Two examples of outdoor arts education in environmental sustainability for incoming Studio Art majors invite learners to rethink what an art object is and how they might make a mark on the world. These experiential learning activities are rooted in the belief that it is essential for learners to deeply understand sustainability and what they can do to help change the trajectory of present crises. Entering students spend a day at the Ashokan Reservoir in the Hudson Valley, for a Foundation Kickoff Event where they practice collaboration and learn to think of art in terms of process rather than product. As a model of environmental and social sustainability impacts, they learn the history of the Catskills region and the New York City water supply’s creation, including costs to land and local communities. For an alternate collaboration appropriate in an urban environment, Chalk it Up! invites students to research trees and create an intricate forest mural of known and fantastical trees on a campus parking lot. Students learned about the science and supportive nature of trees’ coexistence and communication and how this relationship provides a metaphor for the learners themselves in terms of community building, branching out, making connections, and finding common roots.