SKANA'S STORY
Skana is a one-woman initiative, founded by Marsha. She paints each picture only once and frames the paintings herself.
Skana started with one painting of an orca, after which there was no stopping. As one animal after the other appeared on canvas, the idea to create Skana was born. And you are looking at the result: an online gallery to buy your favourite painting while supporting relevant research, pop-up events and a blog to keep you up to date about our contributions .
Skana paints for change - here is how we do it!
HOW CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS ANIMALS
Each animal has a different story
We all know the image of a polar bear desperately looking for its sea ice. But there are less visible effects of climate change impacting each animal, and ultimately us. The survival of a species depends on a few key factors; its population, its food supply and the habitat that make both of these possible.
Climate change impacts all animals on each of these aspects. Warmer waters makes puffins fly further as its favourite fish is moving north to colder waters. Retreating sea ice means narwhals no longer have a safe place away from predators to give birth to their young. Less sea ice makes it more difficult for young krill to survive, impacting large whales that come to the Antarctic to eat krill.
HOW SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH HELPS
Knowledge is power
Informed decisions are the way to go. And what better way is there to find information than through scientific research? Scientific research is based on facts and observations, not on beliefs. Research is carefully planned, objective and based on experiments that can be replicated, meaning that you can verify the results.
So, if we learn from scientific research that puffin populations move to follow their food, can we establish a new nature reserve? If krill populations are suffering from global warming, can we abandon krill fishing so that our whale populations can continue recovering? And if we learn that trees and plankton play an essential role in capturing carbon emissions, how can we foster those processes?
Climate change is an incredibly complex phenomenon with a wide range of consequences. Scientific research offers us the tiny pieces of the puzzle that can help us understand and mitigate our impact.
HOW SKANA CONTRIBUTES
Funding and awareness
Skana has two purposes: contribute funding to scientific research and raise awareness. While the funding comes entirely from the paintings sold via Skana, you can help us raising awareness! Each painting comes with a small card explaining the Story of the painted animal. Apart from putting your painting on the wall, you will now have a short story you can share with your family, friends and visitors! Do you get questions back? Check our Skana blog to tell them even more!
Skana donates all profits to scientific research. Currently, these contributions are donated to Whales of Vestmannaeyjar ("WhaVe"), an organization researching whales around Iceland. One of WhaVe's main projects we donate to is the Icelandic Orca Project, which started in 2008 and is the longest running orca research in Icelandic waters. The project is dedicated to understanding the orca population and what threats the orcas may face.
For instance, in the past decade, the Icelandic summer-spawning herring stock has decreased with over 60 percent. As herring is the primary prey for whales around Iceland, the Icelandic Orca Project researches what amount of herring ensures a sustainable future for the orcas, and what would happen if the herring stock cannot support population growth.
EVENTS
Meet Skana Live!
SKANA @ PURO
21 December 2019
10.00 - 20.00
Come and visit the Skana Pop-Up Shop right before Christmas at PURO The Social Club! Check out the newest paintings, eat some of our Christmas cookies or just come hang out - the more the merrier!