Forms and Transformations in the Butterfly World - Ryan Shea, The Nature Institute

Butterflies are among nature’s most captivating organisms, dazzling us with their colors, patterns, and the remarkable transformation from caterpillar to winged adult. But what can they teach us about the deeper rhythms of the natural world? In this talk, Ryan Shea invites us to slow down and truly observe butterflies: to notice how their shapes and colors shift and transform, and to help us discover a “living understanding of nature.” He draws on an approach to nature observation developed by the German writer and scientist Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which asks us to follow what we actually see rather than jump to explanation.

Ryan Shea is a researcher and educator at The Nature Institute in Ghent, New York, where he explores how people can develop a deeper, more meaningful connection with the natural world — with a special focus on plants and insects. He is also completing a doctorate in…