Scott Leddy:
Driftless Pollinators Plus

Dates: February 20 - March 26, 2022
228 East 5th Street / Winona, Minnesota

Opening Reception: Sunday / February 20 / 1:00-4:00pm

Film*: Sunday / February 20 / 2:00pm

Gallery Hours: Wednesdays from 4-7pm / Sundays from 1-4pm

Exhibit:

The Winona Arts Center presents Driftless Pollinators Plus an exhibition of photographs by Scott Leddy. There will be a showing of a film * Decoding the Driftless * at 2pm during the February 20^th reception with a gallery talk following the film. (Note reception date change from earlier scheduled on February 5th.)

The Driftless Pollinators Plus exhibit contains 20 color photographs primarily of pollinators taken in their native environment, feeding on their favorite flowers. It gives the viewer the opportunity to see some rare and endangered species which are slowly being lost due to the loss of many native species and habitats.

Scott Leddy is a naturalist and ecological restoration practitioner who has lived in Southeast Minnesota for decades and has been documenting native species and pollinators with a camera and other methods for more than thirty years. He is intimately familiar with the bluff prairies of the Driftless Region and is considered one of southeast Minnesota's prairie experts. His images have been published in numerous catalogs, and other publications.

Scott received his training in photography at the Minneapolis Institute of Art and Design, where photography was his minor. He received his training in butterfly identification from two incredible professors; John Gardner and Robert Dana from the University of Minnesota, who were always there to answer his questions. Scott taught himself our native plant, tree and shrub identification and their uses in ecological restoration. He credits assistance from the U of Wisconsin, herbarium, and other people and sources along the way and worked for Prairie Moon Nursery for seven years which he said “helped him a lot too.”

Scott has done contract prairie restoration work at multiple sites in southeast Minnesota. He has done numerous native butterfly surveys and native bee surveys and quite a few other species surveys as well. He is a highly sought-after field trip leader for various groups and his annual spring field trip at Mound Prairie Scientific and Natural Area in Houston County, Minnesota, is a perennial favorite for members of the Minnesota Driftless Chapter of The Prairie Enthusiasts.

The film Decoding the Driftless is a wild ride of adventure through the air, across rugged landscapes, on and under the water, through a secret underworld, and across time itself to explore and decipher ancient clues of archaeology, paleontology, geology and biology of the Driftless Region, with its captivating scenic beauty. Directed by Jonas Stenstrom in 2018 runs 61 minutes. Stenstoms life mission and dedication is to attempt to create a better understanding of the natural world we live in by inspirational and eye-opening story telling. While Scott makes a brief appearance in the film, the film depicts the areas where many of his photographs have been taken.

Please review our Covid-19 Protocol before planning your visit to the Winona Arts Center. We appreciate your understanding.