled
“Finding Thule.” Thule is the most remote northern location mentioned in ancient Greek
and Roman literature.
By titling the project "Finding Thule," Bentley says she drew from her original inspiration
for the Microbestiary: She compared the diverse world of microbes to the fantastical
beasts the world once believed in during the Middle Ages, and the existence of an
unexplored, mythical land with the unseen microbial world of the Arctic.
The Microbestiary website features these mythological beasts, along with artistic
responses to each microbe, in an effort to make the science more engaging and accessible
-- as well as fuel the crossover of science and art, Bentley explains.
“Through extraction and high-throughput sequencing of microbial DNA, followed by microbe
classification through database comparison, all of which are accessible through the
facilities of the University of Wyoming, I will classify the microbes present in samples
of snow, water and soil taken throughout the expedition,” Bentley wrote in her application.
“After classification of these micro-organisms, I will compile a new chapter of the
Microbestiary, that of Thule.”
Bentley says one project that will result from the expedition will include an online
interactive map of the locations where the samples were taken and which “beasts” were
found there. Additionally, Bentley says she will dedicate a section of the Microbestiary
website to teaching the public about the microbes present in the Arctic. This will
include explanations and links to scientific research about the effects that microbes
have on climate change, the Arctic environment, and greenhouse gas and nutrient cycling.
“I am very excited to have been selected,” Bentley says. “I was confident in my application,
but I wasn't positive that I would make the cut, given the small number of accepted
applications.”
