When Mary Mattingly's WetLand opened on the Delaware River for the 2014 Fringe Festival, her houseboat-ecosystem made waves, offering a new way to imagine adaptable urban living. During the 2014 Fringe Festival, Mattingly lived on WetLand for 8 weeks, eating eggs from the chickens she raised there, growing plants, and demonstrating a vision for adaptable, green cities. Now, the critically acclaimed artist is returning to Philadelphia to give the annual Richard L. James Lecture at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, on Wednesday, January 28 at 7 pm. The 2015 James Lecture, Environmental Art for a Changing Planet, will explore the relationship between art and climate change. By its nature, environmental art is always changing: it’s art about place and time. And as places and moments change, so does art. With the impacts of climate change increasingly visible, art is evolving. Mattingly will explore what environmental art does, and can do, in the setting of climate change. An interdisciplinary panel will reflect on Mattingly's lecture, offering insights on the past, present, and future of environmental art, and providing context for the idea of art for a changing planet. Panelists include Mary Salvante, who founded the Center’ environmental art program in 2000 and now serves as Gallery and Exhibitions Program Director at Rowan University; Maya van Rossum, who leads the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, monitoring the river and advocating for its protection; and Bethany Wiggin, who directs the new University of Pennsylvania program in the Environmental Humanities. The annual Richard L. James Lecture, established in memory of the Schuylkill Center’s founding executive director, highlights leading voices in the environmental movement. Executive Director Mike Weilbacher notes, James “had an uncanny knack for finding the cutting edge in both education and the environment; if something new was happening, Dick would showcase it at the Schuylkill Center.” The James Lecture also kicks off celebrations of the Schuylkill Center's 50th anniversary. The year will be filled with special events marking this milestone, with the James Lecture at its start, a public picnic and celebration in June, and a symposium on environmental education in October, as well as other special events. In addition, 2015 marks the 15th anniversary of the Center' environmental art program, founded by Mary Salvante in 2000. The lecture will be followed by a reception celebrating the opening of Inhabiting the Edge, a gallery show exploring Mattingly's WetLand installation. Come see the gallery transformed into a living, growing space where actual pieces of WetLand have been relocated, meet Mattingly, and find out what climate change means for environmental art. Both Environmental Art for a Changing Planet and the gallery reception are free and open to the public, on Wednesday, January 28, at 7 pm at the Schuylkill Center. About the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education The Schuylkill Center was founded in 1965 as the nation’s first urban environmental education center. Its 340-acres of fields and forests serve as a living laboratory to foster appreciation, deepen understanding, and encourage stewardship of the environment. Reaching over 36,000 Philadelphia-area residents each year, the Schuylkill Center offers a diverse collection of educational programs, including programs for school, continuing education for teachers, Pennsylvania’s first Nature Preschool, and a full calendar of events for the public. The environmental art department inspires and educates, while pushing the cutting edge and using art to remediate local ecological issues. Acting as the only clinic of its kind in a four-county region, the Wildlife Clinic at the Schuylkill Center treats 3,300 injured, orphaned, and sick animals annually. In 2015 the Schuylkill Center is celebrating 50 years of connecting people and nature, with a series of events highlighting the Center’s work and vision for the future.