MSU Students Use Art and Science to Shape East Lansing's Urban Tree Canopy

Michigan State University students are turning the city of East Lansing into a living laboratory, blending the technical demands of forestry with the creative reach of public art.

Through the Integrative Arts and Humanities (IAH) course 241E, “Hacking the Built Environment,” undergraduates are moving beyond traditional classroom lectures to engage directly with the urban tree canopy, a critical piece of infrastructure facing mounting pressure from climate change and city growth.

The course, led by Assistant Professor Barbara Pearsall and graduate student Hailey Becker, challenges students to view urban planning through a multidisciplinary lens. By collaborating with city officials, arborists, and local residents, students are not just studying the environment; they are actively shaping how the public perceives and interacts with it. This initiative highlights a shift in how higher education can foster civic stewardship.

Infrastructure Under Heat Stress

The urgency behind this work stems from the physical reality of urban development. As downtown East Lansing continues to densify, the prevalence of pavement and asphalt creates heat islands that threaten both human comfort and municipal infrastructure.

Blake Harrity, an arborist and the City of East Lansing’s Forestry and Natural Resource Coordinator, emphasizes that strategic tree placement is no longer just an aesthetic choice—it is a necessity for climate resiliency.

East Lansing or nowhere. pic.twitter.com/JuFATA7jFD

— Post by @michiganstateu on X

To put trees in the right spots is going to be key to cooling down the city.

Harrity noted during a walking tour with students. He and Cliff Walls, the city’s Environmental Sustainability and Resiliency Manager, worked with the class to map out the challenges of maintaining green space in an evolving urban core. For students, this walk served as a practical introduction to the complexities of urban forestry, where the goal is to balance the cooling benefits of shade with the practical constraints of city management.

Art as a Civic Tool

The project distinguishes itself by using art as a vehicle for community engagement. Students did not simply write reports; they installed vinyl film art on the windows of the Grove Street Parking Ramp, transforming a utilitarian structure into a space that reflects the local environment.

Riley Souza, a graphic design student involved in the installation, described the project as a way to turn an overlooked garage into a “vibrant intersection of art and nature.”

MSU Students Use Art and Science to Shape East Lansing's Urban Tree Canopy

This approach has received support from the East Lansing Arts Commission, which provided a cultural arts grant to help cover the costs of these student-led installations.

Pearsall argues that this represents a new model for public art, one that moves away from strictly decorative murals and toward functional tools that facilitate community feedback. By creating spaces that invite conversation, the students are helping the city gather data on what residents want for the future of their downtown canopy.

Bridging Disciplines

For students like Kenadi Hazen, a Zoology and Applied Conservation Biology major, the course provided a rare opportunity to synthesize scientific research with creative expression. Hazen, who participated in an Arbor Day event at (SCENE) Metrospace, noted that the class allowed her to see how her interests in STEM and the performing arts could coexist.

This synthesis is the core mission of the IAH curriculum at MSU, which aims to produce graduates who are capable of critical thinking and cultural awareness.

By removing the walls between the university and the surrounding city, the program provides students with a learning model that is grounded in real-world stakes. For Hailey Becker, whose doctoral research focuses on urban forestry, the collaboration is a way to ensure that academic work has a tangible, lasting impact on the community.

Hacking the Built Environment: Student Art Shapes a More Sustainable East Lansing

The “Hacking the Built Environment” course is scheduled to return in spring 2027, continuing the partnership between the university and the city.

As these students graduate and move into their respective fields, they carry with them a blueprint for how to integrate community feedback, environmental science, and public art into the process of urban development. For the residents of East Lansing, the immediate benefit is a more thoughtful, canopy-focused approach to a changing downtown.

Barbara Pearsall will discuss her work with these public art partnerships during an event titled “Behind the Work,” scheduled for December 4, 2026, at 12 noon.