By Mary Fairchild (Dungeness ; Cumberland Island.) It was just a year ago that I had first stumbled across some ancient scattered shells by the Carnegie Ruins on Cumberland Island and couldn’t stop thinking about them… Cultural ecology is a map of relationships between living things and their group dynamics over time. The Dungeness Historic District on Cumberland Island(pictured) and the…
St. Patrick’s Day: Kayaking on the Chicago River
By Mary Fairchild My daughter and I had a bird’s-eye view as we were herded over the bridges along with some 350,000 others who came out for the annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities including the dyeing of the Chicago River this past Saturday. The paddle tour was organized by Paddle & Trail, Geneva Kayak, and CASKA (Chicago Area Sea Kayakers Assoc.). Kayak instructor Mark…
Kayaking With Altamaha Coastal Tours: Ancient Tidal Forests to Ocean Renewables
By Mary Fairchild (Rifle Cut) Buffalo Swamp Natural Area/Cathead Creek,a tributary of Georgia’s Altamaha River. Just as Egypt used slave labor, the channel pictured above(Rifle Cut) was dug out in the 1820s by slaves to shorten the water route to Darien: “Straight as a rifle shot through the cypress swamp and just as narrow.” “Mary, can you…
Georgia’s Coast: Tidal Flat Ecosystems, Ancient History, and Stewardship
By Mary Fairchild (Razor sharp clusters of oysters exposed during low tide at Skidaway Narrows across from Skidaway Island State Park.) Once a narrow, shallow tidal creek, Skidaway Narrows is now dredged and is part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway which stretches from Virginia to Florida and on the Gulf side all the way around…
Old Copper Culture: A Visit With Pete Stark of Oconto’s Historical Society
By Mary Fairchild Pete Stark. This is a picture of Pete Stark with our family’s ancient Indian artifact–an authentic copper celt. Pete, Vice President of the Oconto Historical Society, is an expert on the Old Copper Culture. The Old Copper Culture refers to the items made by early inhabitants of the Great Lakes region. We…
Kayaking Cobscook Bay and Coastal Maine
By Mary Fairchild As every mariner knows, to truly discover the character of Maine and her people one must approach them from the water. Christopher Little At one time, according to maritime superstition, it was believed that having a woman on board your boat angered the seas and that she was an omen of bad luck for everyone. This past week we had…