“Rivers run through our history and folklore, and link us as a people,” said Wilmington Native Charles Kuralt, from his book, The Magic of Rivers.
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Each time you flush your toilet or drink a glass of water, do you know where your water is coming from or going to?
“The only thing between our waste and the people downstream are filtration systems,” said junior Oliver Kinkel. “If those go we're not going to be having happy people south of us.”
Imagine if all the decisions we made were based around our waterways. Maia Dery’s Lower Cape Fear River Basin Trip April 24th-26th was guided off of this principle.
Day one featured a lecture by author of The Waterman’s Song, David Cecelski. Day two, a 13-mile canoe trip in the Three Sisters portion of the Black River. Day three, a beach day complete with surfing lessons.
“I not only spent a few hours listening to a brilliant historian that challenged the way that I thought about slavery,” said first-year Ben Levin. “I also spent quality time getting to know students and faculty members that I would never gotten the opportunity to learn from and become friendly with.”
Cecelski’s lecture was rich in the history of the black maritime south. Most attendees had never heard of this coastal history that has been left out of history books.
“Cecelski's stories are the other perspectives that schools do not share, or even know about,” said sophomore Leah Meservey. “Children will continue to be blinded if they go on in life and don’t know about this material.”
As Cecelski gave his lecture with a passionate gleam in his eyes, he was gradually uncovering the untold stories of slave and free black fisherman, pilots, river men, sailors, ferrymen and other laborers.
“The only thing between our waste and the people downstream are filtration systems,” said junior Oliver Kinkel. “If those go we're not going to be having happy people south of us.”
Imagine if all the decisions we made were based around our waterways. Maia Dery’s Lower Cape Fear River Basin Trip April 24th-26th was guided off of this principle.
Day one featured a lecture by author of The Waterman’s Song, David Cecelski. Day two, a 13-mile canoe trip in the Three Sisters portion of the Black River. Day three, a beach day complete with surfing lessons.
“I not only spent a few hours listening to a brilliant historian that challenged the way that I thought about slavery,” said first-year Ben Levin. “I also spent quality time getting to know students and faculty members that I would never gotten the opportunity to learn from and become friendly with.”
Cecelski’s lecture was rich in the history of the black maritime south. Most attendees had never heard of this coastal history that has been left out of history books.
“Cecelski's stories are the other perspectives that schools do not share, or even know about,” said sophomore Leah Meservey. “Children will continue to be blinded if they go on in life and don’t know about this material.”
As Cecelski gave his lecture with a passionate gleam in his eyes, he was gradually uncovering the untold stories of slave and free black fisherman, pilots, river men, sailors, ferrymen and other laborers.
“Black maritime slavery is not only misunderstood by those who know about it, but a mystery to those who know nothing of it,” said Levin. “The more our country knows, the more we can debunk the jaded and white-washed history being preached in America's classrooms and social circles.”
The lecture ended with a discussion on how to fit this curriculum into the Cape Fear River Watch camp program for youths. Through its ups and downs, the discussion came to a rewarding close as the program everyone had in mind seemed more attainable.
“The two themes that stuck out to me the entire trip, through every adventure we had, was water and slavery, which I would have never before associated together,” said Meservey.
After a much-needed rally and dinner at the campsite, the group retired in tents for the night at Carolina State Beach Park campground. Sleep was needed, as a 6:30 wake up call was in store in preparation for the swamp trip.
“(The Three Sisters of the Black River) is what I consider to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World,” said Captain Charles Robbins of Cape Fear River Adventures. “There is only six places on Earth like this, in that it has such old growth timber.”
The group was eager to get on the water and Robbins was ready to show us the way.
“These trees have been dated by Dr. David Stahle from University of Arkansas as the oldest living Cyprus trees in the world,” said Robbins.
Once we hit the water, the demanding high tide currant was pulling us swiftly down the river, our paddles gliding through the rich amber hued water. The trees were huge, some twisting up to the sky as if they were reaching.
“These trees, as every tree can, tell a story of history and history’s climate,” said Robbins. “Every major drought coincides with a ring in the core of each tree. The oldest tree is 1780 years old.”
After the seven-hour expedition, we were all exhausted, cold and waterlogged from a rainy river day, but we knew the memories of this ancient Cyprus swamps would stick with us for some time to come.
Everyone in the group agreed trips like this are what make Guilford the socially conscious and well rounded institution that it is.
“If Guilford plans on bragging about the many opportunities involving experiential learning inside and outside the classroom, more trips must be taken,” said Levin. “Students and professors must get out of the Guilford bubble and out of their respective comfort zones. If we do not do such a thing, the Guilford community will fail to benefit from the experiences that cultivate meaningful thoughts and practices.”
Hopefully this trip will set the stage for more experiential learning in, and outside of the classroom.
The lecture ended with a discussion on how to fit this curriculum into the Cape Fear River Watch camp program for youths. Through its ups and downs, the discussion came to a rewarding close as the program everyone had in mind seemed more attainable.
“The two themes that stuck out to me the entire trip, through every adventure we had, was water and slavery, which I would have never before associated together,” said Meservey.
After a much-needed rally and dinner at the campsite, the group retired in tents for the night at Carolina State Beach Park campground. Sleep was needed, as a 6:30 wake up call was in store in preparation for the swamp trip.
“(The Three Sisters of the Black River) is what I consider to be one of the Seven Wonders of the World,” said Captain Charles Robbins of Cape Fear River Adventures. “There is only six places on Earth like this, in that it has such old growth timber.”
The group was eager to get on the water and Robbins was ready to show us the way.
“These trees have been dated by Dr. David Stahle from University of Arkansas as the oldest living Cyprus trees in the world,” said Robbins.
Once we hit the water, the demanding high tide currant was pulling us swiftly down the river, our paddles gliding through the rich amber hued water. The trees were huge, some twisting up to the sky as if they were reaching.
“These trees, as every tree can, tell a story of history and history’s climate,” said Robbins. “Every major drought coincides with a ring in the core of each tree. The oldest tree is 1780 years old.”
After the seven-hour expedition, we were all exhausted, cold and waterlogged from a rainy river day, but we knew the memories of this ancient Cyprus swamps would stick with us for some time to come.
Everyone in the group agreed trips like this are what make Guilford the socially conscious and well rounded institution that it is.
“If Guilford plans on bragging about the many opportunities involving experiential learning inside and outside the classroom, more trips must be taken,” said Levin. “Students and professors must get out of the Guilford bubble and out of their respective comfort zones. If we do not do such a thing, the Guilford community will fail to benefit from the experiences that cultivate meaningful thoughts and practices.”
Hopefully this trip will set the stage for more experiential learning in, and outside of the classroom.