Even though life on the North Carolina coast changes drastically between generations — from the Civil War, to two World Wars to taking part in the environmental movement — women have had a hand in state history.

Mary Norcott Bryan was born in New Bern in 1841, 20 years before the start of the Civil War. She spent her childhood at Woodlawn Plantation and then attended boarding school in Washington, D.C., which was her “most delightful experience, and which quite made up for anything bad that had gone before.”

Bryan wrote her memoir, “A Grandmother’s Recollections of Dixie,” around the turn of the century “to recall some recollections of old times in Dixie.” It was originally a collection of letters to tell her grandchildren about the antebellum South and what she describes as “the delightful plantation life at Woodlawn, (a) phase of society (that) is a thing of the past.”

According to National Geographic, the plantation system developed as British colonists came to Virginia and divided the land up into areas that could be farmed. The Southern economy depended on the crops that the farmers cultivated, and this need for agricultural workers led to slavery being established and the atrocities that followed.

This enslavement furthered the class divisions that already existed between the rich and the poor in the South. In the Southern colonies, “a few wealthy, white landowners owned the bulk of the land, while the majority of the population was made up of poor farmers, indentured servants, and slaves.” The divisions became more prominent than the ones found in the North.

In “Recollections,” however, Bryan remembers her plantation life fondly.

Her difficulties came from “the destruction of her home, the poor treatment she received from Union officers, and the desperate plight of southern civilians during the hostilities,” Harris Henderson writes in Documenting the American South, a digital publishing initiative.

The beginning of the war concerned New Bern natives because the city was in “an exposed position, (so) it was thought best for as many women and children as could leave to do so,” Bryan says. Following their leave from the city, the battle of New Bern took place in 1862.

Even after the war ended, life in the South did not get easier. “Raleigh was now filled with wounded and disabled soldiers; the churches and every available space turned into hospitals,” Bryan writes. “Many poor men were on the benches some in high delirium, some in the agony of death.”

In her memoir, Bryan, who was also a Ku Klux Klan supporter, recalls the Reconstruction period being worse than the war itself. History explains that Reconstruction was “the effort to reintegrate Southern states from the Confederacy and 4 million newly-freed people into the United States.”

“The after effects were as trying as the war itself, the disgusting Reconstruction period was a disgrace to all concerned,” Bryan writes. “In some ways these times were worse even than the war.”

“When we returned home…we found our beautiful and valued farm an abandoned plantation,” Bryan writes. The trees had been cut down, slave cabins had been dismantled, and “the old Colonial brick dwelling, made of bricks from England, was razed to the ground. Houses, cattle, sheep, of course, gone, and an apple orchard of choice apples destroyed.”

Rachel Carson was a writer who focused her work on nature and society, but from a completely different perspective. Carson was born in Springdale, Pennsylvania, in 1907. She served as a marine scientist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and conducted research along the North Carolina coast.

During the Great Depression, Carson wrote radio scripts for the U.S. Bureau of Fisheries and ended up becoming editor-in-chief of all the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s publications. When she saw the reckless use of chemicals and pesticides during World War II, Carson decided to act.

She had published “The Sea Around Us,” about sea life throughout the year, in 1951. In 1962, she published “Silent Spring,” which focuses on the danger of widespread pesticide use. The latter became such a phenomenon that it is argued to be the start of modern environmentalism and led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA.

According to the EPA website, the organization “may be said without exaggeration to be the extended shadow of Rachel Carson.”

“Silent Spring” exposed the dangers of using the DDT pesticide, originally used to fight diseases among soldiers and civilians and quickly became a pick for insect control. She worried both about how human bodies were supposed to adapt to chemicals and the ones that were used in what she describes as “man’s war against nature.”

“What happens in nature is not allowed to happen in the modern, chemical-drenched world,” Carson writes, “where spraying destroys not only the insects but their principal enemy, the birds.” The pesticides upset the balance of nature because when the insects come back, the bird won’t be there to “keep their numbers in check.”

When President John F. Kennedy read excerpts of “Silent Spring,” first published in the New Yorker, he had the Life Sciences Panel of the President’s Science Advisory Committee, or PSAC, look into her claims.

According to the Environmental & Society Portal, Rachel Carson and the press considered the PSAC’s report, which had been approved by the President, to be “a vindication of the book.”

The writer’s lasting impact goes beyond her lifetime. The Girl Scouts of Western Pennsylvania developed the Legacy of Conservation badge to encourage girls to “get outside while teaching (them) about environmental stewardship.” There’s also a Rachel Carson Reserve, a complex of islands across Taylor’s Creek from downtown Beaufort, to provide stewardship “for the health and prosperity of ALL North Carolinians.”

Carson was intent on bettering the health of the earth and the people who live on it.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts,” Carson writes. “There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”

Learning about the past means confronting all of history, the good and the bad. Historian David Cecelski, who writes about the history, culture and politics of the North Carolina coast, knows this full well.

“One of the things that I have learned about studying North Carolina history is that it is (nearly all) ‘blatantly wrong,'” he said. “Every monument and memorial and painting I saw when I visited UNC campus, every historic site and marker…were designed…to keep me and others from learning NC’s real history — and above all, to keep us from questioning white supremacy.”

Historically, because whites had the most power, they had the ability to erase narratives or corrupt them.

“This is the nature of how power works,” Cecelski said. “We can explore the state’s history and see through that veil of untruth and … when we do, our world today makes much more sense.” After we do that, we can begin to move forward.

“When we have confronted ‘our difficult history’ (which is most of our history),” he said, “it then gives us this remarkable chance for creativity– to build a new way of being, a new sense of community with one another, a more honest and fruitful relationship with those that came before us.”

“I WAS born a slave; but I never knew it till six years of happy childhood had passed away,” Harriet Jacobs writes in her 1861 autobiography, “Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl.”

Jacobs was born in 1813 in Edenton to Elijah and Delilah Jacobs, two slaves owned by different families.

At 6 years old, after her mother passed away, Jacobs lived with Margaret Horniblow, her mother’s mistress. Horniblow taught Jacobs how to read and write, among other skills, and when Horniblow died in 1825, Jacobs was given to the woman’s niece, 3-year-old Mary Matilda.

Charles Martin Boyette, who has been for 14 years an historic interpreter at the Historic Edenton State Historic Site, finds Jacobs’ story remarkable.

“The story of Harriet Jacobs is full of many surprises from a modern perspective,” he said, “but to me the most noticeable was the way that Harriet and her family managed to exercise personal agency even with the constraints of slavery.”

Mary Matilda’s father, Dr. James Norcom, took both Jacobs and her brother John in to live with the family, and soon began making sexual advances toward Jacobs.

“Women are considered of no value, unless they continually increase their owner’s stock,” she writes. “They are put on a par with animals.”

She started a relationship and had two children with white lawyer Samuel Tredwell Sawyer, and after denying Norcom’s advances multiple times, Jacobs was sent to work on a plantation. She writes that her children were her main reason for living, and when she learned that they would be sent to become plantation slaves as well, she decided to escape to the North to spare them.

“To me, her book is one of the first that openly details the abuse that enslaved women faced from male slave owners,” Boyette said. “Female slaves, as is shown by the treatment Harriet received, were vulnerable to abuse by male slave owners with little recourse in many cases. Harriet put a stop to it in a definitive way by removing herself from the situation through making her way to freedom.”

Jacobs hid in friends’ homes and finally in a garret above her grandmother’s storeroom that was only 9 feet long by 7 feet wide by, at most, 3 feet tall, where she remained for seven years until she could find opportunity to escape. During that time, her children never knew she was there.

“At times, I was stupefied and listless,” she writes, “at other times I became very impatient to know when these dark years would end, and I should again be allowed to feel the sunshine, and breathe the pure air.”

Boyette said he understands that she hid in the attic space during the day when people in town were moving about and likely came out at night for limited periods.

“I am sure when she did come out the doors to the house were locked and the windows covered to protect her anonymity,” Boyette said.

Because the historic site does not have any photos of the house, interpreters base their descriptions of the garret on her writing.

“The space she was hiding in was the small space over the porch similar to a crawl space in a home today,” he said. “Architecturally, you could say the house likely had what we would call a bungalow style roof that extended over the front door as a porch cover. The area (where) she hid would be something like hiding in the eaves of a roof space.”

The secrecy was clearly difficult for Jacobs.

“Season after season, year after year, I peeped at my children’s faces, and heard their sweet voices, with a heart yearning all the while to say, “Your mother is here,” Jacobs writes. She finally did reveal herself to her children before they were separated.

In 1842, after nearly a decade in hiding, Jacobs finally had the opportunity to escape from North Carolina and boarded a ship in Edenton that took her to Philadelphia. She was reunited with her brother and her daughter Louisa Matilda, and later her son Joseph.

Jacobs published “Incidents” 16 years after Frederick Douglass published his 1845 autobiography, “Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave.” Although their experiences differed, and his book received immediate acclaim while Jacobs’ did not, many point out similarities.

“As regards the Frederick Douglass comparison, I will say that their lives had considerable parallels,” Boyette said. “Her description of slavery from an enslaved woman’s perspective did much to reveal a part of slavery that did not receive as much focus during that period.”

“Incidents” was considered a work of fiction until the archival work of Jean Fagan Yellin in the 1970s and 1980s proved otherwise. Yellin published “Harriet Jacobs: A Life” in 2004.

“Many people know the general story of her life as far as escaping slavery and writing her book,” Boyette said, “but many do not realize after the Civil War she was active as a social activist, furthering the interests of African Americans in the post-Civil War period.”

According to the digital publishing initiative, Documenting the American South, Jacobs began to work with relief efforts, from helping former slaves who had become refugees to founding a school with her daughter.

“She acted as an advocate for African American rights in the post-Civil War period,” Boyette said. “In particular, she worked to set up and teach in schools for newly freed people. For a living, she and her daughter ran a boarding house in the Boston area.”

Jacobs opened her boarding house in 1870 and by the 1880s, Jacobs was settled in Washington, D.C., where she died in 1897.

The Historic Edenton State Historic Site offers walking tours, and while the buildings in which Jacobs lived no longer stand, Boyette said that seeing the area where she lived is a powerful thing.

“Being able to walk the streets that Harriet walked and see some of the buildings still standing from her time allows me to create a mental landscape of what life was like for her in Edenton,” Boyette said.

Edenton, North Carolina’s second-oldest town, was also once the state’s second-largest port. According to the Historic Edenton website, the town “provided slaves with a means of escape via the Maritime Underground Railroad before Emancipation.”

The site offers free admission 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and separate guided tours 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

“The main concept I want people to take away from her story is an understanding of what life was like for enslaved persons before the Civil War,” Boyette said. “How they used whatever means available to make a life for themselves and their families even with the heavy constraints of slavery.”

Jacobs writes, “It has been painful to me, in many ways, to recall the dreary years I passed in bondage. I would gladly forget them if I could. Yet the retrospection is not altogether without solace; for with those gloomy recollections come tender memories of my good old grandmother, like light, fleecy clouds floating over a dark and troubled sea.”

In 2016, Janelle Fleming founded MERROW, the Marine Education, Research and Recovery for the Oceans Worldwide.

According to its website, the nonprofit organization based in Morehead City serves as “a call to action for the Ocean Environment” and “seeks to understand and promote educational and scientific research that benefits the oceans and the organisms that use them.”

Fleming, who has a doctorate in physical oceanography and biological oceanography from University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, started a consulting company with her husband and also works as a researcher and scuba diving instructor.

“The area for citizen scientists is growing so much,” Fleming said. “People are wanting to participate, they’re wanting to do what they can, and a lot of them have a science background. Some of them don’t, but they’re very willing to work.”

MERROW encourages people of all ages to get involved in ocean recovery, and Fleming noticed how eager young people were to learn about the world while figuring out their place in it.

“We hear catastrophe stories all the time on the news, but this was a way for them to actually do something about it,” she said.

In 2019, she helped set up a North Carolina branch of SCUBAnauts, which, until then, had only ever been in Florida.

“It was kind of like the Boy Scout Sea Scouts, but more focused on scuba diving,” Fleming said. “And I just knew that that was the exact thing that I wanted to do.”

They had 10 participants throughout 2019, and now have a steady attendance of dozen kids between the ages of 12 and 16 and their parents.

“The cool thing about the program is it’s not a drop-off program,” Fleming said. “You’re actually incorporating the parents as well. So each person that participates, they need to have a parent who is also willing to do it. They don’t necessarily have to scuba dive, but they do need to be trained in terms of first aid and CPR, and everyone gets a background check following Boy Scouts’ standards.”

Bryn Fleming, 15, a SCUBAnaut First Class, was excited to join her mom.

“I was really excited about it because I would get to dive all the time,” Bryn said, “plus I’d get to spend more time with some of my friends who I don’t see as often since we don’t go to the same school. It’s really fun!”

“We have monthly meetings (where) we cover the scientific material,” Janelle said. “It’s, in general, a four-year program, because oceanography is the study of four different disciplines – more if you include everything that’s in it.”

Oceanography includes chemical, biological, physical and geological trends.

“In 2019, we started with the geological trend,” Janelle said. In 2020, they covered biological.

“This year, we’re starting with chemical oceanography. We just had our first meeting on Friday (Jan. 15).” This meeting, along with one on Jan 16, featured an introduction to chemical oceanography and swim tests.

“All of the chapters have the same sort of basic material, but then the other six months out of the year, we apply it directly to our local area,” Janelle said. “On the weekends, when hopefully everybody is available, we will either go do our cleanups or we will do other sets of training, whether it’s actually doing a dive and collecting corals or monitoring them. During the winter months, we try not to dive so much just because the water temperatures are so cold.”

Bryn’s favorite part of being involved with SCUBAnauts is being with people who also have an interest in diving.

“It’s really fun to catch up with all my friends and plan out our next dives,” she said. “I don’t get to see the other SCUBAnauts a whole lot in winter …so it’s nice to see everybody again. Plus, there’s food.”

“They learn the basics of rescue techniques, in case there are any issues underwater or above water,” Janelle said, which includes first aid CPR training, neurological O2 administration and hazardous marine life injuries. And if they’ve been out of the water for six months or more, they need to refresh their skills.

“At the end of the training, they actually become a AAUS science diver,” Janelle said. AAUS, the American Academy of Underwater Sciences, is an umbrella organization for science diving. “People who dive under their auspices can collaborate with government agencies like NOAA or the National Park Service. And they can work with other universities and other research projects through reciprocity.”

Twice a year, the SCUBAnauts will do an underwater beach cleanup that includes an above ground cleanup as they walk to the site. They often visit Radio Island, an island between Morehead City and Beaufort made out of dredge spoil, and now also features a rock jetty.

“Radio Island is frequented by quite a lot of people in the summertime and there’s often lots of trash, unfortunately,” Janelle said. “The students learn how to conduct transect and quadrat surveys, they learn the invertebrates and vertebrates, they also know how to identify the corals and whether they have stony coral tissue loss disease, and they’ve outplanted the coral and monitored them.”

These meetings have given the SCUBAnauts the opportunity to interact with a variety of marine life. “I’ve gotten to see tons of sharks and various other marine life, both at Radio and diving offshore,” Bryn said. “I actually saw a huge stingray on a night dive at Radio.”

“One experience that I had with my son just this past summer was at Radio Island,” Janelle said. “There was an octopus that was outside of the rock crevices. … My son put his hand out to just kind of see what it would do and the octopus reached a tentacle out and kind of wrapped around his finger.”

The SCUBAnauts also get to participate in CHOW, the Capitol Hill Ocean Week.

“A group that’s chosen, based on their applications and interviews, goes to Capitol Hill, and they talk to their local senators about marine issues that are important to them,” Janelle said. “They’ll meet and learn how to interact with our senators and our representatives.”

Janelle believes that even if you aren’t a diver, the more you know about ocean relief, the more you can contribute to it.

“The better educated you are on even the different techniques that scientists use, the more informed you are. And the more informed, the better able you are to make decisions,” she said.

Bryn takes environmental problems very seriously.

“(These issues) might not affect you right now, but what about in 10 years, when your waterfront property is 6 feet under water because of sea level rise?” she said. “What about when you have to pay a small fortune for edible, nonpoisonous seafood, because ocean acidification pollution has killed 90% of the world’s sea life? Try to solve the problems we’re facing now, because if you don’t, the consequences will be disastrous.”

She also believes it’s never too early for kids to start protecting the environment.

“While it’s tempting to just expect that our parents and teachers will figure out a way to protect the environment, odds are that the problems affecting the environment will still be ongoing by the time we’re old enough to vote,” she said. “We’re the people that will have to figure out what to do with the environment.”

“(Young people) are our future,” Janelle said. “And if we can be good stewards, and provide a good example or a model, then they will also be a good steward and also models for the future, for their own generation and for the generations that come after them as well.”

MANTEO — The Pioneer Theater opened in 1918, but with the pandemic and a recent projector breakdown, one might expect an unhappy ending.

But family-owned business is tradition here, and the community quickly proved it by donating more than enough money to cover the needed repairs.

As of late Wednesday, the theater had collected $17,340 raised of a $10,000 goal via a gofundme.com fundraiser.

“I am so awestruck and humbled by the massive outpouring of support and love for the Pioneer Theater,” owner Herbert “Buddy” Creef III posted on Facebook Monday, the day after he announced the fundraiser.

In their posted comments, donors shared their memories of and love for the Pioneer, like Debra Hill, who described the theater as “the heart of Manteo.”

The Pioneer wasn’t always in its current location.

“The building we’re in right now, my grandfather opened in March of 1934,” said Creef. “The original theater was a block over, on what is now Sir Walter Raleigh Street.”

Creef is the fourth generation of his family to run the business, and has spent time at the theater since he was a child.

“According to some Hollywood historians, we’re the oldest movie theater in the United States (including both locations) that’s been continuously run by the same family,” he said.

When the theater opened, it showed exclusively silent movies.

“That’s all they had,” Creef said. “And then the building we’re in now, my grandfather built … because that’s when talking movies were just coming into existence. And with the growing popularity of movies and public fascination with them, it was not only time for a larger venue, but it was easier to build a new venue suitable for putting in the sound system and all that.

“So, going into the new building, that’s when, in ’34, talkie movies started to be played. Now, during that time period, there were still quite a few silent movies coming out as well,” Creef said. “And in the mid-’30s, through the ’40s and ’50s, I mean, that was probably the golden age of movie theaters.”

Going to the theater was an exciting event, especially once air conditioning was introduced.

“A lot of big city theaters didn’t have air conditioning until the early ’70s,” he said, estimating that the Pioneer got air conditioning sometime in the early ’50s. “On a hot day, what a treat it would be for somebody … to watch something on the screen that they couldn’t do anywhere else in the world, and sit there in 75-degree air when it’s 95 degrees outside. I mean, (those were) just things that were not available in most people’s everyday life. I guess it still is somewhat today of an escape from reality.”

India Murray, who split her childhood between Nags Head and Manteo, loves the family-friendly environment of the theater.

“My favorite memories of the Pioneer have to be Manteo Elementary School field trips,” she said. “We would walk over and have our popcorn, around the worlds (a mixture of every soda) and a good time with our class.”

The theater, which sells tickets for $7 and concessions for $2, is an integral part of Roanoke Island culture, and the Outer Banks community as a whole.

“Many generations have literally grown up in the theater,” Creef said. “And each new generation has a similar but different story to tell. You know, first dates, favorite movies, whatever.”

In its 102-year history, the Pioneer has had more than its fair share of premieres, and there are two in particular that stand out to Creef.

“Andy Griffith, when he first came here in the late ’40s, early ’50s, to be in (the outdoor production) ‘The Lost Colony,’ basically became a part of the local community,” he said. “He was two years older than my dad … and he ended up getting a movie offer (for) ‘A Face in the Crowd.’ And if you’ve never seen it, it’s a pretty good watch, because it’s nothing like you’ve ever seen Andy Griffith do.

“By Andy’s request, we showed the movie as the East Coast premiere,” Creef said. “There’s a couple of pictures of Andy pretending like he’s putting the name of the movie up on the marquee at the theater.”

And when Tyler Nilson, a Colington native, called Creef to ask if he could have a private show of his new movie “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” the Pioneer hosted a screening for a handful of locals.

“They got it into the South by Southwest Film Festival, which is in Austin, Texas,” Creef said. While they didn’t win any critics’ awards, they did win the Audience Award.

“So (Los Angeles-based) Roadside Attractions picked it up and distributed it, and then we had it literally right after the official premiere,” Creef said. “So I literally screened that movie in a movie theater for the first time. I put it on the screen a year before the official premiere.”

When COVID-19 hit in March 2020, the Pioneer, like theaters across the country, was unable to show movies.

“We stayed open every night … from 6 to 8, just doing to-go concessions for all of our regular customers that, a lot of times, come after the movie starts, just to get popcorn or drinks to take home,” he said.

When the theater was able to screen films again, at the 30% restricted-capacity requirement that’s still in place, new content was few and far between.

“The handful of big movies that were already done and supposed to have been released this past spring and summer … they just had on hold,” Creef said of the production companies, “which I don’t blame them. Why put it out to limited houses and hope that you break even?”

“Due to COVID, Mr. Buddy couldn’t (put) any new movies in, so he showed older films,” Murray said. “I got to see ‘Jaws!’ The original! On the big screen! That was an awesome experience. ‘The Peanut Butter Falcon’ premiere was also a very heart-touching experience. My buddy, and the (director), Tyler Nilson was there and he gave us Manteo kids something to be proud of that night. He made us proud of being from small town Manteo.”

Creef was similarly proud.

“There were a lot of local people that didn’t get to see ‘Peanut Butter Falcon’ on the big screen the first time we had it, and just as a local homage, I brought that back the first week we were opening up in October (2020),” Creef said. Nilson ended up doing a Q&A, as he did the first time the Pioneer premiered the movie. “That project was a lot of fun being involved and kind of part of it and all that.”

Having grown up in the theater, Creef remembers two movies that have had a lifelong impact on him.

“First, the original 1975 ‘Jaws’… It instantly became like my favorite movie ever,” he said. “(And the one) that was just so revolutionary and nothing like it had ever been done before was the original ‘Star Wars.’ That was mind-blowing. And the fact that it is as popular, even more popular now than it was then, just tells you how revolutionary it was.”

Many businesses have closed since the COVID-19 pandemic began, but Creef believes that the value of the Pioneer is not purely monetary.

“For many years as a small-town, single-screen theater, the theater really has not been a profitable business that you would keep open if you depended on it for your livelihood,” he said. “Since my dad died in 2012, I’ve kind of carried on with the same mentality he had, as long as it … averages out to breaking even or a little bit better, it’s not only family tradition, it’s community tradition.”

“It’s a stitch that holds our little home together. It’s a big hug from the Creef family to all of us,” Murray said. “It will always feel like home.”

“It’s just a part of Roanoke Island and local life,” Creef said. “Many a child has been babysat there. You know, as a lot of parents always used to say, it’s the cheapest babysitter in town.”

He also pointed out another reason to keep the theater going.

“Movies are subjective, different people like different things,” Creef said. “It’s all about the popcorn because we have the best popcorn in the world, and it’d be a shame to deny people that.

“It’s just like cooking good barbecue or anything else. My secret ingredient is we just show it extra love,” he said. “And then when you put the crushed ice in the drink, that’s just the cherry on the sundae.”

Whether due to pirates, war or storms, the Outer Banks has a history of shipwrecks.

Ships have been running aground in the Graveyard of the Atlantic since 1526, and in October, Cape Hatteras National Seashore revealed last fall in a Facebook video post that the barrier islands’ shifting sands had once again uncovered the shipwreck of the George W. Wells on Ocracoke Island.

The Oct. 9, 2020, post showed the ship’s remains exposed by waves kicked up by distant Hurricane Teddy.

The George W. Wells sank in a 1913 hurricane, and was one of three shipwrecks, along with the Metropolis and what’s believed to be the G.A. Kohler, that were found after Teddy, a massive and powerful hurricane, churned up surf along the East Coast as it tracked east of Bermuda in September.

Jami Lanier, the national seashore’s cultural resource manager, told Coastal Review Online that field staff were always on the lookout for shipwrecks. When they find one, they report it to Lanier, who compares photos and location data to an existing database of wrecks.

“NPS will also report the wreck to the North Carolina Office of State Archeology — Underwater Archeology Branch (UAB) so that they can update their database with new information on existing wrecks or document new wrecks,” Lanier said. “Sometimes wrecks will have a state UAB tag from previous inventories, so staff will note the existence of a tag and this will be reported to the state.”

Shipwrecks offer tangible evidence of the past, and give national seashore officials important information about history.

“Shipwrecks … remind us of the role that oceangoing vessels played in previous centuries,” Lanier said. “As the shoreline erodes, new wrecks once buried in sand will be revealed. That same wreck may be covered again through natural processes. This illustrates the dynamic environment of the Atlantic barrier islands.”

The George W. Wells, the first six-masted schooner, embarked on its maiden voyage in 1900, 13 years before it ran aground.

“This shipwreck has been unearthed several times over the history out here on the Outer Banks,” Ranger Dave Kent said in the video. “It is likely that this wreck will be covered again with sand shortly only to reappear in a few years.”

The first recorded discovery was in 1991, followed by another appearance in 2004.

While these shipwrecks are found and investigated, they are not moved. “It is best to leave shipwreck remains in their marine environment,” Lanier said. “Once removed from that environment, they begin to deteriorate.” While fragments of the shipwreck can be conserved, they need funding and storage space. “Shipwrecks should be treated as tangible cultural resources on the seashore for the public to enjoy when they are visible.”

“These shipwrecks are part of the stories of our shorelines. They allow us to mark time as the storms do, but the seashore is always dynamic and will forever be changing,” Kent said in the video.

Joseph K. Schwarzer, director of the North Carolina Maritime Museums system, said the Outer Banks can be especially difficult to navigate.

“The constantly shifting shoals and the dynamic weather patterns constitute a significant threat to ships even today,” Schwarzer said. “These conditions, combined with human (and) navigational error, (and) warfare, have resulted in more than 2,000 shipwrecks off Hatteras and Ocracoke over the last 400 years.”

There are state maritime museums in Hatteras, Beaufort and Southport.

Schwarzer told Coastal Review Online that there are a variety of factors that have affected the ships sailing along the coast since the European discovery of the Americas.

“Traveling to and from the Americas, sailing ships took advantage of the Gulf Stream and Labrador currents, which flow north and south, respectively, up to 4 knots,” he said. “During the Age of Sail, lack of wind could strand a vessel for days and not only critically delay the voyage but endanger the crew.”

“Following the currents ensured the vessel would continue to move, albeit slowly, without wind and speed the journey if winds were favorable.” As a result, the waters off of North Carolina became a major trade and transportation route. “Due to constantly shifting and largely unchartable shoals and volatile weather conditions, (it was) one of the most dangerous places on earth for ships,” Schwarzer said.

Shipwrecks don’t only offer information about the coast during their time, but about the people and the culture as well.

“Shipwrecks are essentially time capsules,” Schwarzer said. “They are self-contained, cultural remains all deposited at one specific time and revealing evidence of interactive subsistence, communication, and conflict among and between diverse cultures. We often learn more about past cultures and events from shipwrecks than from traditional histories.”

Changing with the times

Schwarzer said the North Carolina Maritime Museums have evolved as the culture has changed. He said the museums are constantly exploring new aspects of state, national, and international maritime history that continue to have global influence.

“Much of the public is unaware of the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the toll in ships and lives, the unsolved mysteries, the role of coastal communities, the stories of disaster and heroism.”

Joseph K. Schwarzer, Director, North Carolina Maritime Museums

“The North Carolina coast and the Outer Banks in particular have been involved, directly and indirectly, in major national and world events and new discoveries corroborate and amend our understanding of these events,” he said.

Despite the Outer Banks’ abundance of history, maritime museum visitors are often surprised.

“The most frequent comments we receive from visitors are ‘I didn’t know about any of this!’ or ‘I had no idea all this happened here!’” Schwarzer said. “Much of the public is unaware of the Graveyard of the Atlantic, the toll in ships and lives, the unsolved mysteries, the role of coastal communities, the stories of disaster and heroism.”

“History is a chronicle of who we are as individuals, communities, nations and as a world,” Schwarzer said. “Whether we are researching personal genealogies or broader histories, we are on a journey of discovering who we are: our triumphs, failures, glories, horrors, brilliance, stupidity; it is all there — warts and all. The facts of history are stubborn things; they serve as guideposts revealing the very best and the very worst in human nature and endeavor. Knowledge and understanding of our shared past allows us to better choose our future.”

Briggs Cloutier, 16, and his sister Addie, 13, are on a mission to help the ocean’s wildlife through a new, online initiative.

The duo, who currently reside in Morehead City, credit their interest in marine conservation to their world travels.

“I was born in the United States, but due to my father’s work in international development I moved to Thailand when I was only 1,” Briggs said. “From there, we moved to a few other places. The island of Timor-Leste, Angola, and most recently Mozambique in southeast Africa.”

This time in Mozambique exposed Briggs to a variety of aquatic creatures he had never seen before.

“I was able to dive with a lot of marine megafauna such as whale sharks, manta rays, (and) humpback whales. I really was blown away by how amazing and beautiful these creatures were,” he said.

Addie cited the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe as an impactful travel destination.

“I went there when I was 7 and it was such a memorable experience. The most amazing thing about the trip was watching little baby sea turtles hatch, and helping them to the ocean really put the privilege of life into perspective,” she said.

Addie hopes that she will have many more travels in the future.

“I really want to travel to the Galapagos, it has the most exotic animals and nature. The main sea animal I would want to see the most would be sea lions because they are quite different from regular sea animals,” she said.

The brother-sister duo created a website, Sea NC, and a YouTube channel that are “dedicated to marine conservation and outreach.”

“My sister’s and my original goal in mind was to use our experience and talents to generate funds for marine conservation,” Briggs said. “My sister painted out some of the marine megafauna in the Mozambique oceans and I made short, documentary-style videos about them.”

“I (design) marine animals and ocean scenery with acrylic paint. I use photos from past experiences to help me create the shape and the color scheme,” she said of her work.

As far as the influence she wants her art to have, Addie hopes to impact people’s decisions. “Hopefully they can see the beauty in nature and animals through my paintings so they can make the right decisions that can help preserve our environment and habitats,” she said.

They put Addie’s artwork on T-shirts to sell at various events and raised more than $1,000 for the Marine Megafauna Foundation, an organization that works a lot in Mozambique, Briggs said. All the online proceeds from the shirts currently go towards the North Carolina Coastal Federation.

They were able to donate $250 to the North Carolina Coastal Federation in October and continue to give $22 a month to Ocean Conservancy, both of which work with residents to protect the ocean.

“We have recently moved back to North Carolina this past year and have changed our image to fit more with the North Carolinian theme,” Briggs said. But that hasn’t changed their core message.

“My sister has been hard at work painting different fish iconic to North Carolina,” he said. “I am now making short videos of different waterman-related activities that you can do across North Carolina. I visited Lake Mattamuskeet, fished for Spanish mackerel off of an island, and many other adventures that you can check out on our YouTube channel.”

While these experiences around the world did give them exciting opportunities, it also showed them how much conservation work is left to do.

“In Mozambique for example, there is a bad overfishing problem for exports,” Briggs said.

“Large boats will drag nets up and down the Mozambique coast not aware or even caring about what they are killing. Sometimes turtles, dolphins, and even rays get stuck in the nets,” he said. “Seeing this really stuck with me and made me care about marine conservation not only in Mozambique but across the globe where similar problems are occurring.”

According to Conservation Travel Africa, the country of Mozambique, which has one of the largest concentrations of Africa’s whale sharks, has marine conservation laws in place, but they’re not always enforced.

A recent report from Oceana, an international organization focused solely on oceans, showed that “nearly 1,800 animals from 40 different species swallowing or becoming entangled in plastic since 2009.” Additionally, 88% of those 1,800 were considered endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act.

Briggs hopes that their work will inform people and move them to act on their own.

“I hope that they learn something new,” he said. “I hope (my videos showing different North Carolina marine-related activities) inspire people to go out there and try it out for themselves. I also hope they learn something new about marine conservation, a problem that is sometimes overlooked, through my short documentary videos on marine animals.”

In all of the creatures Briggs has seen, he does have a favorite.

“Eagle rays are my personal favorite because they are quite unique to any other type of ray,” he said. While most rays have a flat back and two lobes in front that allow them to feed, the eagle ray is different. “(It) has a beautiful set of almost leopard-like spots on its back and their head structure almost looks human-like … they are so cool to me.”

“My favorite marine animals are sea turtles, manta rays and humpback whales,” Addie said. “They are my favorite because they are majestic and very friendly in the water. I have also had amazing experiences with them.”

Both Addie and Briggs look forward to the future of conservation, and hope that people understand their own impact.

“My hopes for conservation in the future is to have a steady plan on how much we … consume,” she said. “For example: pollution. We should hope to have more things that can replace the things that are destroying our oceans and environment.”

“I want (humans) to be more aware of conservation issues and not just talk about them or post on social media about them,” Briggs said. “I want us to get out there and make a difference ourselves.”

“The heat of autumn

 is different from the heat of summer

One ripens apples, the other turns them to cider.”

“The Heat of Autumn” by Jane Hirshfield.

As summer gave way to fall, families on the Outer Banks traded beach towels for cardigans and pails for pumpkins.

With the influx of visitors continuing well into autumn, Outer Banks parks are in the midst of a record-breaking season, according to a Nov. 18 announcement from the National Park Service.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore had its second-busiest October on record with 259,618 visits last month, up almost 40% compared to October 2019. Fort Raleigh National Historic Site and Wright Brothers National Memorial also saw a large number of visitors, especially Fort Raleigh, which had a recorded 19,779 visits, the third-busiest October at the park.

Jamie Pittman, one of the owners of Moyock Farm Market, was as ready as anyone for fall this year.

“Working outside during the hot summer months always makes us grateful for the cooler days of the fall season,” Pittman said.

Moyock Farm Market opened in 2017 to provide the community with fresh local produce from area farmers. At the market, visitors will find products from area vendors such as Pale Horse Coffee, Heavenly Kettle Corn and Newsoms Peanut Shop.

“I absolutely love fresh apple cider,” Pittman said, adding “I always look forward to the pumpkins. We offer a wide variety of heirloom pumpkins that always make the market look super festive.”

In addition to providing local produce, Moyock Farm Market is intent on providing all customers with care and a positive experience.

“(We’re) making sure the experiences our customers have here are memorable enough for them to want to keep coming back,” Pittman said. “This is what it is all about.”

However, Pittman doesn’t want the enjoyable experiences to end with Moyock Farm Market.

In addition to a car load of products, Pittman said she hopes that customers leave the Farm Market feeling appreciated.

“I really hope that when customers leave the market they look back on the experience here with a sense of community and belonging,” Pittman said.  “I sincerely hope that we have a positive effect on every customer that makes the choice to shop with us.”

At the other end of the Outer Banks, on Roanoke Island, Island Farm transports visitors back to the 1800s as soon as they step foot inside.

Ann Daisey, site manager at Island Farm, also was looking forward to the cooler weather.

“We have no AC at the farm and we are truly outside every day,” she said. “Feeling the cool air puts a smile on my face.”

Fall on the Outer Banks is unlike any other part of North Carolina, and Daisey said she is a fan of the details.

“I studied meteorology and I love to see … how the weather changes the nature around us,” Daisey said. Cooler, crisper skies and yellow wildflowers are just a few of her favorite things. “I have a thing for goldenrod. And (I love) to see the fall crops being planted!”

Island Farm, which stands at about 10 acres, can be traced back to the 1700s, when the Etheridge family were subsistence farmers and fishermen. It is owned and operated today by the Outer Banks Conservationists, or OBC, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

“An Etheridge had always owned the farmhouse on this site until the 1980s when it was sold to a developer,” Daisey said. “Etheridge descendants did not want to see that happen to this special place, so they worked to convince the developer to sell the property back to them.”

It was after this that the Etheridge descendants donated the heart of the farm, including the farmhouse to the OBC, Daisey said.

“The reproduction out buildings were thoroughly researched to mimic those the Etheridges would have had on the farm in the 1800s,” she said. “You can see the same livestock the Etheridge family owned, the same crops they grew and the same homeplace they once lived in.”

This home place happens to be one of the oldest buildings on Roanoke Island.

There’s even a Live oak tree that is nearly 500 years old.

“That was most likely alive when the English colonists began settling this area,” Daisey said. “Truly a tree worth hugging.”

In addition to the nature and Etheridge family home, Island Farm offers many events for visitors.

“Activities such as the corn husk doll making or learning how wool from our sheep makes its long and tedious way to yarn … help educate,” Daisey said. “How often can you say you pet a descendant of the Spanish Mustangs and formerly wild horses?”

Daisey said that in addition to their regular programming at the farm, there are special events such as the annual Pumpkin Patch in October. This year, the farm took extra precautions to make it as safe as possible.

“To better help reduce the risk of possible transmission,” Daisey said, “visitor check-in has moved to the front porch of the visitor center outside. No prepurchased tickets or reservations are required and each activity at the farm is spread out over about 4 acres to keep social distancing a bit easier to achieve.”

Visitors could pick their favorite pumpkin from the patch, make a traditional candle, learn how to weave and eat some popcorn during the annual Pumpkin Patch.

“It truly is fun for all ages,” Daisey said. In November, the farm offered the Draped in Black program, “A special nighttime tour of the farm and a glimpse of how Victorian families grieved a passing family member.”

Island Farm is intent on offering programs that are directly connected to a sense of place, as well as the history of the farm and traditional practices and craft.

“We farm sustainably and do so by implementing practices that were used here at the farm in the 1800s,” Daisey said. Blacksmithing, weaving and food preparation are some of the events visitors may see at the farm.

“This summer we hosted a local fermenter and held workshops on how to ferment food,” Daisey said. “This was a practice that was used historically because there was no electricity and modern way to store their food. Every workshop sold out.” Earlier this month there were classes on sourdough bread making and blacksmithing.

Daisey said she hopes that by spending time at Island Farm, visitors come away feeling lighter. “(I hope there’s) a better understanding of the importance that history plays in our lives and what this community was created from … It truly is amazing that this treasure (of Island Farm) still exists on Roanoke Island.”

Amy Denson, a resident of Kitty Hawk, has enjoyed visiting Island Farm over the years.

“Making candles, playing old-timey games, hot cider and cookies, hay rides – sometimes pulled by a bull – and the pumpkin patch (are my favorite things to do),” she said. “We’re ready to slow down, have dinners together, and do the simple things relieve anxiety and fill us with joy.”

This year, Denson and her family made some changes to their fall plans.

“We’re spending a lot of time with the kids at smaller community playgrounds,” she said. “We love being outside in autumn, whatever that looks like.”

This year, that includes travelling to places they’ve never been. “We’re planning to take a family camping trip at the KOA in Williamsburg,” Denson said.

“We’ve never taken our kids to a campground before, so we’re excited to get away from our home office (and) classroom and be together in nature.”

Families who feel safer doing fun activities at home still have plenty of options.

“Our family loves making mulled apple cider,” she said, which they incorporate into their Halloween celebration.

Activities around the Outer Banks, while they educate, also connect the Outer Banks community with the past.

“Of course everything changes,” Daisey said, “but it’s important to remember a part of ‘what was’ to understand your community, your surroundings and to be a better steward of these historical and natural things.”

How much evil is society willing to tolerate in exchange for a good quality of life?

That’s a question that screenwriter David Dean’s independent full-length feature film “Ocracoke” tackles. “Ocracoke” focuses on Thomas White, a 160-year-old vampire who shipwrecked off the titular island’s coast on his voyage to the United States from England.

“It’s a new take on the classic vampire horror genre,” Dean said. “(White) made it to the shore, made a home here and just took over the town as kind of a benevolent despot … Then a detective comes to the island for a visit. And it happens to coincide with a bunch of other goings-on that turn this vampire’s world upside down.”

Dean, who’s been visiting the Outer Banks with his family for nearly 20 years, began writing the screenplay in 2014. “I just fell in love with the place and I always thought it would be a great setting for a movie.”

After COVID-19 hit, Dean attended an industry night in his hometown of Wilmington to see what was happening with the local film industry.

“I happened to meet Bea Noguera and her partner, Matt Cline, (who) run a production company,” he said. “I said ‘If you ever want to do an indie flick,’ and they said, ‘Well, we’re not doing anything else during a pandemic.’”

They put out a casting call and were surprised at the response. “What we found out was that there was a plethora of actors in the area who literally had nothing to do,” he said.

Pallavi Ram, who currently lives in Cary, was especially excited to be cast in the project.

“What drew me in was firstly the script and secondly (my character) Ilona,” Ram said. “I have always loved watching vampire movies, like ‘Twilight,’ ‘Supernatural’, etcetera. So getting to debut in one was incredible.”

Ram describes Ilona as a gypsy by heart. “(She’s) a young, free-spirited, Middle Eastern girl who is trying to find herself,” she said. “Her fearlessness is seen every time she faces Thomas White, and this is commendable. She represents the strong, independent woman.”

Ram also felt a physical connection to Ilona. “I instantly got excited to play her part as I somewhat felt the character was written having me in mind,” she said. “I felt I have a lot of physical similarities with Ilona’s character: she is described as someone ethnic, with long black hair, who came to the U.S. from overseas.”

In addition to her personality, Ram admires Ilona’s sense of agency. “Ilona has a sense of adventure and independence,” she said. “She says ‘yes’ to opportunities, and that is how she landed on Ocracoke. She did not let her family drama affect her but instead decided to make the best out of life.”

It wasn’t until the crew landed on Ocracoke themselves that Dean realized how much of an effect 2019’s Hurricane Dorian continues to have on the community. “People were so excited that anyone was interested in shining a spotlight on the island,” Dean said. “We actually have a Kickstarter campaign going to fund our ability to finish the film. We have enough money to do about a third of it right now. And then we have to raise funding to do the other two-thirds.”

The film features a team entirely from the Tarheel State. “It is a North Carolina production,” Dean said. “North Carolina has been my home since 2000. I just feel very blessed to have all the things that North Carolina has to offer.”

When Dean’s friend from another state offered him incentives to film elsewhere, he declined.

“If you’re making a film about Ocracoke, you’ve got to have it in Ocracoke,” he said. “And the pride that the actors who grew up here (and) live here have in making an independent film in their home state, it’s infectious … you know, that’s a bad term with COVID but everyone’s super pumped.”

“The purpose of getting all the crew from North Carolina is to promote the film industry back here, and to encourage local talents,” Ram said. “The camaraderie, I feel, would have been there anyways … because of how David Dean and Bea Nogeura handled everyone and made the shooting and being on set more fun.”

Those connections helped Ram during long — and cold — days.

“Everyone was incredibly helpful and friendly. Snacks, coffee, food were provided to make the whole cast and crew more comfortable,” Ram said. That way, she could focus on her character. “Knowing the context and what the character is feeling in that moment (of filming) and few minutes before that moment is crucial for me to get into character.”

After this film debuts, Dean plans on returning in the spring to film a documentary about the Ocracoke community. “I just find it fascinating that they could just move,” he said. “But they’re sticking it out. And they’re fighting. And it’s just a story of resilience. So we want to finish this project (and) use what publicity we can get from it to drive interest in the island.”

“A lot of people look to our country as being fractured right now,” Dean said. “And there’s a lot of people, look at our cast and crew, they could have sat through COVID, and just waited for it to be over … But they made a conscious decision to just get the job done.”

He sees this perseverance in the Ocracoke community. “I think we can use Ocracoke as a model for the rest of the United States,” he said. “Bad things happen that are out of our control, but you can’t just sit back and hope it gets fixed … And I think that it’s something that we don’t see a lot of places in this country right now.”

“It was heartbreaking to see on the news the effect Hurricane Dorian had on the island,” Ram said. “Seeing how the locals cleaned up, are back in business and welcoming visitors indeed show what a buoyant community they are. They fought back and had their community up and running and that is praiseworthy.”

Originally from the island of Mauritius, Ram understands the value of a close community. “It is one of the reasons why I joined this project. I come from a small island and I understand what it means to live in a small tightknit community,” she said. “While shooting, a resident lady … offered us her place to stay in case we needed it. This shows the warmth of the locals and I fell in love even more with the island.”

To be able to film, director Bea Noguera completed a certificate course on filming during the COVID era. But there were other precautions from the Centers for Disease Control they had to follow as well. “A lot of hand sanitizer, a lot of cleaning,” Dean said. “Masks are a prerequisite. We have a thermometer that is at people’s foreheads on set to make sure they don’t have a fever.”

The filming process itself changed too. Scenes with multiple players kept off-screen actors outside, socially distanced, until they were needed. “When they’re ready, they come in and the other people leave,” Dean said. “So it’s taken a little bit longer than most shoots have. But I think it’ll be worth it, you know? And it’s better to be safe than sorry with COVID. We don’t want our cast to catch it. We certainly don’t want anyone on Ocracoke to catch it. So we’re doing everything we can to keep everyone safe.”

“I hope that this is a hit. I hope that people see it, and they want to visit the sets,” Dean said. He hopes that filming at Howard’s Pub and Castle Bed and Breakfast will increase their traffic. “I just want these people to just look back at the film and go, ‘Okay, these guys made this film, it helped us rebuild our community, and we’re thankful for it.’”

Dean also wants to scare people. “It’s going to be a very, very scary film. We’re doing some unique things with the concept of vampire and vampire-ism … we’re evolving the concept of vampire movies,” he said. “I (also want) to get people thinking about … when is it time to stand up for what you believe in, and what are those beliefs?”

The contrast between evil and a comfortable quality of life wasn’t purely political, Dean said. “You see a lot of people out there who it’s all money, money, money,” he said. “Everyone has a right to be very successful, and everyone has a right to make money and to have nice things … as long as you’re not taking advantage of other people.”

“People turning a blind eye on issues, unfortunately, is what we can see on an everyday basis all around us,” Ram said. “So, this movie depicts this very idea and it’s what I hope people take from it. How each and every one of us interpret it is based on our own perspective and walks of life.”

“There’s a John Cougar Mellencamp song that says ‘You got to stand for something or you’re going to fall for anything,’” Dean said. “I just wanted this to be a fun, enjoyable ride of a film that makes people think afterwards. I’m not trying to shove anything down anyone’s throat. But if they walk away from it going, ‘Oh, that’s interesting. I should think about that.’ Yeah, that’ll be cool.”

Follow the movie production on Instagram, @ocracokethemovie and Facebook, @ocracokevampire.

CAPE HATTERAS — The Outer Banks has a strong connection with North Carolina birds.

Wild ducks stop on their Atlantic Flyway from the Arctic to the tropics, and the town names of Duck and Kitty Hawk bring their namesakes to mind. With the ocean, the sound and the woods, there are a variety of environments that nearly 400 different kinds of birds the Outer Banks call home.

In the 1800s, many birds were considered valuable because of their plumage, meat or eggs. While these birds are protected by laws and are no longer hunted for profit today, they are still subject to predators, storms, and disturbance from humans.

In response to these dangers, staff members at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore have made it their mission to protect the wildlife they find. Sometimes that means regulating walking and driving on the beach, or closing parts of the beach entirely.

“When shorebirds show signs of nesting, small areas of beach — 100-200 yards — are closed to public entry to reduce disturbances and to prevent direct impacts to eggs and chicks,” said Meaghan Johnson, deputy chief of resource management and science at the national seashore. “While these closed areas are important to facilitate successful wildlife nesting, the large majority of beaches remain open to the public during nesting season.”

Every morning, seashore staff check on these closures, which consist of posts, string and signs, to ensure that they successfully “provide undisturbed habitat needed by breeding birds to successfully nest and raise their young,” according to the National Park Service. Taking care of nests in this way requires a great deal of care and dedication.

“Intensive monitoring, using binoculars and spotting scopes, is designed to ensure protection of developing chicks that may be highly mobile and require daily adjustments to protection areas,” Johnson said. “Monitoring and management of nesting wildlife occurs seven days a week, so … different trained individuals may take shifts as they monitor nesting progress.”

Among the protected birds are the American oystercatcher and the piping plover. The oystercatcher is a loud, large bird with dark brown and white plumage and an orange bill, while the plover is smaller and more soft-spoken. Its pale buff color serves as camouflage, helping it blend in with the sand.

“For some species, such as piping plover, more intensive monitoring may occur once chicks are present and if the chicks are using habitat close to visitor activity,” said Johnson.

The population of these two species at the national seashore declined in the late 1990s and early 2000s, according to the American Ornithological Society Committee on Science Arbitration, or AOS. While the plover population has since increased, the oystercatcher is still recovering. A recent report from the AOS shows the extent that beach closures benefit nesting birds.

Despite the global pandemic affecting life on the Outer Banks this summer, the national seashore has not cut back on any of its wildlife care. “There have been no changes this year to shorebird monitoring and resource protection areas compared to previous years,” Johnson said.

The shorebird nesting season is currently wrapping up, which means that national seashore staff will analyze the nesting data for their shorebird annual report. Initial estimates of these nesting numbers are similar to previous years, Johnson said.

The annual report, the Resource Management Field Summary, is updated weekly between mid-April and the end of sea turtle nesting season in August. As of Thursday, 43 American oystercatcher nests, six piping plover nests and 413 colonial waterbird nests have been found across the Outer Banks this year.

There is a sense of accomplishment when the hard work pays off.

“Any time we have a bird leave its nest, or fledge, there is great excitement and pride among our staff that have spent countless hours protecting and monitoring these important shorebirds at the seashore,” Johnson said.

While the staff has been working to take care of the birds that live on the island, new and unusual birds have had the opportunity to find their way to the Outer Banks this summer.

A white-winged tern was spotted on the national seashore, near Ramp 44 in Buxton, in June. The only other time that the small European bird has been seen in North Carolina was in August 1994 near Bodie Island Lighthouse.

Bodie Island Lighthouse also attracted another rare species. On July 13, the national seashore reported that a sandhill crane had stopped by the lighthouse.

“These birds migrate from Florida and Texas to the western United States and are typically not seen in this area,” according to a Facebook post from the park. “Sandhill Cranes are one of the largest cranes in North America….They stand between three and four feet tall with a wingspan of more than six feet!”

The beach is not the only place that visitors can find birds. The nature at Elizabethan Gardens in Manteo attracts nearly 175 different species of birds every year. This summer was no different.

“The birds were feeling exceptionally at home while the garden was closed to the public,” said Dan Hossack, gardens manager.

From bald eagles and osprey to a great blue heron and screech owl, the gardens have been populated throughout the spring and summer this year.

“The new children’s garden is usually full of curious kids and their associated noises,” he said. “Without their presence, the great blue thought it was a peaceful place to rest and have a bite to eat.”

At this point in the summer, staff at the gardens are already looking forward. “We are preparing to clean our birdhouses this winter to help attract some of the diversity that we come to expect in this type of woodland and open forest setting,” Hossack said. “Our summer is usually fairly predictable with who comes and goes from the grounds.”

Each day, the gardens can expect to see familiar birds such as cardinals, jays, nuthatch, Carolina wren, chickadee, and ruby-throated hummingbirds. Staff at the gardens strive to mimic and enable natural cycles to provide the birds with a natural environment and keep them comfortable.

“The seasonality of fruit that our birds can depend on is a more reliable network than feeders and human intervention,” Hossack said. “We carefully manage our trees, shrubs, and perennials that provide nutriment for our local birds and that is what keeps our bird population in good stead.”

Summer on the Outer Banks is in full swing. Even in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, Netflix’s hit show “Outer Banks” and Forbes’ listing the OBX as number one in the “20 Top Places Americans Are Dreaming About Right Now” have put the barrier islands on the global radar.

Lee Nettles, executive director of the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, said that according to the bureau’s website traffic, the Outer Banks are drawing people from areas with higher rates of the virus. These numbers show that the Outer Banks may be perceived as a “safer vacation option,” he said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s  COVID Data Tracker shows that there are higher rates of total coronavirus cases in places like New York, New Jersey, Florida and Georgia states from which the CDC’s website shows Outer Banks visitors may be traveling.

This correlation “suggests people who live in those markets want to get out of those markets for vacation,” Nettles said. Other visitors to the Outer Banks this summer come from Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

In response to the virus, the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau created the Outer Banks Tourism Pledge, which encourages everyone to “Be Safe. Be Smart. Have Fun.” More than 100 businesses have promised to take specific steps that will best keep their employees and customers safe. Website users can click on the listings to see those steps.

The pledge also encourages visitors to do their part to keep the Outer Banks safe. “It takes everybody, not just locals,” Nettles told Coastal Review Online.

The way in which businesses have been handling the county’s mask mandate varies. In Nags Head, Morning View Coffee House & Roastery is serving customers at the door, while SeaGreen Gallery still allows customers inside as long as they follow the guidelines.

Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books in Duck rerouted their foot traffic, as well as put markings on the floor to help customers know where they should go. They have stationed an employee at the door to make sure that there are only six customers inside at any given time.

“People have absolutely been responding positively to the changes,” said Allen Lehew, owner of Duck’s Cottage. They have encouraged larger families to send one person inside to order for everyone, so while their “transactions are down, (their) dollars are up.”

Currituck County Travel and Tourism Director Tameron Kugler at the county visitor center in Moyock told Coastal Review Online that the county-operated Whalehead Club in Corolla is operating directly under Currituck County’s mandates as well as the state’s.

While the tourism bureau’s administration buildings remained closed to the public, services such as county permits for four-wheel-drive beach parking are being sold outside with protection and social distancing measures in place. Officials ask that face masks be worn.

The Whalehead Club has protocols for disinfecting, once it’s allowed to reopen, and while the tourism staff say they miss their interaction with visitors, Kugler said that they “need to make sure everyone is safe.”

Visitors appear to be taking these new measures in stride. Laura Hobson from Mechanicsville, Virginia, is staying with a friend who lives in Colington.

“I’m kind of on the fence with (wearing a mask) but I understand it and it is for everybody’s protection,” she said. “If you want me to wear it, I’m going to wear it.”

“I’m kind of on the fence with (wearing a mask) but I understand it and it is for everybody’s protection.”

Laura Hobson, Outer Banks vacationer

Hobson said she has been limiting the times that she goes to the grocery store.

“We try and go during the least-busy times. (We use) lots of Clorox wipes, lots of hand sanitizer,” she said. “It’s pretty normal for us anyway to do a lot of hand washing.”

Another visitor, Mary from Chesapeake, Virginia, said she has been coming to the Outer Banks every year since she was a child.

“(I’m using) tons of hand sanitizer and hand washing,” she said. “I keep my wipes with me everywhere I go, so just a lot of practices of being clean, not touching my face with my hands, just the basic stuff that they recommend.”

She said she had noticed the changes that businesses have made and the measures that they have taken.

“My coffee shop (is different) – you can’t go inside. Masks or no masks, you’ve got to order outside,” she said. “I went into Owen’s (Restaurant) the other night and there was no wait. It was dead. I’m not used to that but it was nice to not have to wait, but sad for the businesses.”

There is a personal reason that Mary wears her mask.

“I’m torn (about the mask mandates) but you know, if they say it’s protecting someone else – my father’s 89 – I would want to protect the elderly,” she said. “If this is doing my part I’m fine with it.”

Kelly Nettnin, communications specialist at the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services, told Coastal Review Online that although, based on observation, it seems more people are wearing masks per Gov. Roy Cooper’s mandate announced June 24, the county office has been getting complaints about individuals not wearing masks.

Those not wearing masks are both Outer Banks residents and visitors alike.

“This is so important to stress as on social media there is a lot of finger-pointing to visitors not complying,” Nettnin said.

Also, contact tracing is made more difficult when individuals do not give accurate information regarding other individuals with whom they have been in close contact.

“The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact has been a significant one. It has been difficult and created hardships on many different levels for so many different people,” she said. “There isn’t a handbook on how to respond to COVID-19, and our response in Dare County can only be as good as the information we receive and the amount of individuals that are following the recommendations.”

She said that it can be disheartening to hear of people who do not comply with the recommendations, or who refuse to cooperate with contact tracing.

“What I try to remember is there are a lot of unknowns and people are scared, and when people are scared, they may act out of character.”

In some circumstances, Nettnin said, “police are giving citations if citizens are not complying with the mask mandate.” It is important to note that citations are not given to individuals “who cannot comply due to age, disability or health issue.”

She encourages people to follow the Three Ws and wear their masks, wash their hands, and wait 6 feet apart.

“The most important thing people can do to protect themselves and their loved ones is to follow the Three Ws and not attend mass gatherings of more than 10 individuals indoors and more than 25 outdoors.”

Plans for the school year

Businesses are not alone in taking new measures against the virus. Schools in Dare and Currituck counties are also figuring out how to operate under the new guidelines, looking towards the fall.

On July 14, Gov. Cooper announced that schools will be operating under an updated Plan B that provides safety protocols for children who come to school in person. It also gives school districts the opportunity to provide remote learning for children who prefer it. Complete remote learning will be an option for any school district who chooses it.

Currituck County Assistant Superintendent Secondary Instruction Renee Dowdy said that school officials are “anxiously optimistic” and are cautiously moving forward. Both parents and teachers are concerned, but everyone’s main focus is to provide that “hugely important education” while following Cooper’s guidance.

Dare County Schools Digital Communications and Secondary School Director Keith Parker explained that Superintendent John Farrelly, the senior leadership team and school administrators have spent the past month working on procedures for this fall to fit all three plans that the governor’s office developed.

Hybrids of the state Department of Public Instruction’s Plan B were presented to the Dare County Board of Education during its special meeting Monday.

During the meeting, the board adopted a plan that calls for remote learning until the end of the first quarter of the school year, Oct 23, with a decision to be made at that time on whether to begin in-person instruction.

“These hybrid choices were created to best meet the needs of students, take into account feedback from (Dare County Schools) staff and parents/guardians, and feasibility within DCS, and state regulations,” Parker said in an email Sunday.

School officials said during the meeting Monday that their concerns included maintaining staffing once schools reopen.

“We are concerned about a higher need for substitutes with less substitute availability,” Farrelly told the school board Monday.

Two options have been added to incorporate Plan C, or remote learning only, based on the state guidelines should the district choose to go that route.

“Providing safe, healthy, and effective instructional program options that meet state requirements is our top priority,” Parker said.

Coastal Review Online staff contributed to this report.

North Carolina has a substantial history in entertainment. From “Dirty Dancing” to “One Tree Hill” to “Iron Man 3,” there have been many projects either set or filmed in the Tarheel State. It was only a matter of time before the history of pirates and buried treasure drew Hollywood to North Carolina’s barrier islands.

“At first, I was very skeptical,” said 22-year-old Jaidee Elliot, a Manteo native with a family tree dating back to the 1650s. “(The Outer Banks) has such a special feeling to it, almost as a serene haven where you feel rejuvenated and you feel free.”

Suzanne Harrison, a 19-year-old resident of Duck, was also curious.

“I had a lot of different questions about the format of the show, but had no expectations,” she said recently.

Set in the fictional OBX town of Pelican, North Carolina, “Outer Banks” follows protagonist John B., played by Chase Stokes, and his tight-knit group of friends as they discover that his missing father may be connected with a legend of buried gold.

Many Outer Banks locals voiced their concern when Netflix first announced the show, and it went viral shortly after its premiere for a misunderstanding that made it look like two characters took a ferry from the Outer Banks to Chapel Hill.

“I did not react well to the first few episodes to be very honest,” Harrison said. “As I continued however, I really began to enjoy the show. I thought the storyline was incredible and thought-provoking. It also provided a sense of escapism during quarantine.”

“As I got about three episodes in,” Elliot said, “I started to get really interested in the storyline, and now I really love the show and have been telling others to watch it as well … (I’m) already anticipating the next season.”

One of the series’ hallmark details is the feud between the working class Pogues and the wealthy Kooks. Perhaps the biggest contrast is between poor kid JJ Maybank, played by Rudy Pankow, and rich Rafe Cameron, played by western North Carolina native Drew Starkey.

“Once we all started to dig into the script, I realized (Rafe) gave me a chance to challenge myself and have fun while doing it,” Starkey, 26, said in an interview. “The possibilities and choices I could make were pretty endless … On top of that, we got to work with a lot of cast and crew from North Carolina. I felt like I hit the lottery getting to work with people who shared some of the same life experiences as me.”

While Pankow was not raised on the East Coast, the fishing, boating and ocean adventures from his life in Alaska added a great deal to his interpretation of JJ. But there’s something more meaningful about JJ that Pankow admires.

“My favorite thing about JJ is his overall awareness as a person … the place of love and care he layers under everything else,” the 21-year-old told Coastal Review Online.

At first glance, “Outer Banks” has the average teenage stereotypes: the tough guy, the tomboy, the bully. However, these characters become anything but one-dimensional as the show progresses.

“The show is very aware of the stereotypes that were in place but then left it very open to genuine interpretation of how each character (or) actor would deal with the conflict,” Pankow said.

“Those traditional teen stereotypes never represent what teenagers are actually experiencing in their relationships,” Starkey said. “Our goal from day one was to be truthful.”

This struck a chord with many viewers.

“The show did a great job on giving a backstory for each main character,” Elliot said. “At the end of the day, when you take away the stereotypes, it’s easy to see how similar everyone is.”

“I think they show that there are reasons behind their actions,” Harrison said. “The popular girl feels insecure; the tough guy is trying to protect himself.”

“(My characters) teach me a lot about myself and shine a light on parts of myself that I didn’t know existed,” Pankow said. “Something that JJ taught me was when you relax in your decision making, usually it turns out to be the best decision.”

“I’m different than Rafe in almost every way possible,” Starkey said. “That being said, he’s very motivated by his circumstances. I do share that quality with him.”

Although “Outer Banks” features a dramatized version of class differences, it does speak to the reality of many families here.

“If I had to label myself in terms of the show, I would be a Pogue,” Elliot said. “I lived in a one-bedroom apartment over a garage, (wearing cheap) clothing … eating cheap and really unhealthy food, and jumping to and from my grandmother’s house. My mom worked her butt off just to make sure we had groceries …The show really captures that sort of idea. It’s a real thing, and it is stressful.”

As the show progress, viewers see that the show focuses on much more than treasure or adventure. Characters deal with identity and manipulation. JJ lives in an abusive home, while Rafe is addicted to hard drugs, issues that are both prevalent among young people today.

“I actually do know people who are going through some of these hardships,” Starkey said. “The show hopefully succeeds in letting them know that they’re not going through it alone. That other people are facing the same challenges, and that it’s okay to struggle.”

This idea of community and standing by the people you love left viewers, and the actors, examining their definitions of family.

“I’ve personally believed that family … can be something you agree upon,” Pankow said. “And I think in JJ’s case his (abusive) father is still technically his family, but it’s JJ’s choice to look for a family who will treat him as such.”

“I think I’ve always seen family as the people in your life that are there no matter what,” Harrison said. “Through the show, we see that sometimes the family we choose is there for us more than the family we don’t.”

“When you find those people in your life, it makes the harder times a lot easier to bear,” Elliot said. “It makes the good times seem more special than they would’ve been if you had been by yourself.”

It makes sense that a show about magic within the ordinary, of deep friendships and treasure hiding beneath our feet, appeals to the generation who grew up on “Harry Potter” and Disney magic.

“It makes viewers feel like anything is possible,” Harrison said. “You don’t have to travel to far-off places in order to find fantasy. There can be a sense of fantasy within your life that I think viewers find both comforting and inspiring.”

Starkey agreed. “A huge part of being a teenager is how much you’re willing to explore the world around you,” he said. “The show follows a group of teenagers who give in to their imaginations, and I think the further you lean in to that world, the more you discover about yourself.”

Looking forward, the actors have particular hopes for their characters after Season 1 left them scattered.

“As an actor I want the Pogues to struggle to find that new dynamic,” Pankow said. “As JJ, I want him to find a new way to cope with everything he’s discovering with himself and his father — like maybe getting a dog.”

“The direction the writers can take Rafe is really open-ended,” Starkey said, “so whatever role he is meant to play in the narrative, I’ll follow. I don’t really have much of an interest in making Rafe a redeemable or heroic character; I just want people to understand why he makes the choices he does.”

The show emphasizes the power of choice and agency that we have in our own lives, and reminds viewers that they are more than their circumstances. “It is our choices that make us who we are,” Pankow said. “(You can) rise above previous choices that you have made or you have been exposed to.”

With millions of fans across the world recreating scenes and dressing up as their favorite characters, it’s apparent that “Outer Banks” tapped into something special.

“There is such a spirit of innocence during the summer after spending the whole day at the beach with your friends,” Harrison said.

Elliot agreed. “I can fully say that the teenage angst of … being crazy and stupid with your friends because it feels like you got nothing to lose was definitely the most fun and lively part of my life,” she said.

This is the fourth installment in a continuing series on climate change and the North Carolina coast that is part of the Pulitzer Center’s nationwide Connected Coastlines reporting initiative.

Nearly every year on the Outer Banks brings a new hurricane, storms that wipe out parts of the beach road and flood homes, destroying years’ worth of memories in a single night — experiences that have shaped the perspectives young people on the Outer Banks have on climate science.

“I do believe in sea-level rise,” said Brady Creef, 21, and a rising senior at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.

With a mother serving as a county executive and a father who is a commercial fisherman, Creef’s family knows the effects of coastal storms all too well.

“During Hurricane Irene I remember the Albemarle Sound at the end of my street had receded almost a mile out. When the storm surge returned, I remember hearing the water roaring through the marsh outside my house and the water rising to almost 10 feet above sea level.”

Karen Perez, 20, a native of Ocracoke, has seen the way that storms have affected her island.

“The strip of highway on Ocracoke is surrounded by ocean and sound water on both sides, and every year the roads feel narrower as the beach is making its way further back onto the road,” she said. “Over the years and with the help of hurricanes there is no longer sand in between the parking lot (of the ferry terminal) and (the) water.”

In 2010, the North Carolina Coastal Resources Commission’s Science Panel on Coastal Hazards released a report finding that sea levels could rise up to 39 inches by 2100. This kind of change would wipe out a great deal of the coast, from homes and businesses to wildlife habitats. In 2012, House Bill 819 passed, which prevented the use of this climate change report in legislation.

Allissa Halker, 21, who was raised in Kill Devil Hills and is a field research assistant for Alternative Cropping Production Systems at North Carolina State University, said she wishes that the government would have handled climate change differently in the past and that they would approach it differently now.

“They will probably handle it poorly in the future if we don’t get out there and vote in people who actually care about the future of our climate,” she said. “Although it might not directly affect your generation, it’s still important to consider how these changes in climate will affect future generations, and we need to be prepared for them — and for us.”

In December 2019, Amnesty International’s Future of Humanity survey of more than 10,000 young adults aged 18-25 across 22 countries found that 41% of respondents see global warming as the most pressing issue facing the current world. However, instead of just silently accepting the way things are, many young people are making their voices heard.

“Recent changes under the Trump administration have rolled back several protections and programs that have been in place for years,” Creef said. Throughout his academic career, Creef has had a passion for government. He has been involved with student government at both UNC and at First Flight High School in Kill Devil Hills.

“We are actively going backward simply because politicians and certain people do not care about, or in some cases deny, science,” he said. “I would want to tell (policy makers) to listen to the experts and for once, it is okay to realize that you do not know all the answers.”

Growing up on Ocracoke, Perez has become keenly aware of climate change and seen the specific ways in which it has impacted the people who live on the island.

“I think that the government, federally speaking, has not really done a good job on enforcing action on this problem,” she said. “Unfortunately, I think it is because they don’t see it as a problem.”

Lupita Martinez, 20, of Ocracoke and a rising senior at Elizabeth City State University, believes that despite agreement on government inaction, those in charge are still doing some things right.

“I think the government has done a fine job with not permitting drilling for oil offshore,” she said. “My hope would be that the government keeps fighting to prevent offshore drilling and protect the wildlife.”

“Laws like the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Endangered Species Act … were all great places to start building a sustainable environment,” said Creef. And it is the next generation’s job to continue that sustainability.

In North Carolina, the legislature has taken steps to curb renewable energy development. Measures to limit where wind energy projects can be built have been introduced by legislative leaders in recent years but failed to advance.

Young people here say they have found ways to respond by making changes in how they live.

“I have started to walk or cycle to places on the island,” Martinez said. “The only time I drive is when it’s necessary.”

“My small part to play in stopping climate change has been simple habits like using a reusable water bottle, consuming less meat and dairy products and supporting businesses that have sustainability as one of their key goals,” Creef said.

Halker said she has tried to cut back the amount of waste she produces, as much as possible. “The more trash I keep out of the landfill, the better. I see many people my age caring about this topic, too. It’s enlightening to see people care and put in the same effort. If everyone cared a little, we could do a lot.”

Such commitment to sustainability shows how pressing and important it is to the next generation to have these discussions, said Amnesty International Secretary General Kumi Naidoo.

“Young people are looking for fundamental changes in the way the world works,” he said. “Younger generations deserve a seat at the table when it comes to decisions about them.”

When Hurricane Florence bore down on the coast in fall 2018, “both the volume and the geographic extent were likely to be 50 percent greater than if there had been no climate change,” the New York Times reported.

Halker said she has seen the results of changes in the Outer Banks over the last 10 years. She remembers how Hurricane Irene in 2011 left her house under 5 feet of water.

“Every hurricane we experience seems to do more damage than the last,” Halker said. “You start to wonder when the ocean is going to reclaim the beaches.”

Not only are storms on the Outer Banks more frequent and more intense, the weather seems different too, with more extremes, the young people said.

“Ocracoke’s climate has changed since my childhood because of the temperature,” Martinez said. “The temperature is high one day and the next day it’s rainy and cold.”

Hurricane Dorian in September 2019 hit Ocracoke in a way island residents had never seen. Flooding reached unprecedented levels. Electricity was out at various times and for a time, there was no open grocery store, bank or health center, and tap water needed to be boiled before drinking. Businesses on the island were closed for weeks or months and residents lost treasured personal items. More than 40 structures were destroyed as a result of the storm.

“During Hurricane Dorian water got into my house and destroyed everything,” Martinez said. “I’ve lost many sentimental items and had to reconstruct my home.”

“(Hurricane Dorian) was the worst hurricane on the island with historic flooding,” Perez noted.

Growing up, she never thought of hurricanes as something to fear. Dorian was a different story.

“The house of everyone in my family (five homes) got flooded, and four of those families were displaced,” said Perez, who also lost her own home when it had to be demolished because of the extensive damage.

Usually after a hurricane, residents reach out to help others, but Perez said the difficulty in recovering led to friction.

“A lot of people are under the impression that this hurricane brought the community closer together,” Perez said. “Unfortunately, there has been lots of discussion over disagreements, mostly regarding where and to whom aid is going.”

Perez said that after her experience, it’s easy to feel anxious about the Outer Banks’ future.

“If climate change continues at the rate it is going now, I think there will be more hurricanes like or worse than Dorian,” she said. “I thought about settling down on Ocracoke after my career but after seeing the stress it puts on my family and community, I don’t think I would want to go through that.”

For those who grew up on the Outer Banks, taking  steps to change course is a way to preserve what they love about this vulnerable stretch of coastline.

“Hopefully, there is a future where the world is able to stop some changes that have already occurred,” Creef said. “For the Outer Banks, I simply hope that there is some area left where I can come back and remember my childhood years.”

Halker agreed.

“I know this is cheesy to say, but the beach is my favorite part of the Outer Banks,” Halker said. “It’s truly breathtaking. I miss the ease of driving to the beach to watch the sunrise and then going to get coffee, those little things are definitely moments I took for granted.”

Albert Einstein once said that the monotony and solitude of a quiet life stimulates the creative mind. That is the case for many young people across the Outer Banks. With no school to attend or jobs to work, many are starting creative projects to pass the time.

North Carolina State University graphic design student and Outer Banks resident Katy Spore understands the importance of art at a time like this, and what it can mean to people.

“I love to make things that really hit home for people and remind them of a time or place that they hold close to their heart,” she said.

Ryan Seal, assistant manager at Surfin’ Spoon Frozen Yogurt Bar, has felt her desire to create during the pandemic on a deep level.

“It’s something that makes me feel grounded, productive, and accomplished,” she said.

Creativity can serve as a release from moments when you feel overwhelmed, and for many there is nothing better than getting lost in writing a story or painting a sunrise. This expression can come from deep in the creators’ souls, a manifestation of the hopes and desires that cannot otherwise be conveyed. It draws upon a universal range of experiences and emotions.

Recent research suggests that both environment and genetics may affect creativity. If you grow up in a home full of artists, you may be more likely to choose that path later on in life. It worked out that way for Emma Alter, a junior at East Carolina University.

“My mum has always been super creative,” said Alter. “She’s been an interior designer for over 30 years and has worked with costuming. She sews a lot from home. I’ve always looked up to her creative side and ever since I was really little I think I acquired that trait from her.”

Recently, Alter has been sewing on her own. After receiving a sewing machine for her 21^st birthday, she picked up the hobby and began spending hours at the machine every day. Looking into the future, she is hoping that it will evolve into something more.

“I have been working on making a swimsuit line,” she said.

She gushed about her lifelong obsession with bathing suits and admitted to wearing them underneath her work clothes. Unfortunately, she has not had the time to hone this passion while at school.

“I started losing my motivation for becoming a future band director and school was burning me out,” Alter said.

As a music major, she was taking 19 credit hours a semester and was in class from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day.

“Once I came home, I became a lot more motivated to get up early and start on some sewing projects, redecorating my room or filming new YouTube videos.”

This outbreak is not the first time that a pandemic has led to a spike in art. The European Renaissance bolstered the human spirit against the Black Death for 300 years, and the work of both Isaac Newton and William Shakespeare benefited from lockdowns similar to the ones currently in effect around the world.

Before the virus hit, Spore was studying abroad in Prague, Czech Republic, drawing inspiration from a very different aesthetic than the one in northeastern North Carolina. “I wasn’t designing or creating much at the time because I was trying to soak up every minute I had abroad.”

When she returned to the U.S., Spore spent two weeks quarantined with her brother in Washington, D.C.

“Every day I talked about all of the projects I was going to make once I got back home,” she said.

Once she returned to the Outer Banks, she began making five to 10 projects a day, a variety of crafts within the art category.

“The free time has been really good for me to expand all of my creative skills,” she said.

Spore began making graphics both as a fun activity and a way to strengthen her Adobe software skills, and it did not take long for her art to make its way around the Outer Banks. She was pleasantly surprised when her bosses at Duck’s Cottage Coffee & Books approached her about selling some in the store.

“I realized I might really have something special in my hands,” she said. “So that’s when I approached SeaGreen Gallery about selling them and they said yes. Since then they have been very successful there.”

Recently, her projects have taken on a new form.

“I have been creating a graphic illustration series that highlights every town on the Outer Banks and some of my favorite things in that town,” she said. “I have also been working on collages made out of vintage photos of the Outer Banks.”

Living in such a beautiful environment has led many, including Seal, to draw inspiration from the island itself.

“Bright colors — think sunset or sunrise — inspire me the most,” she said. “Especially blues that remind me of the ocean.”

Pouring time and energy into art has proven to be a comfort for Seal during the lockdown. She has been working on paintings, sketches and even songs depending on how she is feeling on any given day.

“Painting or drawing is more of a mindless task so I’m usually drawn to that after work to decompress,” she said. “If I’ve had a slower-paced day or have lots of anxious thoughts, I usually process it through writing.”

Artwork boasting hope for the future and bright colors amid a sea of darkness reminds us to see the beauty in the difficult, she said.

Spending more time with family and rediscovering passions are just some of the positive outcomes that this time at home has allowed young people to experience. Creativity is blossoming in the monotonous, and simply having the time to rest and recharge allows students more space to breathe, to imagine.

“I’m thankful for time to get back to the things that truly set my soul on fire and not just living the mundane to aspire to the ‘American dream,’” Seal said. “There is so much more to life that I think we’ve all been missing out on because we haven’t been tending to those areas of our soul.”

When March began, students all over the Outer Banks were looking forward to warmer weather. Happier, carefree days filled with spring break travels, hanging out with friends at the beach or grabbing a smoothie from The Spot seemed like they were right around the corner. Proms and graduations were on everyone’s minds, and talk about the Coronavirus, or COVID-19, seemed like a distant and improbable thing.

Eva Klauser, a 16-year-old junior at Manteo High School, never thought the virus would turn her world upside down. “I remember hearing about it for the first time and thinking that it would never have any sort of effect on me,” she said.

“At first I didn’t really think anything of it,” said Nags Head resident Mike Leech, 18. “I thought that the media was hyping it up way too much.”

It only took a few weeks, however, for everything to change.

Universities across North Carolina, as well as the rest of the country, began to shut down, closing campuses, requiring students to return home and moving all classes online. On March 23, Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order closing all K-12 schools through May 15. A statewide stay-at-home order took effect March 30.

These lockdown measures meant that face-to-face learning was finished for the school year, and remote learning quickly took its place. Generation Z, which includes anyone born from the late 1990s to the mid-2010s, already spends more than six hours a day on electronic devices. Since remote learning began, students have found themselves in front of their screens more than before.

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill senior and Kitty Hawk native Carla Hardy, 22, was not too bothered by the change initially. “I was apprehensive about transitioning to online classes, but I was truthfully a little relieved,” she said. “I was not upset about being able to complete (my general education credits) from my bed.”

For high school students, learning from home has allowed them the flexibility to create their own schedule. This is a far cry from the rigid nature of a normal school day.

“I like online school a lot because I can set a time for myself to do it every day,” Klauser said. “I was not sure if I was going to be OK with it, but I’ve learned to just make the most out of it because it is what it is.”

While the flexibility of learning from home may be a welcome change, having the school year end abruptly meant that club meetings, retreats and other activities were canceled. For seniors throughout the Outer Banks, that meant losing out on honored traditions and senior events they had looked forward to for more than four years. Commencement ceremonies were postponed.

“I started to become very disappointed. Graduation being canceled was probably the nail in the coffin for me,” said Hardy. “I’m really worried about how long this will all last and the long-lasting economic impacts.”

Young people across the Outer Banks who were preparing to enter the workforce later this year are now left without any idea of what to expect in the job market. On top of this uncertainty, many dread the isolation and are anxious about the health of their loved ones.

“I know a lot of us are struggling to get through without being able to do many of the things that bring us happiness, such as spend quality in-person time with friends or participate in activities outdoors,” Hardy said. But she is keeping her chin up. “I am trying to keep perspective about it all and remember that this is essential for the health of our population. Sometimes sacrifices must be made.”

While social distancing has radically changed the average school day, Leech, a professional photographer, hasn’t seen much of a difference in his work.

“Being in the water, while keeping my distance, gives me and other surfers a sense of normalcy to our lives,” he said. “It’s hard to not hang out with friends and go to work, but I am making the most of it.”

Even though lockdowns will help in the long run by flattening the curve, or reducing the surge in positive cases, there is no doubt that empty roads and boarded-up stores feel a bit like the apocalyptic novels that took over the Young Adult market in recent years. The sudden and jarring changes have left many young people feeling uneasy.

“Everyone seems a little more anxious, just because how much is unknown to us,” Leech said.

According to the American Psychological Association, 27% of Gen Z is likely to report poor mental health. While social media has played a part in this heightened anxiety in the past, it has now become a distraction from the stress and sadness of the virus. A plethora of new memes, videos or artwork await anyone who opens Instagram.

“You can tell that people are starting to get bored because they may post lots of things or post about what crazy thing they have done,” Klauser said. Recent challenges included posting embarrassing pictures of yourself, cute photos of pets or favorite Bible verses. Tagging friends’ accounts helps the challenge spread, and suddenly old middle school photos are on everyone’s feed.

Amid the boredom, anxiety and isolation, there are some bright spots. Hardy’s family, which is spread across different households, had a recent Zoom conference call to catch up with one another.

“My mom and sister held their respective cats up to the screen so they could ‘meet’ each other,” said Hardy. “The ridiculousness of it all was really funny.”

Klauser’s dog Stash is also helping to keep her spirits up. “He’s so cute every time I look at him, I can’t help but laugh.”

With her free time, Klauser has had more time for exercise, art and helping out around the house. She is also catching up on sleep.

While there is no minimizing the severity of the coronavirus, hope has risen despite it. Videos of city residents applauding healthcare workers from their open windows or musicians playing from their balconies have gone viral. Leech said he had seen a shift in the local community.

“This quarantine has given all of us the opportunity to reconnect with our families,” he said. “It’s given us the chance to spend time together and talk. I think it’s better to look at (social distancing as) opportunities rather than inconveniences.”

Even in the middle of a difficult time, he said, there is hope for the future, and comfort in routine. Spring is approaching, and with it, the flowers bloom and the birds chirp again. The Earth has begun to wake up, a reassurance that not every aspect of island life has changed.

“It reminds us that the world keeps turning,” Leech said. “Waves keep breaking, and time keeps moving forward.”