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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 2019)
Wednesday, October 16, 2019 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Homecoming Parade... Author has a passion for outdoor experiences By Ceili Cornelius Correspondent Ruby McConnell is a fea- tured author at the Sisters Festival of Books, taking place October 18-20 at ven- ues around town. The festival proceeds ben- efit the Sisters Festival of Books scholarship fund. McConnell is a writer, geologist, and adventur- ess whose work focuses on nature, the environment, and the relationship between landscape and the human experience. Her experiences as a researcher, activist, and explorer in the wildlands of the western United States led her to write <A Woman9s Guide to the Wild,= which is touted as the definitive out- door guide for anyone who identifies as, or loves, women (or just wants to learn how to read a map). McConnell believes that positive outdoor experiences are the key to healthy living and protecting the environ- ment, and is committed to breaking down barriers that prevent all kinds of people from being outside. Her writ- ing has appeared in publica- tions such as Grain Literary Journal, Oregon Humanities Magazine, and Mother Earth News and was awarded an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship in 2016. McConnell stumbled into writing by accident. By trade and study, she is an environ- mental geologist. During the recession, however, she wasn9t working much in that field. Also a dancer, she embraced her creative side while she had the time to do so. She entered her first piece of writing after seeing a com- petition for Tiny Stories. She sat down and wrote a tiny story and ended up winning the competition. Shortly after, she read about an essay con- test and entered her personal essays. They ended up getting picked up as articles and she fell in love with writing and 5 has been doing it ever since. Her writing primarily focuses on environmentalism and the human connection to the natural world. <It stems from working as a field geologist, and in that profession there is a lot that isn9t thought about ahead of time, about what to do out there,= she told The Nugget. <As a woman working out in the elements with gear that didn9t fit me, I felt as if there wasn9t enough out there about how to be prepared in the wil- derness, especially focused specifically on women.= That inspired the start of her own field guide: <A Woman9s Guide to the Wild.= She had been taking notes and creating it since 2008 and released it in 2016. <I realized that my skill-set had caught up to my desire for a women9s field guide during my own field work, and wrote my own,= she said. She got funding for the book with a Kickstarter, and eventually publishers picked up her book because there wasn9t anything out there like it and there was a market for it. <I wanted to write some- thing that wasn9t just strictly about survival, but just how to be comfortable in the natural world and out in the field,= she said. McConnell also has a <Girl9s Guide= series of field guides. She is in the process of releasing the third install- ment of her Kid9s Nature Books. <A lot of that writing stems from my work as an outdoor school teacher and working at summer camps with kids,= she said. She is also releasing her personal essays focused on environmentalism and the human connection to the movement, as well as the nat- ural world itself. Recently, she received an Oregon Literary Arts Fellowship to help with PHOTO BY JODI SCHNEIDER Sisters High School students and other community members got creative in their costuming for the annual Homecoming Parade down Hood Avenue last week. See AUTHOR on page 6 If you can’t find what you are looking for in our hand-forged product line, we can design something to fit your needs “Your Local Welding Shop” CCB# 87640 PHOTO BY ALEX JORDAN “Necessity is the mother of INVENTION” 541-549-9280 | 207 W. Sisters Park Dr. | PonderosaForge.com SISTERS LES SCHWAB REDMOND PRINEVILLE 600 W. HOOD AVE. • 541-549-1560 541-548-4011 541-447-5686 845 NW 6th 1250 East 3rd MADRAS La PINE BEND-SOUTH BEND-FRANKLIN BEND-NORTH 1412 SW Hwy. 97 52596 N. Hwy. 97 61085 S. Hwy. 97 541-475-3834 541-536-3009 541-385-4702 105 NE Franklin 63590 Hunnell Rd. 541-382-3551 541-318-0281