Words in the Wild: Earth Day initiative spotlights local collaboration celebrating poetry, technology, and nature
West Barnstable, MA – In honor of Earth Day on April 22, Barnstable Land Trust (BLT) is launching Words in the Wild, a unique hiking trail initiative that features four original site-specific poems penned by local poets. Each poem has been etched onto individual cedar trail signs that include a QR code connecting to audio recordings and other information. Words in the Wild inspiration can be discovered on the following BLT trails:
· “Let Red Live in Your Heart” by Kim Baker/Mashpee; BLT Location: Fuller Farm in Marstons Mills
· “Prayer to the Living World” by Brett Warren/Yarmouth Port; BLT Location: Eagle Pond Sanctuary in Cotuit
· “Ropes Field” by Diane Hanna/Cotuit; BLT Location: Ropes Field in Cotuit
· “Sanctuary” by Al Starkey/Yarmouth Port: BLT Location: Pogorelc Sanctuary in West Barnstable
The program is the brainchild of author, poet, and artist Lauren Wolk, who approached Barnstable Land Trust to partner on the initiative. Working with her colleague Bob Nash, the duo broadened the partnership to include the Cape Cod Makers group who used their specialized GlowForge technology to engrave the poems on cedar plaques. A team of BLT volunteers led by Kelly Barber, Director of Land Stewardship, installed the unique trail signs at specially selected locations on the four BLT properties.
“This project illustrates the power of local collaborations,” said Janet Milkman, BLT’s Executive Director. “We hope that the Words in the Wild initiative will encourage people to get outside and experience the connection between art and nature on Earth Day and beyond.”
“When I ‘retired,’ I vowed that I would continue to work on exciting projects to build bridges between artists and their audiences,” Wolk says after recently retiring from the Cultural Center of Cape Cod in Yarmouth. “Words in the Wild is the first of these projects and I couldn’t be more excited about it.”
Kim Baker, the poet who wrote “Let Red Live in Your Heart” about an old bog at Fuller Farm in Marstons Mills, noted how meaningful it was to participate in “saving nature for all to enjoy, the mission of Barnstable Land Trust, and honoring the families who once lived and loved here, including the indigenous Wampanoags on whose land we all live and of which we must all be stewards.”
On Earth Day, Barnstable Land Trust will reveal the poems and audio recordings online in addition to the physical trailside plaques. Until then, information about Words in the Wild can be accessed here.
As part of its Earth Day celebration, Barnstable Land Trust is also partnering with the Historical Society of Santuit and Cotuit on April 23 for a Cotuit Community Beach Cleanup day. More details are available at https://blt.org/events .
This is the place to be when being calls
when the birds begin to chant at dawn
and what’s not yet lived readies to rise
with you, out of you, into wildness.
--Excerpt from Sanctuary by Al Starkey
For detailed information on the poems before Earth Day on April 22, please contact Sue Dahling Sullivan (sue@blt.org ) directly.
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Barnstable Land Trust (BLT) is a community-supported, nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving open space and natural resources in the Town of Barnstable and nearby areas. BLT has protected 1,100 acres in the Town of Barnstable and supported the Town in conserving over 11,000 more. As a regional leader in collaborative land preservation and stewardship, community engagement, training, and advocacy, BLT also leverages its conservation expertise to inform local public decisions as they impact our ecosystems, community health, well-being, and quality of life. To learn more about BLT, visit the website at http://www.BLT.org or call 508-771-2585; to view their comprehensive Barnstable Trail Map representing over 34 hiking trails and almost 95 miles, click here.
Lauren Wolk is an author, poet, and artist who resides in Centerville. Her newest novel My Own Lightning, the sequel to her Newbery Honor award-winning book, Wolf Hollow, will debut on May 3. To learn more, visit her website at http://www.laurenwolk.com/
The Cape Cod Makers is a group that seeks to promote a community where people can collaborate and encourage one another in bringing their ideas into existence. Cape Cod Makers is engaged in promoting the Maker and DIY culture on Cape Cod through meetups, connecting local makers, hosting classes, group activities, promoting shared resources and maker spaces while also celebrating the abundance of artistic and technical talent on Cape Cod. To learn more about the Cape Cod Makers, visit their website at https://capecodmakers.org