Snapshot : Pole Tracking
A group of Cub Scouts examines a wooden pier at one of five locations along the coastal trails of the Touisset Marsh Wildlife Refuge in Warren . “ Look , there ’ s a spider ,” says one scout , pointing to a web-like mass spun into one of the chiseled Morse-code divots carved into the pier . The twenty-foot pole-like structure is part of an artistic environmental exhibit designed by Leonard Yui , associate professor of architecture at Roger Williams University , and facilitated by Audubon Society of Rhode Island ’ s senior director of conservation Scott Ruhren . The piers are also included in the exhibition “ Rising Seas : Envisioning the Future Ocean State ” taking place at Imago Gallery in Warren from April 21 – May 29 . A team of RWU architecture students and Audubon staff installed the piers that are each inscribed with Morse code containing passages from environmentalists . The messages translate to warnings about future sea level rise , and the poles demonstrate predicted flooding from storm events for the years 2050 and 2100 . “ I wanted to connect wanderers to a renewed understanding of nature — one that experientially relates the challenges of habitat change and sea level rise as well as to share how humans can directly intervene , like this so-called ‘ architecture ,’ to find common ground with our wild world ,” Yui says . The structures , made from repurposed native Eastern white pine sourced from a local mill , are embedded with perches and holes to encourage habitat integration for birds and insects , including the spider creeping in a crevice . — JAMIE COELHO
128 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MAY 2022