Exhibition on view at Roger Tory Peterson Institute, Jamestown, NY

Through September 27, 2026

Art that Matters to the Planet explores the ways in which art and artists matter – by drawing us into a deeper relationship with nature, opening hearts and minds to the critical challenges of our time, and inspiring us to the solutions we need to address those challenges. Roger Tory Peterson is credited as the creator of the modern field guide, and he used art, most notably of birds, to inspire and illuminate the natural world. He demonstrated that each of us can make a difference in protecting the earth’s diversity.

From nearly 500 entries submitted, 57 were selected in various media from paintings to three-dimensional works to video, including four watercolor paintings of Carol’s featuring native wildflowers. Paintings that can be seen are: Three-birds Orchids, Triphora trianthophora; Beauty and the Beast, Calapogon tuberosus, Sarracenia psitticina; Pairs: Jeffersonia and Trillium; and Large Yellow Lady’s Slipper, Cypripedium parviflorum.

Poster image from Beyond Beauty, from left, Mila Rossi, Le Figuier de Barbarie; Kelly Marie O’Brien, Botanica Lucida,;Carol Woodin Three-birds Orchid; Susan Munderich, A Delicate Balance.