Interpretation

• Would you like to be an interpreter rather than just a greeter?  When most people hear the word interpreter, they think of someone who translates the meaning of one language into another. In a museum, zoo, or park setting, interpreters "translate" the meanings of artifacts, collections, events, and physical resources into a language that helps visitors understand these resources.  If you would like to learn how to be an effective interpreter, please visit these two links:

Foundations of Interpretation Curriculum Content

Foundations of Interpretation

 

An Interpretive Guide to Outer Island

History

• Mattabesic Native Americans in Stony Creek lived on the Thimbles during the summers for the abundant fishing.

• During the Revolutionary War, all the trees in the Thimbles were cut down so British warships couldn’t hide.

• Addison Emery Verrill, 1st Prof. of Zoology at Yale, built the first house in 1889; he was Curator of Yale’s Peabody Museum at 25; brought students out for workshops.

• Leonard & Grace Weil, bought it in 1927; after the stock market crash in 1929 they lived in the boathouse (now the marine lab) to save on expenses; they made the island self-sustaining by raising animals (goats, ducks, rabbits, chickens, dogs, a burro) & vegetables; Grace became one of the area’s first lobsterwoman; they had four children who loved playing on the island; son Danky died in a boat fire.  Grace planted moon garden in memory of her son near the dedication plaque.

• Basil Rauch & Elizabeth Hird, 1964; he was Professor of History at Columbia University; she was an architect and founding member of the Killingworth Land Trust; they often entertained guests with musicians on a stage they had built.  Mrs. Hird donated the island in 1995.

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Geology

• Outer Island, and the other Thimbles, is made up of pink granite bedrock; the islands were once hilltops before the last ice age (20,000 yrs ago); the weight of the mile-thick glacier compressed them to the size they are today.

• The Thimble Islands are much geologically sturdier than Faulkner’s Island, Long Island, Block Island, & Cape Cod, which were all formed from moraine deposits (rubble).

• The Thimble Islands are an archipelago (ark-i-PEL-ago), a chain or group of islands; the Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago.

• Long Island Sound was originally Lake Connecticut, connected at both ends, but melting glaciers gradually raised the water levels, opening up both ends.

• Large boulders on the island are glacial erratics dropped off as the glacier receded.

• Stony Creek pink granite was used at the Peabody Museum (Torosaurus pedestal), Statue of Liberty, and Smithsonian; there is still a working quarry there today.

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Plants & Animals

• Outer Island has several habitats, including sandy beach, rocky beach, salt marsh, tidal pools, tidal flats, and an upland habitat that supports trees, flowers, and other assorted vegetation.

• Beach Rose (Rosa rugosa) is abundant, with fragrant pink or white flowers; it’s an invasive species.

• Most flowers were probably planted by previous owners; daffodils, daylilies, and foxglove.

• An Eastern Prickly Pear cacti population is on the northern end; it is native to New England.

• Poison ivy is pervasive, but produces berries which provide food for birds.

• Invasive plants include knotweed, garlic mustard, and black swallow-wort.

• Mammals- only voles have been seen.

• Marine- invasive Asian shore crabs have displaced Green Crabs, which were also invasive.

• Several geese nest each year; also occasional Oyster Catchers.

• Many sea birds can be seen: cormorants, white egrets, terns, and several species of gulls.

 

Thimble Islands & Faulkner’s Island

• Legend says that Captain Kidd buried some treasure here.

• 23 of the islands are inhabited.

• Largest island is Horse Island (across the channel from Outer Island); owned by Yale University’s Peabody Museum.

• Migrating seals may be seen on the rocks and shoals in the Spring.

• Faulkner’s Island is a unit of the SBMNWR; it has one of the few remaining nesting colonies of endangered roseate terns in the Northeast; it also has the largest common tern colony in CT.

• Built in 1802, Faulkner’s Light is the 2nd oldest lighthouse in CT; commissioned by Thomas Jefferson (New London Harbor light is tallest and oldest in CT).

• It is almost 6 miles from Outer Island but only 3 miles from Guilford; size is about 5 acres and is slowly eroding.

• During the War of 1812, the British landed on Faulkner’s and told the lightkeepers they had nothing to fear if they kept the light on.

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Outer Island Unit

• Elizabeth Hird donated the 5 acre island in 1996 in memory of her husband Basil, to be used for wildlife protection and education.

• Part of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, which is comprised of 11 units stretched across 70 miles of Connecticut’s shoreline.

• Important stopover for migrating birds in Spring and Fall.

• The only island in the Thimbles that is open to the public for wildlife observation, photography, picnicking, and relaxation.

• Elementary through Graduate students come out for environmental education and studies; part of CSU.

• Public events on the island have included Art Day (photography, painting, sketching), Seaweed and Jellyfish events, and Family Day.

• National Parks vs. National Wildlife Refuges: National parks serve visitors; in a refuge the  emphasis is on managing biodiversity and protecting natural resources.

• Friends of Outer Island is a volunteer organization working in partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service; they provide volunteer docents on weekends and assist with maintenance and improvement of Island facilities.