As the Skirball continues to expand the ways students learn through direct experience, Noah’s Ark Garden has become a vital outdoor extension of Noah’s Ark at the Skirball. Designed to deepen access to the beloved Noah’s Ark experience, the garden invites children into hands-on exploration of nature, Jewish values, environmental stewardship, and the power of play. 

This year, Nik Berne joined the Skirball as part of the Getty Global Art and Sustainability Fellows program, an international initiative supporting emerging leaders working at the intersection of art, sustainability, and cultural heritage. The Skirball is one of 17 partner organizations across six continents participating in the program, and Nik’s work helps activate Noah’s Ark Garden as a place where students and families can observe, ask questions, care for the natural world, and connect small acts of stewardship to the larger work of building a better world. 

What drew you to the Getty Global Art and Sustainability Fellowship at the Skirball, and how does this opportunity connect with your own work? 

Throughout my career, I have focused on helping people build meaningful connections with the natural world through hands-on experiences. When I first came across the Getty Global Art and Sustainability Fellowship, I had to read the posting twice because it felt like it had been designed around the things I care most about: environmental education, gardening, creativity, community engagement, and working with people across ages. 

What especially drew me to the fellowship was its interdisciplinary approach. As a visual artist, I love creating work that incorporates natural materials and environmental themes. I was excited to see art valued as a way of helping people connect more deeply with the world around them. 

I am also passionate about making sustainability feel tangible and accessible. Concepts like composting, caring for pollinators, or growing food can seem abstract until someone experiences them firsthand. The opportunity to contribute to a space that brings together creativity, environmental stewardship, community, and Jewish values feels deeply meaningful to me, and it aligns closely with the kind of work I hope to continue doing in the future. 

The Noah’s Ark Garden invites students to learn by doing. What do you hope students notice, experience, or carry with them after spending time there? 

I hope every student who spends time in the garden leaves with a sense of curiosity and a deeper connection to the world around them. We live in a time when it is easy to move from one thing to the next, so I love that the garden creates space for students to slow down, be present, and notice things they might otherwise overlook, like the smell of herbs, the texture of soil, the work of worms, or the way a plant changes over time. 

Gardens are powerful learning spaces because they make big ideas tangible. Rather than simply talking about collaboration, sustainability, or belonging, students experience them firsthand. When a child waters a plant, feeds a compost bin, or helps care for a garden bed, they are practicing care. When students work alongside classmates to plant seeds or harvest vegetables, they experience collaboration and shared responsibility. 

One of the things I value most about Judaism is its emphasis on curiosity and asking questions. In the garden, students can see how food scraps become compost, how worms enrich the soil, how pollinators support plants, and how each part of the ecosystem depends on the others. More than anything, I hope students begin to see that they are part of a larger ecosystem and that even small actions, whether caring for a plant, feeding a compost bin, or conserving resources, can help build a better world. 

Can you share a moment in Noah’s Ark Garden that shows what this kind of learning can make possible for children and families? 

One moment that stood out to me was leading an activity around feeding the worms in our vermicompost bin. A young child joined the group who was clearly curious, but also a little hesitant. Rather than asking her to hold a worm right away, I invited her to help feed them. She carefully placed a banana peel into the bin, and when I thanked her for helping take care of the worms, her whole demeanor changed. She lit up. 

Before long, she was eagerly adding more food scraps, asking questions, and eventually asking if she could hold a worm herself. She spent the next half hour observing the worms, helping care for them, and talking with me about the important role they play in the garden. Later, her mother shared that her daughter had never really interacted with a worm before. Growing up in downtown Los Angeles, she simply had not had many opportunities to interact with nature in that way. 

That experience reminded me how powerful these educational moments can be. What started as feeding a worm became an opportunity for curiosity, confidence building, stewardship, and connection. These small moments of discovery in the garden can leave a lasting impression and help build a deeper relationship with the natural world.