Meet author Corinne Heyning Laverty
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Corinne Heyning Laverty is a research associate and fellow at the Natural History Museum, Los Angeles County, and an associate of the Santa Cruz Island Foundation. She has served on the board of the Aquarium of the Pacific, was vice-chair of the Marine Conservation Research Institute, and is a former president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Cetacean Society. As one of the few people who have ever set foot on all eight Channel Islands, Laverty is a member of the exclusive All Eight Club. Her writing has appeared in
Western North American Naturalist
,
Lonely Planet
,
EcoTraveler
,
Whale Watcher
, and
Pacific Currents
, among other publications. The manuscript for her book about the historic Channel Islands biological survey was a finalist in the 2016 Heyday/California Historical Society book contest.
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The University of Utah Press is pleased to announce the publication of Corinne Laverty's new book,
North America's Galapagos: The Historic Channel Islands Biological Survey
, which tells for the first time the story of thirty-three ambitious researchers who set out to explore the Channel Islands in the late 1930s. Here we ask Corinne about her interest in the Channel Islands and the natural world in general.
As a child, were there any explorers or scientists who inspired you?
The mystery of Amelia Earhart’s journey and disappearance intrigued me and so did the idea of Scott’s ill-fated journey to the Antarctic and his race with Amundsen. But truthfully, I loved watching Mutual of Omaha’s
Wild Kingdom
and the Disney nature shows and I think that these, along with my mother, cemented my love of animals and nature and laid the foundation of my interest in discovering the natural world.
Tell us about your work as a research associate with the Natural History Museum.
As a research associate, I am given privileges that allow me to utilize the collections, archives, and library. Additionally, museum staff are available to support my work and can assist with research questions. As you can imagine, since many primary materials pertaining to my book are housed at NHM, this access was invaluable, as was the interest and encouragement I received from NHM staff.
How did you decide to focus your work in California and the Channel Islands more specifically?
I originally wanted to write something different and approached the Museum with that idea, but the archivist at the time, Cathy McNassor, pointed to a couple of dusty boxes labeled “1939–1941 Channel Islands Biological Survey” and said, “If you are going to do all that work, you should write this because it’s never been told and it’s important.” At first, I wasn’t sure. But the moment I began reading the archives—the typed and handwritten letters, memos, and newspaper clippings—I fell in love with the people and the interesting lives they led. I knew I had to write this book.
What surprised you most as you were researching information for this book?
A couple of things, the biggest being that I had never heard of the Pacific Coastal Migration theory of the population of North America. I consider myself well-read and certainly intellectually curious when it comes to natural history topics and felt chagrined that I didn’t know about this important aspect of our history or that the Channel Islands, which I had dove around extensively, played such an important role in archaeological discoveries. I thought that if I didn’t know this, perhaps other people didn’t know it either and they should. Once I came to this realization, I decided to use the explorers' journey to all of the islands to highlight this concept and bring it to the public’s attention.
The second thing that surprised me is that I knew one of the researchers, Ken Stager. Ken took over the project when von Bloeker left the museum. I had met Ken many times both socially and at the museum, but never knew of his involvement with the survey (and, at the time, knew nothing about the survey myself). Ken passed away in 2009. I wish I could have talked to him about his work on the islands and about what he knew of the people who participated. It makes me sad that I lost that opportunity.
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Which of the eight Channel Islands is your favorite and why?
That’s a hard question…. I think I would have to say Santa Barbara Island. It is so tiny, just one square mile, and though it is extremely hard to land on the island—its perimeter is mostly sheer rock face and there is only one possible landing site—the top of the island is all grassland and rolling hills. The only time I visited it was just past chick season. There were still lots of broken shells on the ground and the young fledglings of seabirds were all about. Beautiful flowers covered great patches of land. Even though there is no fresh water on the island, it felt very gentle. I felt calm in the wild beauty of this small and remarkable space.
From your involvement with the Aquarium of the Pacific and the American Cetacean Society, I see you must have a strong interest in whales and other marine life. Can you tell us about your experience with sea creatures?
I learned to scuba dive almost on a lark and, although I lived near the beach in Los Angeles and could observe its beauty, my interest in the creatures that lived there blossomed once I got beneath the surface and could view them close up. I was out on a sailboat one day and we saw on the surface of the water what I now believe was a giant
Mola mola
, or ocean sunfish. We circled the creature but didn’t know what it was. The next day I called Cabrilla Marine Aquarium and asked someone about it. We talked for a while and he suggested I join the whale watch group and learn to be a whale watch docent. I signed up and became a docent and from there my life truly changed.
What other projects have you worked on?
For a while I worked with Algalita Marine Research Foundation and developed, wrote, and edited their first online newsletter. This organization is interested in ridding the oceans of plastic. I was also on the board of the Aquarium of the Pacific and support the great work they do beyond being an aquarium, as they bring awareness to environmental issues and, importantly, act as a facilitator between stakeholder groups. I was also an investor in our country’s first offshore mussel ranch. Sustainably raised seafood could be an important world source of protein. Sadly, the ranch folded because of lack of funding, but I feel that it was important and I am proud to have supported the effort and hope that future such endeavors will succeed.
Is there any underlying or overarching message you hope readers take away from the book?
Yes. I hope that people recognize the role that museums and collecting activities play in better understanding our world and laying a foundation for the scientific process. It is estimated that 86% of the world’s species are underdescribed and over 25% are still unknown. This means that species are disappearing before we even describe them. If we are to protect them, we need to know what to protect, and in order to do that, we need to catalog and survey our planet. Thus, the theme I hope my book conveys is that the collecting activities of museums are important; they lay a foundation for future research and allow the scientific process to continue long after individual efforts cease.
What other places do you plan to explore (or dream of exploring) in the future?
Oh! That’s easy. My list is long: Antarctica, Alaska, the Galapagos, and the Nordic countries, to name just a few!
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North America's Galapagos
The Historic Channel Islands Biological Survey
Corinne Heyning Laverty
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North America’s Galapagos: The Historic Channel Islands Biological Survey
recounts the story of a group of researchers, naturalists, adventurers, cooks, immigrants, and scientifically curious teenagers who came together in the late 1930s to embark upon a series of ambitious expeditions never before, or since, attempted. Their mission: to piece together the broken shards of the Channel Islands’ history and evolution.
“
A timely, well-written, and outstanding book that is sure to be of interest to archaeologists, biologists, museum professionals, and the general public. Both engaging and readable, Laverty explores an important museum collecting expedition and challenges us to think about the importance of museum collections to science and society
.”
—Torben C. Rick, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
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384 pp., 6 x 9 | 47 illustrations, 9 maps | ISBN 978-1-60781-729-1
Paper $29.95
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Phone:
800-621-2736
Fax:
800-621-8476
Order online:
www.UofUpress.com
If interested in a book for course adoption,
click here
for examination copy guidelines.
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