Groundwater is a source of life. Families, farms, entire ecologies depend on it. In Kentucky, nearly 2,000,000 people rely on groundwater every day. Yet rarely think about the water that runs beneath the Bluegrass.
In 2015, Public Works partnered with the Geological Survey to change this. Inspired by Wendell Berry’s belief that “we must be able to imagine ourselves in the world in order to act responsibly,” we set out to make the invisible visible—and audible. Our point of departure: What if Kentuckians could hear the water that runs beneath the Bluegrass?
The result was Livestream: a civic engagement campaign that translates real groundwater data into an interactive public art installation and educational outreach program. By harnessing the power of human-centered design, data science, AI, and embodied learning, Livestream helps community members understand the systems that sustain them—and how their actions impact groundwater health.
