Savannah Echo
Lead Artist: Sarah Kavage
Assistants: Shae Faust, Mary Frank, Melissa Starkey
Community Liaison: Kiriaki Anastasiadis
Special thanks to: Adria Garcia and the staff at Lehigh Gap Nature Center
About
In creating Savannah Echo, Sarah Kavage and assistants braided live grasses, still rooted in the earth. They created shapes and contours that mirror the forms of the mountains and breadth of the savannah in the landscape where they are growing.
The story of grasses at Lehigh Gap reaches back centuries. The Lenape maintained the grass-scape in this area for thousands of years, using controlled burns. After colonization, they were prevented from doing this. For most of the 20th century there was a zinc refinery across the river. Over the years, pollution completely denuded the mountain to the point that nothing (even bacteria or fungi) would grow there. The barren and rocky mountain was designated as a Superfund site in the 1980s and in the early 2000s native prairie grasses were introduced as a way to hold the pollution in the soil, stop erosion, and build soil so that other species could take hold. As you will see, these newer grasses started a whole chain reaction that is now creating a forest.
Accessibility & location information
Find this artwork in two places: The main body of Savannah Echo is where the LNE Trail crosses the Prairie Grass and Bobolink Trails, about a mile from the parking lot at the center. The trail is rocky, uneven, and narrow in places with some changes in elevation. A smaller body of the installation is located at the start of the LNE trail, along the paved driveway out of the parking lot. Although the driveway is sloped at this point, the location is more easily accessed for those with mobility challenges and can be seen from a vehicle. Find more information about the Lehigh Gap Nature Center trails here.
Gallery
Photos by Sarah Kavage, July 2021
