The Narrow Edge: A Tiny Bird, an Ancient Crab, and an Epic Journey
Discover the plight of red knot shorebirds with award-winning author Deborah Cramer
(Millbrook, NY) On Friday, August 19 at 7 p.m. join the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies for a special evening exploring how the lives of humans, red knots, and horseshoe crabs are intertwined.
Deborah Cramer, environmental writer and visiting scholar at MIT, will discuss her new book The Narrow Edge: A Tiny Bird, an Ancient Crab, and an Epic Journey. Join Cramer as she tracks red knot sandpipers from Tierra del Fuego to their Arctic nesting grounds, an extraordinary 19,000-mile annual migration. Discover how these shorebirds rely on horseshoe crab eggs along Delaware Bay, and how overharvesting has depleted an essential migratory food source.
Cramer’s beautifully crafted book depicts an inspiring portrait of loss and resilience, the tenacity of birds, and the courage of the many people who keep red knots flying. The book was the recipient of the 2016 Reed Award for Environmental Writing from the Southern Environmental Law Center. Since her exploration, the red knot was listed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as an Endangered Species.
“We are but tenants on this planet, sharing the Earth with others who were here long before us and who, though less powerful, have tenancy as well.”—Deborah Cramer.
Cramer resides in Gloucester, Massachusetts. In addition to The Narrow Edge, she is the author of Great Waters: An Atlantic Passage and Smithsonian Ocean: Our Water Our World. Her writing has been published in the Boston Globe and on the op-ed page of the New York Times. She lectures about her writing and the sea on both sides of the Atlantic at science and maritime museums, environmental organizations, and undergraduate and graduate schools in oceanography and journalism.
Free and open to the public, the event will take place in the Cary Institute auditorium located at 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, NY. Seating is first come first served. Books will be available for purchase through Merritt Bookstore by pre-ordering at www.merrittbookstore.com at a discounted price or at the event.
For more information call (845) 677-7600 x121 or visit the website www.caryinstitute.org.
