Come celebrate Mother’s Day at the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge!
We are very pleased to announce Melissa Darby will be our first Second Sunday speaker for 2018. Darby was one of the original archaeologists at the Cathlapotle Village site and conducted ethnobotanical analysis of wapato recovered from the site. In addition to local research, she has traveled to Japan, England, Germany, and Italy exploring cross-cultural uses of this very important root food. Please come join us as Melissa shares memories of the Cathlapotle Village excavations, preparing wapato in the current Plankhouse. She will also cover importance indigenous women’s labor and women’s status within the community.
If you are not already familiar with Darby’s work, check out her chapter “The Intensification of Wapato (Sagittaria latifolia) by the Chinookan People of the Lower Columbia River” in Keeping it Living (editors Doug Deur and Nancy Turner 2005). “Wapato for the People: An Ecological Approach to Understanding the Native American use of Sagittaria latifolia on the Lower Columbia River” is also great more fascinating information.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
11:00 Bird walk with Refuge Naturalist Terry Anderson
12:00 – 4:00 Cathlapotle Plankhouse Open – tours and family activities
1:00 Melissa Darby’s talk
2:30 Mother and Daughter led ethnobotany walk with Refuge Naturalists Juliet and Josephine McGraw
Family Activities for Mother’s Day include:
Making Mother’s Day cards from the Refuge
Selfie photo booth featuring Chinuk Wawa
Painting with watercolors
Admission to Second Sundays is free with Refuge admission. Refuge costs are $3.00 per vehicle, or you can purchase a yearly pass for $15.00! Pay at the fee station near the trailhead- or if you have a valid lands pass, fill out the new green card instead of the blue fee envelope.