As the author of the 2022 book, Halcyon Journey: In Search of the Belted Kingfisher, Marina found an intriguing comparison. “Both butterflies and kingfishers are charismatic megafauna that guide us to wondrous communities of life we might not have noticed otherwise.” Threading natural history, memoir, and mythology, Marina’s book is the first to feature the belted kingfisher, a bird found throughout North America, including the waterways of the Appalachian Trail.
A regular contributor to A.T. Journeys, her stories and essays often reflect a theme of kinship with nature leading to advocacy for protecting wildlife and wildlands. She writes from Bend, Oregon, and values her returns to the A.T. with her late father, Dave Richie’s Trail journals in hand.
“It’s a privilege and a pleasure to see these places and the good work that the ATC is doing to protect them,” he says. Chris enjoys taking home these stories to share with his wife, Sunshine (who thru-hiked the A.T. in ‘04 and ‘05), and his two young children back in Black Mountain, North Carolina. Chris and Sunshine co-created the documentary film: The Long Start to the Journey, which takes viewers along for the adventure, highs, and lows of his A.T. thru-hike. His film can be found at thelongstarttothejourney.vhx.tv.
Jerry’s first-ever published photo was on the cover of the July 1993 issue of Appalachian Trailway News and has continued to be featured in A.T. Journeys over the years. “I’ve been hiking on the A.T. for more than thirty years,” he says. “As a conservation photographer, I’ve been involved in projects along or adjacent to the A.T. in the New England area, which have strengthened my belief that conserved open space is important, not only for wildlife and biodiversity, but for strengthening individuals and communities.”
She is the author of three books: Legacy on the Land: A Black Couple Discovers Our National Inheritance and Tells Why Every American Should Care; Our True Nature: Finding a Zest for Life in the National Park System; and From My Jamaican Gully to the World. “My mission is to demystify the environmental sector through sharing my life experience and inspire others to live joyfully while making a positive difference in our world,” she says.
Audrey’s daily social media posts and twice-weekly blog, The Joy Train, extol the benefits of nature in efforts to create “a pandemic of joy.” She co-founded the Diverse Environmental Leaders Speakers Bureau in 2014. Last April, the National Parks Conservation Association presented her with the 2022 Centennial Leadership Award, saluting her twenty-five years of dedicated effort.