John Muir's Birthplace

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DJMA Newsletter #1

DJMA Newsletter #2

Newsletter No. 1
Winter 1995

Scottish Charity No 022857

Contents

1. Editorial
2. Message from the Convener
3. John Muir's Dunbar: A Town Trail:
4. Membership News
5. Forthcoming Events
   1. DJMA Christmas Coffee Morning
   2. DJMA Exhibition
   3. DJMA Meeting
   4. DJMA Sponsored Walk
   5. DJMA Conservation Work
   6. Joint Meeting with John Muir Trust
   7. John Muir Birthday Party for Family Member children and Juniors
   8. John Muir Trust AGM
   9. DJMA Burns Supper
   10. Junior Members
   11. ...and finally
6. Editorial Address

Editorial

The Convener's Message highlights some of the initiatives already underway and other columns provide more detail of these. As with all 'good causes', many of the activities of DJMA rely almost totally on volunteer effort. The Association has achieved a high profile since its Inauguration in July and the Public Launch in September. A crucial period is now upon us if we are to translate our fine words into actions. Support and feedback so far has been magnificent and our members have risen marvelously to the challenge. The Newsletters will keep you informed of developments and - hopefully! - inspire you to participate towards the ultimate goal of a John Muir Centre in Dunbar.

Ed.

Message from the Convener

What a difference a year makes!

"What would the world be, once bereft
Of wet and wildness? Let them be left,
O let them be left, wildness and wet;
Long live the weeds and the wilderness yet."

Dunbar's John Muir Association, or DJMA, was inaugurated on 27th July 1994 when 37 members adopted a Constitution and elected a Council. The impetus had come from meetings organised in Dunbar by the John Muir Trust's Education and Information Committee to see how the original idea of a Conservation-Education Centre, honouring John Muir in the town where he was born, could be given new life. At the end of April seven enthusiastic locals, five of them parents of under-10s, had been elected to join five JMT members as an interim committee, and the tedious business of producing a constitution acceptable both to the Inland Revenue and to potential members began. Our formal Objects now are:

1. To advance the education of the public concerning John Muir, as the Dunbar-born pioneer of world nature conservation, and his belief in the unique and irreplaceable value of wild places and wild creatures
2. To implement John Muir's philosophy practically by conserving, restoring and enhancing landscape and wildlife in East Lothian and Scotland,

Ultimately, we believe, the best way of achieving our Objects will be to ensure the establishment of an environmental centre of excellence in Dunbar, the John Muir Centre. But we've set ourselves a hard task, for our Constitution also lays down:

All of the Association's activities, projects and management functions shall be carried out within the context of the guiding Principles of Sustainability laid out by H.M. Government in A U.K. Strategy for Sustainable Development (1994) in line with Agenda 21 of the United Nations World Summit on the Environment (1992). These comprise:

• The Wise Use of Resources: (of energy, materials, land and natural heritage)
• Environmental Capacity: (living within the carrying capacity of the environment)
• Environmental Quality: (promoting the highest environmental standards)
• The Precautionary Principle: (assessing the risks of any proposed development)
• Environmental Responsibility: (taking responsibility for our environmental future).

Fund-raising for the John Muir Centre is likely to be an important part of our activity in the next few years, and much thought and discussion has already been given to how we, and the people of Dunbar, would like the Centre to be. But we wanted to start more modestly, with projects we're sure we can achieve.

First we had the Public Launch of the Association, on September 29th. We were fortunate that we were able to use Dunbar Parish Church for this event. The interior of the building, twenty years older than John Muir, was gutted by fire in 1987, and the congregation rebuilt it to a high specification to double as a bright and spacious community hall. The narthex housed our exhibition - a display on loan from the Trust; some huge colour photos from the Post Office's Nature of Scotland; ideas about the Centre; a map and photographs old and new of sites familiar from The Story of my Boyhood and Youth, which will be used for our new town trail to be called John Muir's Dunbar; a "Lammermuir Oakwoods" display; postcards of wild places from people who wrote to support us after reading about our plans on the Global Information Highway, by courtesy of Strathclyde University; and a live demonstration of John Muir information on the Internet, by courtesy of Internet Business Services Ltd; our own postcards for sale, of waves breaking over Dunbar Harbour overprinted with an appropriate quotation from Muir; a series of maps showing the numbers of members in various parts of East Lothian, in other parts of the UK, and in the distant fringes of the world as seen from a geostationary satellite far above the planet; a silken banner belonging to our affiliate member, Dunbar Rotary Club, bearing a stylised drawing of John Muir's head; and tea or coffee for those who had time to find it.

Nearly 200 people came. Our President, ecologist Fred Last, gave his Inaugural Address and was able to announce that John Muir's grandsons Ross and John Hanna, his great-grandson Ross Lipkau, and their wives, had all expressed delight at the invitation to become honorary members of DJMA. Terry Isles brought words of encouragement from our first affiliate member, the John Muir Trust; Lord Haddington showed slides of the Tyninghame shore; Duncan Smeed - who works in Glasgow but lives by choice in his home town of Dunbar - suggested that Internet now is at the stage the telephone was at a hundred years ago, and is likely to have even more of an impact; and Graham White roused us all with his introduction to the video, Wild Spirit.

By the end of the evening, our Founder membership had increased to 253 adults, along with a goodly number of under-18s and 3 Affiliates. Seventy-four questionnaires were returned. They showed a strong desire for a Newsletter and quarterly meetings for members; there was a slight preference for the Centre to be housed in renovated old buildings rather than a new one (one brave soul wanted a new one in Linkfield); and reasons for attending the meeting were roughly equally divided between interest in John Muir, concern for a sustainable world, and desire to protect the local environment.

What other plans do we have? We hope to have a booklet available in connection with the town trail ("to enable the visitor to experience Dunbar as the growing John Muir might have") by April. Its contents will form a chapter in a book we're planning to publish, in co-operation with various bodies in the town, in April '96 to coincide with an international meeting here on the theme of sustainability. By that time we may also have Interpretation Boards in place at key points of the trail, and trained volunteer guides and maybe "ghosties" to make it more fun.

We want to develop our Junior section; a step towards this was made in November when one of our Council took a class of Primary 6 to plant trees in a Scottish Widlife Trust reserve in the Lammermuirs. Copies of the video, Wild Spirit, will be available for showing to clubs and coffee mornings. We intend to participate in the Victorian Extravaganza to be held in Dunbar this summer.

The District Council has asked if we would support the erection in the town of a sizeable outdoor statue or similar work-of-art commemorating John Muir. More than anything, we need an office in Dunbar High Street which can be a focus for our fund raising and educational work until the Centre is built, and where we can meet our members and welcome the many John Muir enthusiasts from distant places who visit our town.

When John Muir's great-granddaughter, Louise Powell, received her invitation to honorary membership she wrote back, accepting,

"I am delighted with your plans to create a John Muir Centre! I know that many Americans have travelled to Dunbar and have been surprised that they were unable to find much information regarding Muir's life there. I believe your planned Centre would not only be a real asset to your community, but to all people who are interested in Muir's life and his commitment to the wilderness. It would be grand if you could purchase the old home!"

Meantime membership continues to rise, but slowly. Dunbar Community Council has followed West Barns' lead to become affiliated, and so has the Dunbar Trades' Association; a few of the local businesses have become Corporate members. But we need far, far more. Perhaps making someone a present of a DJMA membership would solve a Christmas present dilemma? On a similar note, why not use DJMA cards as Christmas cards? Spare copies of the information leaflet will be enclosed with this Newsletter and cards can be purchased at 126 High Street and the Tourist Information Centre.

[adapted from an article written with Peter Hunt for the next John Muir Trust Newsletter]

Winifred Sillitto

John Muir's Dunbar: A Town Trail:

We already have a working guide to the walk but it cannot yet be regarded as a definitive version. The basic walk, which we have chosen to maximise accessibility, takes about one hour for an able adult. Three extensions or alternative excursions are also planned, which will cover the inner part of the East Links - of course, we'll avoid any pool which has `an invisible boy-devouring monster at the bottom'; the harbour and old castle; and links into the existing John Muir Coastal Trail. To cover all the extensions or optional parts will take a half day.

There is still a lot of work to be done and DJMA Members can help. We would like volunteers to help with background research, produce line drawings to go with the text, supply information on the natural environment of the foreshore and castle areas, or be willing to train as guides - not only for other members but also for JM Trust members and those who come to Dunbar with an interest in John Muir. If you are interested in helping, please contact David Anderson (1f2, 33 Thirlestane Road, Marchmont, Edinburgh, EH9 1QL; 031 447 3367). Comments and suggestions on the draft text circulated at the launch meeting are also welcome. Details of the draft text are also available on the John Muir Centre on the Internet, URL:

David Anderson

Membership News

Membership subscriptions are, currently, the main income of the Association. May I, therefore, take this opportunity to commend to you the Convener's suggestion that you 'recruit' family and friends to DJMA. In many respects, the future of the environment, both close to home and further afield, and the legacy we leave for future generations, is in our hands. We can make a difference. I look forward to reporting on the growth of DJMA in future issues of this Newsletter.

Any correspondence regarding membership of the Association can be sent to:

The Membership Secretary
Dunbar's John Muir Association
126 High Street,
Dunbar
East Lothian EH42 1JJ

Duncan Smeed

Forthcoming Events

DJMA Christmas Coffee Morning

DJMA Exhibition

DJMA Meeting

DJMA Sponsored Walk

DJMA Conservation Work

Joint Meeting with John Muir Trust

John Muir Birthday Party for Family Member children and Juniors

John Muir Trust AGM

DJMA Burns Supper

Junior Members

...and finally

The DJMA Council: David Anderson, Don Bracewell, Susan Butts, Dan Cairney, Jess Christman, Stefany Hawryluk, Peter Hunt, Fred Last, Aubrey Manning, Iain Meiklejohn, David Oldham, Hugh Ouston, Ian Parsons, Carole Ross, Winifred Sillitto, Duncan Smeed, Alaine Walters, Graham White. Patron: The Earl of Haddington.

Editorial Address

E-mail: djma@cs.strath.ac.uk