All 25 participants assembled at CCBT for their first day of Camp and, in the morning, introduced themselves and their activities. With the Camp themed on the invisible world of microorganisms, a lecture and hands-on workshop on microorganisms and bio-informatics were led by Haruo Suzuki and Rumiko Suzuki. The lecture covered the definition of microorganisms and the basics on research methods including DNA analysis. Furthermore, using the recent Covid-19 virus and antibiotic-resistant bacteria as examples, participants were encouraged to think about the impact our own actions have on the microbial environments in our societies—both indoors and out. The hands-on workshop followed, where participants learned the basics on analyzing the DNA sequences of microorganisms on a computer and continued to do exercises on homology analysis using RStudio calculations and BLAST searches.

Elizabeth Henaff, a computational biologist and artist based in New York City, kindly participated online to present the keynote lecture, introducing her interdisciplinary research projects that traverse biology, design, and urban engineering materialized in the form of installations resembling microbial aquariums. She also presented the tool she developed for sampling microorganisms from beehives and the atmosphere. Hennaf, also, mentioned the marks we make—soil contamination and climate change, for example—on microbial diversity in urban environments and, moreover, emphasized the importance of designing proper tools to better understand microbial ecosystems.

The Camp’s second day began with Masayuki Yamabe’s lecture on the methods of visualizing data obtained from microbial DNA and surveys of plants and animals. Visualizing the data collected allowed participants to better understand and interpret data in a more systematic, comprehensive manner. Using basic visualization techniques and Processing, Yamabe also demonstrated that creative applications of visualization techniques made it possible to discover facts that would otherwise be overlooked. This led to the introduction of a database on the relationships and characteristics of microorganisms, plants, and animals. Participants were thus given the groundwork to work on creating a visualization of their collected data using these resources. Yamabe concluded his lecture with advice on the ethos and notable concerns when working on data visualization projects.

Hishashi Murakami, an animal behaviorist, delivered his keynote lecture after Yamabe, introducing his previous research such as his analyses of herd behavior seen in swarms of soldier crabs, mathematical models of this behavior, and studies of human crowd behavior. Participants were eager to learn more as the discussion led to a lively Q&A session. 

Takehide Ikeda led the third day with his lecture and hands-on workshop on the ecosystems of plants and animals that are visible to us. The lecture introduced participants on what constitutes an ecosystem, the evolution of organisms, and their conceptualizations in ethological studies. Having  been a member of museum projects that involve fieldwork for preserving biodiversity in the Amazon, Ikeda also shared his insights from his experiences which led to discussions on the importance of biodiversity in ecosystems. 

The hands-on workshop invited the participants to explore the relationships between organisms. The 25 were put into groups of 4 or 5 and were made to identify seeds collected around CCBT which led to investigating the pollination and seeding processes of plants; processes that ultimately create a web of connections in a given ecosystem. Also, participants analyzed the data collected from their homework—documenting plants and animals in their own neighborhoods—and discussed the networks of organisms that could be read from the data and learned the methods of interpreting them within the various ecosystems.

Since Day 1, the participants had been gathering their interests on Post-it notes on the whiteboard and, now, it was time to categorize them and narrow them down to key concepts. Based on these key terms, participants engaged in a “World Cafe” where they further discussed and identified each of their interests. Teams were then formed based on these interests and soon after they each began to brainstorm on their Team Projects. 

Days 4 and 5 were dedicated to each of the teams continuing their group work which will lead to their final presentations and, eventually, exhibit after the Camp. Experienced members from various fields attended as facilitators and instructors for the teams and provided advice when necessary. Feedback provided at their progress reports on Day 4 allowed each team to refine their ideas toward their final presentations for Day 5. 

The participants came back again together for Keiko Nakmura’s keynote lecture which brought Day 4 to a close. Speaking about the origins of life forms and its 3.8 billion-year history, participants could not avoid thinking about themselves and mankind as being part of a larger ecosystem. Nakamura emphasized that we must not participate as outsiders viewing living organisms as mere “things” but, instead, must be involved and be aware that we exist as an integral part of the ecosystem where life itself is the phenomenon we share with other organisms. 

The teams returned to their group work for Day 5 and, in the afternoon, presented their final projects. Taking turns, each team explained their ideas and showed demonstrations on their prototypes with the help of their peers, followed by evaluations from the lecturers and facilitators. The range of interests and the level in which they were materialized into works was staggering, with all 6 teams approaching the theme of “ecosystems” from different angles and methods of expression. These different outputs are a testament to how the participants visited and revisited the diverse ways of thinking about the microorganisms and  ecosystems throughout the Camp.