Activity

Here on Isle La Motte, VT we are preparing for the Grand Opening of the fabulous Walk Through Time outdoor exhibit, created by scientist, Sid Liebes. Here is a piece that appeared in a local newspaper.

The trail begins on a grassy knoll on Isle La Motte with a sign that tells me that the mile long trail I am about to follow depicts a scientific understanding of the 4.6 billion year history of Earth. It’s the “Walk Through Time” (WTT) a world class educational outdoor exhibit, newly arrived and set up on the Goodsell Ridge Preserve on Isle La Motte. A Grand Opening co-hosted by the Isle La Motte Preservation Trust and the Lake Champlain Land Trust will take place on the Preserve on Sunday, June 22nd between 1:00 and 5:00.

I walk 100 feet … each foot representing a million years – and come upon another panel depicting Earth at the age of 4,600 years. I read “Orbiting gas and dust come together in planetesimals which collide to build the planets and moons of our solar system.” Earth, with the other planets, is being born. On and on the trail continues, through a grassy field, through cedar groves, into dense woods, then back into the sunshine where the story of Earth as pieced out by scientists is told on colorful panels.

“It’s a great educational opportunity,” says Anthony Fowler, Chair of the Education Committee of the Isle La Motte Preservation Trust and recently retired professor of geology.” Chris Boget, Executive Director of the Lake Champlain Land Trust agrees. “It’s a really exciting project.” The Lake Champlain Land Trust partnered with the Isle La Motte’s Preservation Trust in 2005 to acquire and protect what is now an 83 acre fossil preserve on Isle La Motte. The fossils themselves are 480 million years old, and are part of the Chazy Fossil Reef, what scientists have described as the earliest example of a biologically diverse reef in the history of life on Earth.

The Walk Through Time exhibit (known as WTT) was the inspiration and creation of a scientist, Sid Liebes, at Hewlett Packard Labs in California. Before retiring he was given a year to produce the walk as an exhibit of colorful, illustrative panels describing the 4.6 billion year history of life on Earth. The exhibit was first displayed for a 5 day meeting of 350 HP scientists from around the world, on Earth Day 1997. HP then gifted the Walk to the Foundation for Global Community, a non-profit educational foundation in Palo Alto, California. 

Last January Geoff Ainscow in California – Director of the Walk Through Time Project – contacted Jennifer Morgan in Princeton, New Jersey to ask if she knew of an organization which would be interested in the loan of the WTT Exhibit. Jennifer is the author of the Universe Trilogy – a trilogy of award winning science books for children. Jennifer, who has served as educational consultant to the Isle La Motte Preservation Trust for the past ten years, put Geoff Ainscow in touch with Linda Fitch, the trust’s president.

“I contacted our Board members, they gave us a green light and things began to happen,” said Fitch recently. ILMPT Board member, Scott Newman and his son Brock drove out to Grand Rapids, Michigan in April where the exhibit was stored in its trailer, and hauled it back in a truck loaned by Steve and Carol Stata of Isle La Motte’s Hall Home Place and South End Cafe. For two weeks in May a 4,600 foot trail was carefully created on the Goodsell Ridge Preserve with measuring tape, mowers, clippers, and the occasional chain saw. Finally, on May 31st, Tony Fowler organized the set up of the exhibit by twenty five enthusiastic volunteers including several from the Lake Champlain Land Trust.

When he saw pictures, Geoff Ainscow, Project Director of the Walk emailed from his home in California. It’s very gratifying to see the Walk assembled on the preserve in view of 480 million year old fossils. It’s a perfect location, with an enthusiastic group of people. I’ll be telling Sid” (scientist and creator of the exhibit). “ He’ll be very pleased.”

The Goodsell Ridge Preserve is located at 239 Quarry Road, Isle La Motte, Vermont. For more information contact the Isle La Motte Preservation Trust ([email protected]) or the Lake Champlain Land Trust ([email protected])