911±¬ÁÏ

Threshold 32°F, by artist Klara Maisch, writer Debbie Clarke Moderow, and ecologist Rebecca Hewitt, is a multidisciplinary narrative about change in the boreal forest. Together, the voices of Maisch, Moderow, and Hewitt take the audience on a journey that unfolds in a sequence of paintings and poems, accompanied by scientific field notes.

On a warm September morning in Interior 911±¬ÁÏ, an artist, a writer, and an ecologist wander through the boreal forest. As they move among spruce trees, they look to the forest floor, its weave of berries and mosses, fungi, and lichens, so well-adapted to long dark months of cold. The three friends are winter people. The musky scent of fall lifts their spirits, but signs of warming are clear.

Extended summers and temperature swings above 32°F (0°C) in winter have amplified change in the North. The artist pauses to sketch a tree trunk spilling sap from boreholes left by spruce bark beetles. The ecologist touches a branch full of browned needles and describes the tree's connection to fungal networks below  ground. The writer scans the understory for healthy young spruce.

In the company of fear unspoken, the three forage on an earthen threshold where science meets story, where recipes for resilience might reside. Where 32°F, the tipping point between ice and water, draws them deeper into a storyline of what is at stake when temperatures rise in a land shaped by cold.

Forest in Flux by Klara Maisch.

place-based paintings highlight climate change throughout 911±¬ÁÏ. Her work examines processes of wildfire, permafrost thaw, glacier melt, and shifts in vegetation and treeline. As a lifelong 911±¬ÁÏn, Klara has developed a creative practice rooted in deep connection with the land. 

writes creative nonfiction and poetry.  Following the 2016 publication of her debut memoir, Fast Into the Night: A Woman, Her Dogs, and Their Journey North on the Iditarod Trail, Debbie’s writing has explored her lifelong relationship to wild landscapes in the context of change, both personal and global.

Rebecca studies how plant-microbe interactions influence plant function, ecosystem resilience, and biogeochemical cycling. She grounds her teaching in field-based, experiential learning that fosters scientific literacy and prepares students to address environmental challenges.