Literature Appetizer
Ben Kusserow
A Northern Appalachian's Journey

Recently I just finished Appalachia North by Matthew Ferrence. In it, he recounts the complex relationship he still has with the land as a Northern Appalachian. Typically when I finish a book I write a Literature Appetizer to get people a taste of what they will find. Since his book is such a personal journey, I would not do it justice by recounting his life.

Many of his experiences reflect my own experience growing up in Western PA. So instead of condensing his journey, I thought I would condense mine.

The Hero’s Journey is a common literary structure where the hero of the story departs home to do a great act, and then returns victorious. My Northern Appalachian Journey is a bit different, but has a similar structure of three parts; Living in Water, Succeeding by Leaving, and The Mountains are Calling.

A Northern Appalachian's Journey

iNaturalist

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iNaturalist: Preparing for the Bioblitz

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iNaturalist: Preparing for the Bioblitz

Are your candles ready? Because this summer the National Park Service turns 100!Instead of gettingAmerica’s best idea a birthday cake or a gift card, they want only one thing for this special occasion: to get all citizens involved with America’s outdoors. One of the easiest ways to get involved is through their BioBlitz:

A BioBlitz is a 24-hour event in which teams of volunteer scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to find and identify as many species of plants, animals, microbes, fungi, and other organisms as possible. In 2016, BioBlitz goes national. The cornerstone National Parks BioBlitz: Washington, D.C. will take place May 20-21, with more than a hundred concurrent BioBlitzes happening at national parks across the county. -National Park Service