Within contemporary ecological art practices, many artistic approaches and attitudes about environmental issues have been used to find solutions to reconnect nature and culture. From this diversity and advocacy, ecological restoration becomes deeply connected to art and education through community involvement. Traditionally, the process of creating art has been an individual pursuit. His synthesis of art, history, and science changes not only the viewers' conception of life on earth but ultimately also the earth itself. Mel Chin, through his art, is fostering a new awareness of the importance of bioregions based on healthy, ecologically conscious approaches to living.
Green remediation refers to the use of plants to remove heavy metals from contaminated soil.
When New York sculptor Mel Chin read about hyperaccumulator plants, he was struck by the poetic nature of this process. So he conceived a sculpture in which plants and biotechnology would replace chisels and marble. The contaminated soil is transformed back into rich earth, capable of sustaining a diverse ecosystem. The initial phase of the Revival Field project enabled Chaney's laboratory research to be tested for the first time on actual contaminated sites. After lengthy and difficult negotiations, Chin was able to secure a location for the first trial at Pig's Eye Landfill in St. Paul, Minnesota.