We are very proud and excited to offer a new tribute to Sable Island. It’s a labour of love about her human history and impact on our understanding of natural history. “Sable Island Stories: Volume One” is a collection of articles, short stories, quick facts, poems and art. It’s an introduction to what makes the island so special – from people of all ages: Grade 12 students in Nova Scotia who applied for our scholarships; youth we hired to transcribe historical records about it; and, people from across Canada who care about this mystical place.
The 134-page book is currently available as an eBook for Kindle ($9.99 CAD) or a paperback ($20 CAD). For the next three months it is available on-line only from Amazon. They are currently offering free delivery on your first order and you can specify that it’s a gift to be sent directly to a recipient. If you don’t have an Amazon account you will need to create one to finish your order.
Excerpts:
“There are places on Earth where the threads of history seem to join together. Because of their location, their climate and resources, or events that have taken place there, these spots show themselves to us as front-row seats to the turning of the ages. Sable Island is undoubtedly one of them.” – Malcolm Sepulchre (2018 Scholarship Winner)
“Did you know? It has always been difficult to grow trees on Sable Island due to the high winds and great levels of erosion, meaning that the residents relied on driftwood from wrecked vessels and coal shipped from the mainland to stay warm! There was a huge tree planting attempt in 1901, when thousands of trees were brought to Sable Island. Unfortunately, the attempt failed with only thirteen trees left in 1913 and one tree by 1927.” – Rebecca Cooke (2016, Archives Transcriber and Story-Teller)
“At the end of each day we gathered for the day’s debriefing and the mood amongst our group seemed electrically charged. We bonded with the joy and excitement of sharing our experience, forming new friendships with one another, and being friends of Sable Island. Renewed…, ready to go forth with hopefulness and commitment. That’s the power of Sable Island.” – Alison DeLory (2017)
“Sable Island will always be Sable Island if we don’t overdo it and do too much to help it, because what nature takes away from one place, it puts into another. So, all I can say is the people who think they are enjoying a good life by exploring all these different angles on Sable Island, leave nature to its own and it will look after itself. It will stay for a long, long, long while. Nature is nature.” – Aubrey Dauphinee (2018, at 91 years young)
All proceeds from sales of this book will support our charitable programs including an annual scholarship, ongoing transcription and story-collection from historical archives and lived experiences, and our bi-annual conference showcasing Sable Island and the National Park Reserve.
For more on our scholarship program see: https://www.sableislandfriends.ca/friends/#Scholarship
For more about our bi-annual conference see: https://www.sableislandfriends.ca/friends/#Conference
We are already planning for Sable Island Stories: Volume Two. If you have an item to share please send it to us at info@sableislandfriends.ca
