To get a better understanding of BCO’s orchard site and find visual components to support the narrative in my dissertation, I asked BCO if they could share what maps were available in their ad hoc archive. This is a big ask of an all-volunteer organization with nearly 10 years of history, but several folks volunteered to dig through their supplies. I was amazed at what they found. (Thank you, Amy, Dani, Ashley, & Josh, for bringing these documents back to the surface for us.) In addition to one of the earliest maps, I was able to piece together the evolution of the site as design team members edited the maps. See the sequence below to learn more.
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Earlier this week, I learned that my most recent article is out, with early online access. The piece will later be found in a special issue of Geographical Review dedicated entirely to methods in geography. I’m eager to see the other pieces and excited to share this, as it is my first solo-authored publication. This piece is also a first look at my dissertation project, which uses multispecies methods to examine community orchard projects as sites of community formation and space for building new understandings of nature.
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I have been involved with my field site, the Bloomington Community Orchard, for years, but this is the first summer where attendance at work & learn days, when their volunteers gather to do site maintenance, has been my top priority. This week, when temperatures hovered around 90 degrees Fahrenheit with oppressive humidity, I struggled to claw my way back out of the house & over to the Orchard. Within minutes, my body was tired. I was flailing & fading. My back ached, & the fabric of my shirt clung to it, heavy with sweat & humidity.
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