Labour of love marks a celestial passing

By Heather Killen

Spectator

NovaNewsNow.com

Nostradamus and the Mayans got it all wrong. The sky will fall to earth at St. Croix Cove on June 6, 2012.

Some people put jigsaw puzzles together to pass the time, but Kip McCurdy has taken things a bit further. He’s spent the last couple of winters designing Falcon Henge, an intricate labyrinth that mirrors the night sky and pinpoints our places in time.

Using the floor of the Chartres cathedral as a model, McCurdy designed his labyrinth to ensure the flowering trees in each quadrant will reflect a corresponding season -- and if you follow the path you’ll never get lost and will always see every part of the Henge.

On a hilltop overlooking the Bay of Fundy he has planted a 900-foot circle of 366 indigenous trees that will eventually enclose a winding pathway that meanders through the days and seasons into an inner sanctum that will feature a sundial.

The total distance around the labyrinth is about a mile and it will mark the major constellations, and a rare planetary transit that will occur in 2012. The spiraling design incorporates each planet’s orbit around the sun, and describes an ever-expanding universe with taller trees more widely spaced on the outer ring, he said.

SKY FALLING“It will line up as if the sky has fallen to earth,” he said. “What you will see here will mirror the movements in the solar system.”

Within the circle it will be possible to watch as the advancing shadows mark the passing of hours and gain an appreciation of the celestial dance of the earth (and other planets) moving through the seasons.

The cardinal points are marked with white oak; the equinoxes and solstices are marked with black spruce. McCurdy added that 40 species of native trees ands shrubs are being used to create the labyrinth and that many of these species are now threatened.

He added the idea of creating the labyrinth around the theme of endangered species was somewhat inspired by the nearby cliffs that are summer homes to peregrine falcons; raptors viewed as practically extinct in Nova Scotia a few decades ago.

FALCON CONNECTION

McCurdy first spied a pair of nesting peregrines here in 1997, something that hadn’t been seen in Nova Scotia for about 40 years. The species had been nearly eradicated by the widespread use of pesticides during the 1950s.

He said a pair of peregrines returned to the cliffs behind his home this year and that three fledges survived the season. While pesticides no longer pose as great a threat here, the peregrines’ recovery still faces tremendous pressure from various sources.

Those who take the prayer walk through the labyrinth will pass a variety of other species also in distress such as red pine, American beech and chestnuts, and green ash. Their once vast numbers are slowly succumbing to insects, for others it’s fungus that’s slowly taking a toll.

One of the problems with modern forestry practices is that the strongest and healthiest trees are selected for harvest, leaving the weaker ones to thrive, according to McCurdy. He gestured towards a stand of spruce trees at the edge of the clearing and remembers out loud when they were planted by one of his daughters and her schoolmates. “If this land belonged to Bowater, those trees would be ready to harvest now,” he said. “We’d be looking at them in terms of what they’d be worth as pulp and paper.”

ENDANGERED SPECIES

Some of the trees he’s planting in this labour of love have proved difficult to track down and while he has managed to find about 35 of the 40 species, a few are especially hard to find, he said.

In particular, the American chestnut is nearly impossible to find, according to McCurdy. There are only a few left in the province and because the distance between them is so great, the species isn’t able to naturally propagate itself. McCurdy is hoping to find enough chestnuts to start some seedlings, but is looking for sources as far way as the U.S..

Also on the hard-to-find list are white oak, green ash, and witch hazel. McCurdy added that he’s had some interesting times finding his trees, starting some as seedlings; transplanting others; and of course, relying on friends and neighbours to do some digging in support of the Henge.

POINT IN TIME

McCurdy admits that he probably won’t live long enough to see his prayer walk at its best and expects it will take on its own shape once the trees begin maturing. Still he hopes this wooded spot will mark a point in time, just as the grove of spruce planted by his daughter’s class three decades ago still mark a place in his heart. “In those days there was still a school in the cove,” he said. “And there was a generation of people living here who knew if you needed something and didn’t have it, you’d have to invent it because you couldn’t just go out and buy it. They did things the old way and would tell you, this is how you make hay; this is how you get wood.”

He added that a great deal changes in the course of 30 years and that many of the old timers in the cove are now gone. But McCurdy has a plan for that, too. The remaining trees he’s planting will correspond to days of the year and those interested can celebrate significant dates such as birthdays and anniversaries, by sponsoring the corresponding tree in the labyrinth.

According to Falcon Henge’s official blogsite, the endeavor is an experiment in endangered species preservation and paleoastronomy. For more information on Falcon Henge, including visualizations, visit http://falconhenge.blogspot.com