Showing posts with label wooden boat museum. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wooden boat museum. Show all posts

Friday, March 10, 2017

Living Heritage Podcast Ep069 Building Boats and Building Community

Jim Dempsey is the President of the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador. Jim has been around boats and the ocean all of his life. As a boy, he spent his summers on the beach where he always had a boat to row. After studying marine biology and oceanography at university, he was fortunate to be employed in his field for over forty years. He has worked along the entire British Columbia coast, in the Canadian Arctic, and from Sable Island to Hudson's Bay on the east coast. For Jim, the Wooden Boat Museum has provided a chance to realize a dream to build wooden boats. This experience has been enhanced by the people he has met, the places he has visited, and the stories he has heard. In this interview we talk all about the wooden boat museum, their past conferences, the work of conserving boatbuilding skills, and their current educational and outreach programs.

Listen on the Digital Archive:

http://collections.mun.ca/cdm/singleitem/collection/ich_oral/id/706/rec/1


Friday, October 14, 2016

Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 - Heritage Skills

Heather Elliott (Youth Ambassador and Wooden Boat Board Member) and Crystal Braye (Wooden Boat Museum Folklorist).
Last week the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador hosted Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 which was a three day event focused on the celebration and use of wooden boats and traditional skills. There were speakers from across the world – Basque Country, Connecticut, New York, Washington, Scotland, Nova Scotia, and many parts of Newfoundland. The speakers focused on different elements of wooden boats and gave presentations on how reconstructed wooden boats can celebrate the past and renew interest an interest in maritime heritage, how wooden boats can be used in experiential learning and in tourism, and how wooden boats can be used to teach youth new skills they can use in many aspects of their lives.

Aside from the presentations about wooden boats there were also musicians who performed, and facilitators who moderated working groups to develop new ideas on how the Wooden Boat Museum should develop over the next few years. The highlight of Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 was the Heritage Skills Challenge in which participants, and youth volunteers learned how to use a variety of tradition tools and skills which would be used in building boats and fishing. The event took place in Petty Harbour and was organised in partnership with Fishing for Success. Here is a selection of photos from the event!
Terra Barrett of the Heritage Foundation learning how to knit nets.
Ema Kirbirkstis (Youth Ambassador) casting a net.
Facing off in the adze challenge.
Wooden Boat Museum Board Member Frank French and Eileen Matthews of Heritage New Perlican working together on the double ended saw.
Adam Green of Rock the Boat and Youth Ambassador Emma Lang face off in the splitting fish challenge.
Evelyn Ansel explaining how caulk a boat with oakum.
Youth Ambassador Lisa Daly tying a withe (wiff).
Rowing competition.
Which skill is your favourite? What would you like to learn?

~Terra Barrett

Tuesday, October 11, 2016

Audio notes from the Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 Conference


Last week, the Wooden Boat Museum of NL hosted "Wooden Boat Heritage 2016." Heritage Foundation of NL staff and volunteers with Youth Heritage NL helped moderate a morning session on the final day where a series of questions were asked to participants.  They were asked:

  • What experiences could I create in my community? 
  • What resources and assets related to boats and boatbuilding reside in my community? 
  • Who has the necessary knowledge and skills? 
  • What skills, training, or assistance do you need to pull this off? What help do you need?

After an hour of discussion, each table reported back on the exciting and inspiring things they heard. Listen to the results here:

Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 is Looking for Youth Ambassadors!

Are you a youth? Do you enjoy heritage? Education? Working within your community?

We have the perfect opportunity for you!

The Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador is hosting Wooden Boat Heritage 2016 from October 4th-6th in St. John's and Petty Harbour, and we're looking for volunteers! You'll be Team Leaders during the Heritage Skills Challenge, moderators during brainstorming sessions and, of course, active participants throughout the whole conference. We want your voices to be part of the conversation!

We are looking for people who can commit to both Wednesday, October 5th, and Thursday, October 6th, and who are available for the full day. Volunteers will have free registration to the conference.

If you're interested, please click here to learn more and register!

Looking forward to seeing you at this unique conference. It promises to be an exciting time!


Monday, February 9, 2015

Youth Heritage Forum 2015 Guest Speaker - Crystal Braye

Guest Speaker: Crystal Braye

Crystal Braye received her Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology from Wilfrid Laurier University in 2008 before completing her Masters of Arts in Folklore at Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. During her time at MUN, Crystal’s work focused on documenting root cellars for the Heritage Foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador,  with additional research on Newfoundland’s “Screech-In” customs and mummering traditions. She is presently on the board of directors for the Mummers Festival and has been working as a folklorist for the Wooden Boat Museum of Newfoundland and Labrador [WBMBL] since 2012. Crystal is responsible for WBMNL’s cultural heritage research which includes the documentation of traditional design, construction and use of wooden boats in their unique community contexts and the collection of stories and experiences of the people who built and used wooden boats throughout the province.


Why are passionate about heritage?
My passion for heritage comes from my interest in understanding the ways our culture (including our customs, beliefs and practices) shape our everyday experiences and perceptions of the world around us. Through an understanding of our tangible and intangible cultural heritage, we can gain new insights on contemporary experiences and develop appreciation for the simple things in everyday life we too often take for granted.
Want to hear more from Crystal? Join us for Youth Heritage Forum 2015!

Registration forms can be downloaded here
Keep up to date, join our Youth Heritage Forum Facebook Event!