2006 Rockefeller New Media Foundation Proposal

The EcoRaft Project is an interactive installation about the process ofrestoration ecology - the study of the regeneration of ecosystems. In the installation, three large computer monitors act as virtual islands ofhabitat inhabited by 3D animated plant and animal species. These animated animals and plants interact with each other in real-time, creating a lush virtual ecosystem. Three wireless Tablet PCs are "collecting boxes" that people can use to carry the organisms from island to island. By moving species between the islands, participants can explore the impact that each species has on the existing ecosystem, and experiment with the process of restoring the island's ecosystem after it has been depleted. In planning this installation I have been collaborating with Dr. Lynn Carpenter, one of the world's leading experts in restoration ecology, to embed key themes of this field in all aspects of the installation