WILD

WILD Africa

• Wild Chimpanzee Foundation
• The Mali Elephant Project
• In the Tracks of Giants
• Forever Wild Rhino Protection
• Ewaso Lions
• Zulu Village Project
• Umzi Wethu – Nature, Nurture, Future
• Wilderness Foundation (Africa)
• Quicama National Park

WILD Asia

• CAT in WATER
• Endangered Olive Ridley Turtles

WILD Europe

• European Wilderness Policy
• Wilderness Foundation (UK)

WILD Latin America

• Corporate Commitment to Wilderness
• The Kayapo

WILD Mind & Heart

• About Mind & Heart
• Wilderness Visionaries
• Public Sculpture
• Wilderness Conservation Painting Expedition
• Extreme Ice Survey

WILD North American

• North American Wilderness Collaborative
• Colorado
• Transboundary Canada

Field Project Archive

• Samples of Past WILD Field Projects

Wilderness Conservation Painting Expedition

Beatriz Padilla at work

Beatriz Padilla, the Mexican environmentalist painter, has embarked on a journey combining the art of painting with nature conservation in a new and innovative way. The Wilderness Conservation Painting Expedition (WCPE) is an applied conservation initiative, using the arts to support and communicate conservation issues of key wildlands across the globe and assist local people in communicating their relationship with these lands and receiving benefits from doing so.

Wildlands Conservation Painting Locations

During this multi-year, multi-expedition project, Ms. Padilla visits and paints wildland areas around the world. Some of these areas are “hotspots” and highly threatened, and some are already protected areas – all of them have a message to relate. While on location, Beatriz also engages with local communities. For example, on some expeditions, she leads art workshops with teenagers of native communities focusing on their natural and cultural heritage. These workshops culminate with an exhibit, showing the potential for these teens to generate a source of livelihood from portraying the intrinsic value of their natural environment.

Ms. Padilla will accumulate the original paintings from her journeys as the expedition continues. While prints of these paintings are being sold to support conservation projects and the expedition itself, the originals will form the basis of a worldwide tour. As this tour concludes, the original paintings will be auctioned (scheduled for 2013), with proceeds benefiting the protection of Mexico’s Water Forest and other international projects.

In addition to WCPE and in conjunction with its conservation goals, Ms. Padilla has initiated the SOS Water Forest project.  SOS includes educational experiential initiatives with young leaders in Mexico City, Cuernavaca and Toluca.  The SOS team will travel to colleges and universities to present on the ecological importance and current threats to the Water Forest and encourage leadership and conservation efforts.  Following the presentation, students will be invited to a specially designed eco-camp experience in the Water Forest.  Learn more about SOS >

As an international project adviser to this expedition, The WILD Foundation is pleased to support the Wilderness Conservation Painting Expedition as the US non-profit representative.