Adirondacks Through a Lens

 My first real visit to the Adirondacks was seen behind the lens of a camera. Sure, I have spent time in the wilderness, been on camping trips and overnights, but this was the first time I was getting the full “picture” of the park. On our field trip, I captured a wolf, the first I had every seen, as it stuck its nose between the bars of its enclosure. I documented our adventures at Essex farm as we sprinted around the grounds, laid in the grass and interacted with the landscape. I even photographed the very unusual tourist shop filled to the brim with stuffed animals and various survival necessities. It is very common to find a visitor with a camera in hand, documenting their experience in a new place. Photo-tourism is actually a popular business in the Adirondacks. However, I wondered for awhile after our trip how seeing the park through this filter may have influenced my own experience; how what we choose to photograph influences our own perceptions about the place we are documenting.


http://alloveralbany.com/archive/2012/08/06/how-to-hike-the-high-peaks----and-not-be-that-guy

http://s.ngm.com/2011/09/adirondack-park/img/algonquin-wright-peaks-615.jpg 

These are many kinds of photographs ranging from fine art to commercial, amateur to professional. While my photographs were for an academic project documenting observations about a specific place, most of the photographs taken in the Adirondacks today are for pleasure and play a role in tourism. Most Adirondack photos are taken with iphones on top mountains or are instagramed shots of the seemingly perfect woods, wildlife and lakes. In addition, Photo tours are offered by professional photographers in nicer weather and often focus on landscape imagery and wildlife. In both cases, the act of documenting these subjects creates a refined and un-holistic picture of the park. In our attempts to possess a beautiful moment, we promote nostalgia and give a false image to others and ourselves of what the Adirondacks really is.

Forest Therapy

            When guide William James Stillman set out for the infamous 1858 Philosophers’ Camp with a group of intellectuals including Ralph Waldo Emerson and scientist Louis Aggasiz, they longed for an Adirondack experience. The troop sought a hands-on camping expedition, and an escape from society. Even in 1858, individuals recognized the special transcendent and seemingly healing properties of submerging oneself in nature. Interestingly, as research methods have improved, more and more studies have been done to explore such effects. Research has shown, for example, that therapy programs for physiological and psychological pain might benefit from the healing aspects of nature. Such research holds interesting applications not only for individuals in need, but for the future of therapy within parks such as the Adirondacks.

            One recent study in particular addressed widespread physiological and psychological pain using a “forest therapy” group and a control group. (Han, 2016) Sixty-one individuals with chronic widespread pain participated in the study. Widespread chronic pain is defined as significantly distressing pain in at least five areas of the body for three or more months. Chronic pain is clearly distressing to the individual and can cause stressful psychological problems such as increased anxiety and depression. Many treatment methods have been used to decrease widespread pain such as exercise, pharmacotherapy and psychological services. Although some methods have been effective, researchers are still continuing to look for more consistently promising treatments. Forest therapy, as used in the study, combines aspects of psychological approaches, physical activity and a restorative environment. In the current study, therapy lasted just two days but revealed impressive improvements. After two days, the participants in the forest therapy group experienced physiological improvement, decreases in both pain and depression and improvement in health-related quality of life in comparison to controls.
          The results of the current study have important applications for the future of forest therapy. One service within the Adirondacks called the Adirondack Youth Lodge provides individualized psychological treatment, however, the success of forest therapy for chronic widespread pain implicates that even more can be done using the unique restorative environment. Locals within the Adirondacks face the challenges of limited access to health care resources in a rural environment, but with the promotion of such studies, practitioners might begin to use the environment advantageously. While parks such as the Adirondacks might not thrive in terms of health facilities and resources, they do have components that actually put them at an advantage. Conditions such as chronic widespread pain are distressful to both the individual and their family, and treatment must address both physiological and psychological aspects. Forest therapy is a unique approach that equally addresses both aspects of health through exercise, community, psychological treatment, and engaging with a natural, restorative environment.

Han, Jin-Woo et al. “The Effects of Forest Therapy on Coping with Chronic Widespread Pain: Physiological and Psychological Differences between Participants in a Forest Therapy Program and a Control Group.” Ed. Agnes van den Berg and Jenny Roe. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 13.3 (2016): 255. PMC. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

Economic Development Plans

Apparently, Hamilton isn’t the only college with an Adirondack semester program. Recently, a group of seven students from Clarkson University, who spent the semester in the Adirondacks, presented a plan for the economic development of the town of Tupper Lake.  The plan focuses on creating sustainable development that can be a model for other towns in the Adirondacks. They want the town to work to improve infrastructure and developing tourist attractions. Another party pursuing economic growth in the Adirondacks is the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, which hopes to revitalize the towns in the park by bringing in young business talent. Ultimately, both of these programs seek to revitalize the lagging economies of the town’s in the park by working on a small more focused level suggesting that this is the path economic development should take in the Adirondacks.

The Center for Rural Entrepreneurship has an important individually focused aim. The center was founded in 2001 and has spent more than $10 million working to foster rural economic growth and development (Center for Rural Entrepreneurship). The Center seeks to build a strong economy by attracting talented business leaders to the park. With a wide array of resources from education to funding and access to large amounts of data, the center hopes to give business owners the tools and information they need to succeed in the difficult economic environment of the Adirondacks (Center). Through empowering individual business leaders, the center offers a powerful strategy that is capable of helping the towns get back on their feet.

Alternatively, the Clarkson plan focuses on some larger projects. The students focused a lot of their time on infrastructure. They suggest that improving roads and Internet access will bring more people to the town. They also stressed that improving the town’s other amenities like restaurants and hotels could make the area and local hotspot. The plan is closely tied to the continued prevalence of tourism suggesting that the students believe that the town’s economic fate is tied to the continued health and conservation of the nearby wilderness. The students also state that there is hope for the town and area as a whole. They believe that their strategy of economic development can empower the town to make a successful future possible. At the same time, the students made it clear that they were merely offering suggestions and that they were not trying to change the park as they saw fit. The economic fate of the towns of the Adirondacks lies in the hands of their inhabitants (Watertown Daily).

Combining both strategies of economic development offers the Adirondacks the best chance to revitalize a struggling economy. Now that the presence of big industry has declined so sustainably, the Adirondacks will be forced to rely more heavily on small business and tourism to provide jobs and prosperity. Both strategies work at addressing these needs. Through the investments in infrastructure the Adirondacks can ensure that the park remains a tourist destination. By investing and supporting local businesses, the Adirondacks will appear both more attractive to tourists and to the people that already live there. Through this combined strategy, the Adirondacks can guarantee prosperity for generations to come.

Works Cited

“History and Structure." Entrepreneur-focused Development. Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2016. <http://www.energizingentrepreneurs.org/about/>.

"Clarkson Students Present Recommendations for Economic Growth in Adirondack Towns." Watertown Daily Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/news05/clarkson-students-present-recommendations-for-economic-growth-in-adirondack-towns-20160421>.

“St. Lawrence University to Host North Country Symposium on April 25." Adirondack Express Mobile News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <http://www.adirondackexpress.com/mobile/04122016_markleynews>.

Summer Camps

A group of children walk down the trail with their necks craned upward, practicing identifying trees for a scavenger hunt.  Counselors direct their campers in clearing their fire pit of pine needles so they can roast marshmallows after dinner.  From the lake come the distant voices of campers singing a nonsense song about a moose while they learn to paddle a canoe.  This is summer camp, an American tradition that has shaped children's wilderness experiences for generations.  The Adirondacks' many summer camps play an important role in fostering appreciation for the park in campers at a young age as well as providing environments where kids can learn about themselves and the world around them.

Growing belief in the restorative power of nature during the late 1800s inspired the creation of the first summer camps.  The earliest were designed for small groups of older boys, who many at the time feared would grow up without the skills they needed due to the emasculating nature of modern industrialized life.  After the success of these camps, which sprung up in the woods of New Hampshire, the phenomenon quickly spread and adapted (Van Slyck).  

One of the early Adirondack summer camps, called simply "Adirondack Camp for Boys," was established in 1904 on a peninsula on Lake George.  According to the modern day camp's website (now called simply "Adirondack Camp"), Dr. Elias G. Brown, a "renowned educator," traveled with an assistant and "six intrepid boys," the first in their tradition of "building the future leaders of our world" ("History").  Camps like these valued the ruggedness of the wilderness as a setting for teamwork and leadership development.  After WWII Adirondack Camp for Boys took on many military traditions in their practices as further encouragement of "character development."  Today the camp is much less disciplinarian, however the now co-ed camp still values its history and has altered some songs and traditions to "create a more creative, nurturing environment" ("History").

Not all camps have gone through such transitions.  After a few decades of successful summer camping, some religious organizations decided to embrace the connection of spirituality and nature that many camps hinted at or mildly incorporated.  Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish camps became common, each varying in their specific missions and degrees of religiosity (Van Slyck).  Skye Farm, the camp I've grown up with and work for, was a part of this new wave of summer camps.  Founded in 1942, the camp says of its founders:

The chapel at Skye Farm

"They were sensitive to the Eternal Presence in this setting of natural beauty. What if such a place as this could be used to inspire boys and girls with the same awareness of God that they felt? Surely this was the ideal spot for a Christian adventure camp."  ("Site History")

Located on Sherman Lake, Skye Farm combines the usual camp activities with United Methodist ministry, in the form of songs, outdoor worship, and an all around spirit of Christian community that has kept people like me coming back for generations.  For many, explicitly acknowledging a spiritual connection to the wilderness feels like the optimum way to connect with campers, with each other, and with the world.  I know that when I sit in the outdoor chapel at Skye Farm, looking out at the lake, I feel a true and deep love for this piece of creation that remains forever wild.



 Sources:
"The History of Adirondack Camp."  Adirondack Camp.  Web.  19 March 2016.

"Site History."  Skye Farm Camp and Retreat Center.  The Upper New York Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, 2016.  Web.  19 March 2016.

Van Slyck, Abigail A.  "Summer Camps."  Encyclopoedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society.  The Gail Group, Inc., 2008.  Web.  19 March 2016.

New York Pays $14.5 Million for the Boreas Pond Tract

In a park plagued with various land issues over motorized versus “hike-and-paddle” access, the Boreas Pond Tract is currently in the middle of a tug of war. After the governor announced plans to purchase the private and unclassified tract from the Nature Conservancy, debates flared up between local businesses and conservationists. The debate has been elevated to the next stage as the New York State has recently finalized the purchase of the tract.

Photo from TimesUnion

For $14.5 Million, the New York State purchased over 20,000 acres earlier this month, completing Governor Cuomo’s 2012 planned acquisition of 69,000 acres from the Nature Conservancy (Bradley). The next step in the process for the state is to develop a management plan for the area to determine how the Boreas Ponds will be used. Environmental groups are pushing for the tract to be added to the adjacent High Peaks Wilderness to create a preserve larger than Rocky Mountain National Park (Esch). Opposition groups are pushing for the tract to be classified as “wild forest” which will result in less restrictions for snowmobiles and other mechanized access, bringing in more tourism dollars (Esch). The issue at hand is part of a much bigger and complex problem. While some believe the Adirondacks should be left alone as much as possible and only used for wilderness recreation, others are prioritizing the economy and encourage development even at the expense of the natural lands. As the tug of war comes to an end, both the agenda of the New York State and the future of the Adirondacks will soon be unveiled.

Sources:

Bradley, Pat. "New York Buys Boreas Pond Adirondack Tract For $14.5 Million." WAMC. WAMC, 14 Apr. 2016.

Esch, Mary. "Hike vs Ride: Debate Heats up over next Adirondack Land Buy." The Big Story. AP, 29 Nov. 2015.

Recycling Beyond the Bin

Most people will proudly say that they recycle, however few people have heard of a MRF (pronounced “murf”). MRF stands for “material recovery facility” and they play a critical role in the recycling process. But before I go further, I challenge you to take a minute and think about how much you know about the recycling industry. I confess that before a field trip to the Madison County Solid Waste Facility last Friday, I was ignorant about recycling and did not understand the distinction between “single-stream” and “dual-stream” recycling systems. However, choosing one system over another has important implications and, therefore, we should all be informed on where our trash ends up beyond the recycling bin.

            Upon reading an article about a new waste disposal law in Lewis County, I began thinking about recycling practices in the Adirondacks. Currently, the Development Authority of the North Country is reimbursing counties for switching to single-stream recycling (Virkler). Though the national trend towards single-stream recycling is prominent, the switch has negative consequences and, therefore, the Adirondack region should reconsider this change. In a single-stream system, individuals place paper, plastic, metal, and glass recyclables into a single recycling bin. These recyclables are separated later at the MRF. In contrast, dual-stream systems keep paper separate from other recyclables before they reach the MRF. The advantage of single-stream recycling is two-fold: one, single-stream makes recycling much easier for the individual because he/she do not need to separate his/her paper, glass, and plastic before throwing it into the recycling bin. Two, municipalities save money because they only need one collection truck to transport recyclables to the MRF. Proponents of single-stream recycling argue that this simplification of the recycling process increases recycling volumes overall and reduces high recycling collection costs (Chameides). 

However, those opposed to single-stream recycling present a salient counterargument: someone, or something, eventually has to separate the recycled material. Skeptics of single-stream recycling also claim that the quality of the recyclables produced by the single-stream is compromised. When material reaches the MRF, machines and humans sort through the recyclables. Once sorted, these recyclables are compacted into bales that are later sold to recycling companies. Though single-stream recycling induces higher volume of recyclable material, it does not necessarily mean that the collected recyclables are actually being recycled because recycling companies will not take low-quality bales (Laskow). This begs the question of whether or not single-stream recycling is superior to dual-stream recycling.

Material Recovery Facility (MRF), Wikipedia

Similar to the national trend, Hamilton College follows the single-stream recycling system. I am interested in finding out why Hamilton uses single-stream instead of dual-stream recycling. I speculate that Hamilton and the Development Authority of the North Country have similar motives: economics. Although I cannot deny that saving money is a strong incentive, I also would argue that fully informed Adirondackers highly value the environment and may not support single-stream recycling at the cost of their recycling quality.

Works Cited

Virkler, Steve. “Lewis County clear trash big requirement takes effect Friday.” Watertowndailytimes.com. Watertown Daily Times, 12 April 2016. Web. 16 April 2016.

Laskow, Sarah. “Single-Stream Recycling is Better for Consumers, but Is It Better?” Theatlantic.com. The Atlantic, 18 September 2014. Web. 16 April 2016.  

Chameides, Bill. “Single-Stream Recycling.” Huffingtonpost.com. The Huffington Post, 19 November 2013. Web. 16 April 2016.

Recycling symbol: https://www.google.com/search?q=material+recovery+facility&espv=2&biw=1225&bih=594&site=webhp&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjE3LzQ9JrMAhVIdT4KHbbnDvoQ_AUIBigB#tbs=sur:f&tbm=isch&q=recycle+symbol&imgrc=BIhYjeFxQFr8LM%3A

Single-stream clip art: http://www.johnsrefuse.com/Portals/156306/images/single-stream-recycling-in-ct.jpg

MRF: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/Material_recovery_facility_2004-03-24.jpg