HCN’s Preservation Partners

Auron Tare, The Force Behind Progress in Albania

Auron Tare is a force! This basketball player turned journalist turned activist and preservationist is a prime example of how preservation can be a powerful tool for change. Auron is a leading force behind much of the progress being made in Albania, working with local residents and international groups to save Albania’s heritage and environment while building the economy. In the last ten years, he has been credited with the establishment of a national park around the town of Butrint and its centuries old ruins, saving both the architectural heritage and environmental features, while creating jobs for many of the local residents. He has also set up summer camps to unite youth from the Balkan countries (at war with each other over the years), to enable them to discover how much they have in common. One such camp explores underwater archaeology in Albania’s costal waters, which is an exciting way of involving youth in safeguarding these treasures.

Auron’s list of accomplishments is too long to fit in this short space, but join HCN and meet this “force” as we support his current project to protect and restore the UNESCO World Heritage site of Gjirokastra, an Ottoman-era town.

Workshop Spotlight

Eyes on Central and Southeastern Europe

Are you looking to maximize your travel dollar? At HCN, we know that the cost of airfare may make you think twice about traveling to our workshops this fall. But you can have two great experiences for the price of one airfare if you join us at the Slovenia workshop and then travel overland to Albania for the project that directly follows. There are already several avid adventurers planning to travel together on this double dip trip, so join us for what will certainly be an experience to remember.

The Slovenia project will involve you in the restoration of a 16th century vineyard cottage destined to become a museum highlighting the region’s wine making tradition. Albania offers a remarkable return to the time of the Ottoman Empire as we join local residents and begin preservation of a stone kullë house. Whether you join us for one workshop or both, we encourage you to get involved in hands-on heritage conservation and learn more about the history of this corner of Europe!

May is Preservation Month

Spring is a time to celebrate all that’s new and - for preservationists, anyway - all that’s old. In the US, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has designated May as preservation month. The theme this year is This Place Matters. We certainly think the places where we’re working matter - to us, to our preservation partners, and to members of the local communities. If you do too, support our work by signing up for a workshop, making a donation, or contributing to our scholarship fund so others can volunteer to preserve architectural heritage.

Heritage At Risk: Nine Mile Canyon

A massive proposed oil and gas development project would cause irreparable damage to Nine Mile Canyon in the US state of Utah, site of one of the most important and extensive collections of prehistoric rock art panels in the world. The site has been nicknamed the "world's longest art gallery" because it is home to more than 10,000 individual petroglyphs and pictographs primarily from the Fremont and Ute Indian cultures. Citizens around the world are encouraged to help protect the site by speaking out against the proposed project. Visit the National Trust’s action section to have your say!

HCN Scholarship Fund

Students are generally on tight budgets, but as this year is even more economically challenging, students are reporting to us that they may be unable to join a workshop as they had hoped. As final exams wind down, we want to build our scholarship fund so that we can offer financial assistance to more students. Donations to the scholarship fund allow preservation students to gain invaluable practical experience. Donate Now! HCN is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Preservation Summer

Southern Illinois University Carbondale is issuing an invitation to students and people throughout Southern Illinois to truly experience the iconic riverfront community of Cairo, Illinois and work with its people to help revitalize the historic area. Preservation Summer 2008 is an upper-level historic preservation field study from SIUC's architecture school and history department, but any SIUC student can participate. Continuing Education students and "community listeners" are welcome too.

The eight-week interdisciplinary class begins June 9. Students’ work will focus on the Cairo Historic District and the community's "shotgun" style houses. In addition to conducting historic resource surveys, participants will study the shotgun home vernacular and select one or more homes to serve as the focus of an HCN workshop next year. They'll prepare brief historic structure reports detailing the condition of the homes, improvements possible via a summer workshop and the cost estimate of materials and labor. They hope to select one or more homes, with the city or a non-profit group as owner, for next year's workshop site. Read more!

Conference Calendar

Association for Gravestone Studies Annual Conference
June 17-22, 2008, Amherst, Massachusetts USA

This conference features lectures, demonstrations, exhibits, conservation and documentation workshops, classroom sessions, slide presentations, and guided cemetery tours. For information, see www.gravestonestudies.org/conferences.htm.

Rally 2008: The National Land Conservation Conference
September 18-21, 2008 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA

One hundred thirty workshops for people dedicated to protecting farms, forests, trails, parks and natural areas in their communities. For info, see www.lta.org/training/rally.htm.

“Frank Lloyd Wright and the Roots of Sustainability” 2008 Save Wright Conference
September 17-21, 2008 Champion, Pennsylvania, USA

The conference theme, “Frank Lloyd Wright and the Roots of Sustainability”, will explore Wright’s life-long connection with nature and the relationship of his many innovative ideas to today’s worldwide interest with sustainable architectural principles
For information see www.savewright.org.

Work That Endures: Power to the People Keeping Places Alive
September 25-27, 2008 Québec City, Canada

This milestone conference, bringing together for the first time the Canadian Land Trust Alliance and the Heritage Canada Foundation, is designed to make the ‘Heritage Workforce’ stronger with hands-on workshops, tours, panel discussions, seminars and roundtables. For information, see www.heritagecanada.org/eng/conference.html.

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