Nature-Based Oral History & “The First Coast”

This week, Nature Links students were joined by audio producer and oral historian Galen Koch. Galen heads a multimedia oral history project called The First Coast, which seeks to preserve the stories and experiences of coastal Mainers. Galen travels to coastal Maine communities in her mobile media studio (a renovated airstream trailer) to interview people about “their community’s working maritime identity and personal perspectives of place”. Koch, a native of Deer Isle who lives in Portland, is deeply committed to the idea of highlighting the collective memory of Maine’s working waterfront, rather than “where to go to get the best lobster roll.” Her work is not intended to serve tourists, but instead the people that live and work by the sea.

Galen Koch in her mobile media studio as it was being renovated. This photo was published in the Kennebec Journal.

We were thrilled to be joined by Galen as we launch our own Nature Links oral history project. Throughout the spring, Nature Links participants will be interviewing and photographing people in their communities that have a unique connection to nature. We plan to interview farmers, park rangers, fishermen, environmentalists, arborists and outdoor adventurers about their connection to the natural world, and our hope is to compile these interviews and photographs and display them in an “outdoor museum” (more details to come). This spring, we too will become oral historians.

Before Galen’s visit, we talked about the purpose and value of oral history. We started by analyzing a 1916 photograph of ethnographer and anthropologist Frances Densmore as she sits down with a Blackfoot Native American Chief, Mountain Chief. Densmore sought to preserve the music and culture of the Blackfoot Nation, and she recorded Mountain Chief’s songs and stories using a phonograph. As we analyzed the photo, we talked about why Densmore would want to interview Mountain Chief herself, and why it would be important to save songs and stories in his own words. We discussed why it’s important for us to have these recordings today, in 2021, and how technology has changed who could be an oral historian today.

In our interview with Galen Koch, students asked her about her inspiration for starting her project. They gathered advice on recording in a quiet space and convincing strangers to talk tell their stories. Galen shared her hopes for The First Coast as in-person interviewing becomes more possible once again, and encouraged us to find ways to prepare follow-up questions that will help us dig deeply into the stories and lives of our subjects. We’re excited to see where Galen’s airstream takes her next and she’s inspired to begin compiling our own oral histories of our nature-loving community members.

The thumbnail image is by Justin Levesque and is featured on The First Coast website.