#scienceandmemory2016

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In case you missed the sunrise this morning...

More adventures in timelapse photography. I still have so much to learn. 

-Andrea Willingham 07.17.2016

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Three weeks ago when I first arrived in Cordova to begin work on my master’s project, I was walking along the docks taking photos when I met Captain Anna Young. She noticed my camera and told me she was a filmmaker.

“Hey, me too!” I said.

“You know, I’m looking for someone to sail to Valdez with me to help work on my new film,” she told me.

I wanted more than anything to go with her. Alas however, I could not commit to a month at sea, but instead I spent the entire day hanging out with her, listening, and filming a piece about her and her story.

Captain Anna is the prime example of how you cannot separate out humans from our environment. She made her entire living as a mariner since the 1960s, fishing in Alaska, working on boats, and now, at age 70, she’s taking up sailing.

The Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill in 1989 destroyed her livelihood, along with all the fishermen whose lives depended on the natural resources of Valdez Narrows. After the oil spill, she went into a deep depression, but found art, writing, and filmmaking as a way to heal the emotional damage that had been done while she fought back to restore the other parts of her life lost in the disaster.

Something about Captain Anna captured my heart. I went back to the harbor a couple times to find her again, after that one day sailing with her. The first time went back, I found her boat, but not her; the second time a few days ago, the boat was gone. My guess -- and hope -- is that she's on her way to Valdez now, following her dream.

Bon voyage, Captain.

Andrea Willingham 07.07.2016

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I still can’t believe that I just got back from four days in the backcountry of the Copper River. The itchy mosquito bites on my knees and elbows, and my tired, sore muscles are the one reminder that it was real, despite how wild and unbelievable it all seems now. 

I feel so lucky to have gotten to spend this time with the four research technicians who spend the summer doing this work every day. Three times a day, they boat out to two fishwheels positioned in a narrow stretch of the river, and count the Chinook salmon that get scooped up into holding tanks. They measure, tag, and send them upstream where they will hopefully complete their life’s journey. Despite the repetition, hard labor, and remoteness of the job, all four technicians, including Megan and Darren pictured above, expressed their commitment to and passion for the larger implications of their work.

“This job is specifically rewarding, because this data is being taken for population estimates to manage the fishery directly,” says Darren. “...like, you go, you sample, and then they make direct decisions based on that.”

“It’s a really interesting project, because there’s nobody else counting the king run in the Copper River, which everyone prizes as a rare, wonderful salmon,” Megan says. “And, it makes you feel kind of important when you think about that, because it is really important data to be able to know how many fish are coming up this river. I think it’s great that there are these fisheries, but to be able to sustain them and keep track of them, you need to know what’s going on.”

Andrea Willingham 06.26.2016

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For the next week and a half, these are the faces of the Science and Memory team. There are a few more portraits to add as people trickle in from their daily assignments, so stay tuned.

We are all tied together by a passion for the outdoors, some really good home cookin’ (thanks Deb), and a common goal to tell stories and communicate important messages. 

Kj Hellis 6.24.16

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Hmmm exploring why I love these two together. Colored circles come from the left, colored strokes from the right. Old and new. Hard and soft. Human produced and naturally grown. Complementary: combining in such a way as to enhance or emphasize the qualities of each other or another. 

Miró Merrill 6.24.16

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Small details, colors, and textures around the lodge. Natural & manmade. I missed exploring this home of ours.

Miró Merrill 6.23.16

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Some behind-the-scenes of sailing today with the one and only Captain Anna Young. Kylie and I joined her for a short jaunt around the inlet, listening to her stories of fishing in Cordova since 1968, the impacts of the Exxon-Valdez oil spill on her livelihood, and how she’s now working as a seafaring filmmaker to tell the story of the oil spill from the perspective of the fishermen. What an incredible experience today. 

Andrea Willingham 06.15.2016