Tarkind 2025 with beautiful artworks and inspiring citizen science expressions. Photography By Danielle Gilbert

Families connect heart, art, and science at Magical Farm Tasmania for Tarkind’s Great Southern BioBlitz

Allens Rivulet, Tasmania October 27, 2025

Daisy at her second Tarkind Art and Citizen Science Event. Photography by Emily Samuels-Ballantyne

Twenty-two participants, mums and their children gathered at Magical Farm Tasmania in Allens Rivulet this weekend for a Tarkind event celebrating the connection between heart, art, and science. Supported by Landcare Tasmania, the gathering was part of the internationally renowned Great Southern BioBlitz, a citizen science initiative uniting communities across the Southern Hemisphere in biodiversity discovery.

Abe participating in his fourth Tarkind Art and Citizen Science Event. Photography by Emily Samuels-Ballantyne

The day began with a circle of sharing, where participants told stories about connecting to Country and the living systems around them. After an inspiring walk through the bushland, families collected and recorded over 25 unique species in just one hour, contributing valuable data to global biodiversity mapping efforts.

The event flowed naturally into a creative painting session, with children and adults expressing their encounters through art inspired by mosses, fungi, and forest textures. The artworks reflected the beauty and complexity of the Tasmanian landscape, bringing science and creativity together in a living dialogue.

Everyone painting together. Photography by Emily Samuels-Ballantyne

“It was deeply inspiring to see families connecting heart, art, and science,” said Dr Emily Samuels-Ballantyne, creative director of Magical Farm Tasmania and the Tarkind Project. “There’s such beautiful aesthetics in these moments, when we connect to nature and express that connection through art, we begin to see and feel life as one integrated system.”

Beautiful art by the children. Photography by Emily Samuels-Ballantyne

As the afternoon closed, participants reflected on how simple acts: walking, noticing, painting, and sharing foster a deeper relationship with the natural world and with one another.

Circle to begin the day. Photography by Seb Samuels

Tarkind’s community-based approach to environmental education continues to grow, blending ecological science, art, and storytelling. Plans are already underway for the 5th Tarkind event next year.