Elizabeth James-Perry’s Firefly Garden (2026) revisits the overall association of the Tufts campus with light. The university prides itself on igniting a symbolic light on the hill, radiating knowledge over neighboring communities. However, the campus might have dimmed other sources of light embedded in preexisting ecosystems and cultures. The artist’s garden gestures towards such forms of light, embodied by fireflies — real, remembered and imagined.
On the Medford campus and its urban surroundings, the built environment showcases signs of modernity, signaled by construction, electrical grids, train tracks, and infrastructure. As efficient and convenient as they might be, these structures and systems often inhibit the survival of many more-than-human species. Fireflies are no doubt among them, as encounters with these beetles have increasingly become rarer, especially in the city. It is for this reason that James-Perry designed an ecosystem that invites fireflies to Medford, where she spent three months as a visiting artist as part of the University Ecologies and the Question of the Commons project in spring 2026. On a personal level, the artist fondly recalls walks in the woods, observing fireflies communicate with each other through light signals, reacting to darker skies at dusk into full nightfall, responding to humidity levels, to the soil at the woodland edge. About her garden on the Tufts University campus in Medford, she clarifies:
"This garden provides a variety of native leaf types and heights that can support fireflies in the summer as they communicate in the flashing sequences unique to their species (a dozen different types of fireflies are native to this region). The green and cream raised bed was designed to reflect dappled light typical under forests and at the edge of clearings. Pre-existing oak trees and evergreen shrubs, along with a few nearby cedars or junipers create areas of deep shade that make it possible for fireflies to find each other in mating season, even in the decidedly urban setting on the Tufts campus in Medford, MA. The plants also help to hold moisture on hot summer days. Then their dried leaves in winter return to and enrich the soil, providing shelter for the larval stage of fireflies, which spend two years in the ground, eating slugs and other soft-bodied insects in ways that are beneficial to plant growers." (Conversation between James-Perry and Bottinelli, June 2026)
The artist selected plants for the garden thinking about the future. There is a life cycle that begins at the time of planting, but the system needs to grow on its own. If fireflies wander in the garden area, they will find a welcoming habitat here. Will they actually reappear? Maybe, although strong lights and loud sounds produced by close-by train and car traffic might discourage them. Yet the garden remains a powerful portal to remember and reimagine our shared spaces. Visitors and residents might be attracted to the garden, keeping their eyes open hoping for the chance to observe fireflies. The very process of waiting and pausing slows down time, allowing for the appreciation of a deeper sense of experience. Just the potential of a moment of wonder might stir up a range of emotions: excitement, hope, longing.
James-Perry’s garden will reconnect visitors with memories of past experiences, making what is missing present in the mind. Perhaps they will share anecdotes, knowledge, and stories: when did they last see fireflies? What films, books, or artworks picture fireflies and how? If the garden is designed as an ideal space for fireflies specifically, it does not mean that others won’t enjoy it. This garden is not meant to be exclusive and it is not meant to be static. It will continue to grow and it will continue to change under the care of Tufts University volunteers who bring the artist’s vision forward: a celebration of life, not just human.
Silvia Bottinelli
Visual and Material Studies Department
SMFA at Tufts University
