About the Nature Walk Project
This project began in 2014 in Professor Marta Wells’s course, EE&B 2223L: Evolution, Functional Traits, and the Tree of Life, in collaboration with Yale Academic Technologists in the Center for Teaching and Learning. From the start, the goal was simple—and ambitious: to create a mobile, hands-on learning experience that invites students to explore nature through curiosity, creativity, and collaboration.
Every spring, students in EE&B 2223L are each assigned a tree (or shrub!) somewhere on the Yale campus or in New Haven—and that tree becomes their semester-long companion. Using mobile devices, mapping tools, web technologies, research, and creative projects, students investigate the natural history, ecology, and personality of their tree.
Each tree, bush, or shrub is added to an interactive map and given its own webpage, featuring scientific research, field notes, and photographs taken by Yale students. By the end of the semester, the project blossoms into something truly unique. Student presentations blend fact and feeling—bringing trees to life through dance, scent, music, food, stories, painting, poetry, and more.
The project promotes digital literacy, interdisciplinary thinking, and biophilia—while connecting students and the wider community to Yale’s remarkable living landscape.
We warmly welcome creative contributions from the community, including artwork, poetry, photography, videos, and other forms of media.
If you have comments or questions about the site, please contact Lecturer Linda Puth.