https://www.outdoorsunscripted.org/

Outdoors Unscripted, 900 Sunnyside Ave, Lawrence, KS (2026)

08/27/2026

Outdoors Unscripted is launching a community project for the month of September, and you’re invited to participate!

One Square Meter: Celebrating the Biodiversity of the Prairie

Choose one square meter somewhere in Douglas County — in a prairie, park, garden, backyard, or other outdoor space — and spend some time looking closely at what’s there. Take photos, make drawings, keep a journal, write a poem, create a map, or document what you discover in whatever way you’d like!

Our project is inspired by Chris Helzer Square Meter Photography Project, where Chris Helzer documented more than 100 species in just one square meter of Nebraska prairie over the course of a year.

When you’re ready, share what you discovered with us! You can submit your project digitally, join our community show-and-tell, or both. Submit by September 25 to participate in the show-and-tell on October 3 from 1–3 p.m. at Prairie Park Pavilion.

There’s no right or wrong way to participate. Just get outside, look a little closer, and see how much life you can find in one small patch of Douglas County.

This project is made possible with support from the Douglas County Natural & Cultural Heritage Grant Program.

Participation form and details at the link in bio (https://tinyurl.com/onesquaremeter)

08/13/2026

Thank you Lawrence Times for the write up! We are so excited about this year’s SOSAA projects!

Link in bio

08/12/2026

ANNOUNCING THE 2026 SOSAA RECIPIENTS!

We are pleased to announce that Tess Wilson has received a SOSAA grant this year for her project, ‘Ode to the Outdoors: A Collaborative Zine Exploring Douglas County.’

Tess is a librarian, artist, and educator who enjoys teaching and learning about information democracy, creative education, and environmental advocacy. The intersection of art and nature is a particular interest and the focus of many of the hands-on workshops she leads. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Curriculum and Teaching at the University of Kansas and, in her spare time, enjoys volunteering with her local watershed and making art of all kinds.

For ‘Ode to the Outdoors,’ Tess will invite members of the public to explore Kansas through an archival lens and create their own artistic odes to the outdoors. She will curate digitized materials from local libraries, museums, and historical societies, including photographs, maps, newspapers, geological and ecological surveys, datasets, and other artifacts related to Kansas history, landscapes, and habitats.

During public workshops throughout Douglas County, participants will use these materials to create collages inspired by their own connections to Kansas landscapes. The individual works will then be brought together into a collaborative zine: a handheld gallery of artwork created by Douglas County residents.

Printed copies will be distributed to libraries, bookstores, and other locations throughout the county, and a digital version will also be available.

Congratulations, Tess!

08/12/2026

ANNOUNCING THE 2026 SOSAA RECIPIENTS!

We are pleased to announce that Lisa Gotto has received a SOSAA grant this year for her project, ‘Ecologies of Fire and Disability: A Seasonal Field Study.’

Lisa is a mother, artist, scientist, and explorer who recently retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where she worked as a geologist and environmental justice community engagement specialist. After more than 20 years as an environmental professional, she now explores the intersections of care, creativity, and connection.

‘Ecologies of Fire and Disability’ is an immersive, arts-based field study exploring the relationships between a fire-adapted prairie ecosystem and disabled lived experience. Through seasonal fieldwork, Lisa will consider how cycles of dormancy, disturbance, regeneration, and adaptation shape both prairie ecologies and disabled ways of navigating change over time.

Treating disabled bodyminds and the ecological environments in which they exist as interconnected participants in the research process, Lisa will use sensory observation, embodied movement, creative writing, and site-specific materials to explore alternative understandings of survival, access, temporality, and interdependence.

The project will culminate in a community exhibition combining essays, poetry, audio work, and eco-collage, inviting others to experience and explore the connections that emerge from the study.

Congratulations, Fossils!! ! We look forward to seeing where this exploration leads.

08/12/2026

ANNOUNCING THE 2026 SOSAA RECIPIENTS!

We are pleased to announce that Misti Boland and Jeremy Osbern have received a SOSAA grant this year for their collaborative project, ‘Between Seasons: The Kansas Wetlands in Transition.’

Misti is an Emmy-nominated multidisciplinary artist whose practice bridges watercolor painting, filmmaking, immersive media, video installation, and collaborative public art. Her work explores memory, place, and human connection through both intimate observation and cinematic storytelling. For ‘Between Seasons,’ she is collaborating with Jeremy Osbern to create an immersive exploration of the Baker Wetlands.

The project will bring together watercolor, video, and sound in an installation at the Baker Wetlands Discovery Center. Visitors will first experience the artists’ interpretation of the wetlands indoors before heading into the surrounding landscape for guided observation and participatory art-making.

By presenting the work within the landscape that inspired it, Misti and Jeremy hope to create a direct connection between artistic interpretation and the living environment, inviting participants to experience the wetlands through both the artists’ eyes and their own.

Congratulations, Misti and Jeremy! We can’t wait to experience ‘Between Seasons’ at the wetlands.

08/12/2026

ANNOUNCING THE 2026 SOSAA RECIPIENTS!

We are pleased to announce that Sky Maggiore has received a SOSAA grant this year for his project, ‘Brewing Botanicals: Experimental Toning and Tanning Cyanotype Prints.’

Sky is an artist and educator whose artistic and educational research focuses on large-format and alternative processes in photography. Originally from rural New York, he moved to Lawrence in 2023 and currently works as a Lecturer in Photography at the University of Kansas.

‘Brewing Botanicals’ will bring together toner-brewing and cyanotype workshops, foraging hikes, and plant investigations with the local community. Cyanotypes, also known as sun prints, are known for their distinctive blue-and-white monochrome. These colors can be altered by soaking the finished print in a toning agent made by breaking down plant material, boiling it in water, and straining the liquid.

Every plant contains chemical compounds with the potential to dye or tan, but tannin-rich plants can help natural dyes bond to the chemical makeup of a cyanotype. By experimenting with different native species and growing conditions, Sky will investigate the wide variety of effects local botanicals can have on the original Prussian blue of a cyanotype.

The project offers a unique opportunity to explore the natural landscape of Douglas County, connect with historical practices of dyeing and tanning, and discover new creative possibilities through our local plants.

Congratulations, sky maggiore !

08/12/2026

ANNOUNCING THE 2026 SOSAA RECIPIENTS!

We are pleased to announce that Shannon Gorres has received a SOSAA grant this year for her project, ‘Journeys in the Web of Interbeing: Guided Audio Meditative Explorations.’

Shannon is a certified nature and forest therapy guide with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy (ANFT). A mother, poet, counselor, and q***r, she has led hundreds of groups in discovering the beauty of their internal and external landscapes through embodied spiritual practices, guided meditation and imagery, and nature connection.

For ‘Journeys in the Web of Interbeing,’ Shannon will create a series of seasonal guided audio meditations for the trails at Prairie Park and Lawrence Nature Park. Visitors will find a Guided Audio sign at the trailhead, where they can scan a QR code and pull up a meditation created specifically for that park.

Inspired by the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku, or forest bathing, each 25–45 minute meditation will invite listeners to slow down and explore the woods and prairie with a dozen of their senses, deepening their awareness of the relationship between their own bodies and the natural world. New recordings will be created for each season, offering a different way to experience these familiar landscapes throughout the year.

We can’t wait to slow down, tune in, and experience our beautiful open spaces in a new way. Congratulations, Shannon Clare Gorres !

08/12/2026

ANNOUNCING THE 2026 SOSAA RECIPIENTS!

First up, we are pleased to announce that Blanca Herrada has received a SOSAA grant this year for her project, ‘Together, We Ascend.’

Blanca is a Q***r, Mexican American artist and activist based in Lawrence, Kansas, whose multidisciplinary practice spans visual art, curating, and teaching. She thrives at the intersection of art and activism and is passionate about making art spaces more accessible and inclusive for everyone.

For ‘Together, We Ascend,’ Blanca will build a 12-by-12-foot wooden frame in the landscape, ideally in a location that can be accessed by all bodies. Community members will be invited to paint one of 500 wooden butterflies with eco-friendly, biodegradable paints and write on their butterfly where they or their ancestors immigrated or descended from.

Together, participants will suspend the butterflies within the frame so that they appear to be flying in a cluster into the sky. Through learning about each other’s histories and cultures, the project will encourage community building and create a visual representation of how, together, we create beauty and are integral to each other and our environment.

The event will also share information about the importance of pollinators, with hopes of providing participants with pollinator-friendly seeds to plant in their own gardens.

We can’t wait to see ‘Together, We Ascend’ take flight. Congratulations, Blanca Herrada !

06/30/2026

Just two weeks left to apply for a 2026 SOSAA grant!

Do you have an idea for a creative project that connects people with the natural landscapes of Douglas County?

Outdoors Unscripted is awarding grants of $1,000 to artists, storytellers, educators, naturalists, and creative thinkers who want to explore the Kansas outdoors, tell its story, and inspire others to experience it in new ways.

Projects can take many forms — from visual art and writing to music, performance, photography, film, workshops, and more. We welcome creative proposals that help people discover and connect with the places that make Douglas County special.

Applications are due July 15 at midnight.

If you’ve been thinking about applying, now is the time. We can’t wait to hear about your ideas!

Apply through the link in our bio or visit outdoorsunscripted.org/sosaa for details.

06/04/2026

Do you have a creative idea inspired by nature in Kansas?

You don’t have to be a professional artist to apply. Outdoors Unscripted is offering six $1,000 grants to support projects that celebrate the people, places, stories, and landscapes that make Kansas unique.

Whether you enjoy photography, writing, music, painting, filmmaking, dance, conservation, gardening, community engagement, or another creative pursuit, we encourage you to share your vision.

These grants are made possible through the generosity of the City of Lawrence Community Arts Grant program and the Douglas County Natural and Cultural Heritage Foundation, whose support helps foster creativity, connection, and appreciation for the outdoors across Kansas.

We can’t wait to hear your ideas! Apply by July 15th. More details and info about past grant recipients are available at outdoorsunscripted.org/sosaa and at the link in our profile.

Outdoors Unscripted

08/27/2026

08/13/2026

08/12/2026

08/12/2026

08/12/2026

08/12/2026

08/12/2026

08/12/2026

06/30/2026

06/04/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Establishment

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request