Let’s imagine the year is 2350. There’s much that is likely different from our current time. What society values has almost certainly changed over the centuries. If you were to go back in time the same amount of time — 326 years to 1698 — it’s clear our societal values have changed. But today, in 2024, a group of art students at the University of Arkansas are being challenged to create a currency that shows what we currently value. And the place they’ve arrived to find that value is on a remnant prairie in south Fayetteville.
Experts guide the group to help identify what we are seeing in this remnant prairie, like Jennifer Ogle, the Herbarium Collections Manager at the University of Arkansas, Caite Mae Ramos, an artist who uses the natural environment to explore their craft, Andrew Ruegsegger, an anthrophology student, and Willa Thomason, a dendrochronolgist and research assistant at the University of Arkansas.