Design Study #2: Merrill Creek - Ryan Bercaw

Merrill Creek seen on Google Earth

Points of interest and trails

Visitor's center

Wildlife blind

The area that I have chosen to use for my Design Study #2 is Merrill Creek Reservoir. Merrill Creek is located just outside my home town in Warren County, NJ. It is a 650 acre artificial lake that holds water that is released into the Delaware River when the water level drops too low. The surrounding area consists of over 290 acres of protected woodlands and a series of hiking trails. The reservoir itself is stocked with many varieties of fish and has been featured on ESPN for its brown trout fishing. The area is unique because a pair of bald eagles have been using the area as their nesting ground since 1997, making it the 2^nd known bald eagle nest in the northern half of New Jersey. Merrill Creek also offers public educational programs and grounds tours that are popular with surrounding school districts. I thought this place would be interesting for a Design Study because even though it is a populated public area, it is also rather isolated and doesn’t fit the norm for today’s standard of a public environment.

For communication, I’d want to stick with the idea of a technologically low-key space, and use a form of GPS. People participating in this design study could use the GPS to see where they are in relation to other people, but would have to rely using walkie talkies for verbal communication (as almost no cell carriers have service there).

From looking at the diagram, one can see that there are multiple intertwining hiking trails. The trails are written in terms of basic colors, yellow=Y, red=R, ect. The spots where these trails come together would be trigger points. Each trail set up in terms of difficulty and points of interest, so by crossing from one to another the walk could be greatly altered. The participation of others and communication come into play here as the other participants choose where the person will go when they reach an intersection. They would send a message saying either ‘two’ or ‘three.’ Two would suggest a simple split and three would mean a 4-way intersection. The participants then take turns responding ‘right,’ ‘left,’ or ‘center.’ By switching paths in a sporadic nature like this, more paths will be traveled and more points of interest met. Many small spots exist on the trails including wildlife blinds, the stone remains of farm houses dating back to the 1700’s, docks, and the enormous stone dam of the reservoir itself. Each trail intersection at Merrill Creek contains a map of the area. That way, participants would still know where they are when walking around. The historical remains and small nature exhibits are also marked with small descriptive signs.

The overall nature of the event is based on Kaprow’s Happenings. There is no defined order of progression, nor is there much instruction outside of the basic rules. This helps the environment take over in a way that psychogeography and its key aspects become prominent. Rather than relying on human interaction, regular street signs, or streets full of multiple establishments, the natural environment creates its own serene backdrop that emotion and situation can then build from. The area is already commonly used in a similar way by hikers. Various areas are swampier or more thickly forested than others. Nature enthusiasts walk across multiple trails to record the wildlife they encounter in the various areas. The wildlife blinds are used heavily for bird watching. The wildlife interaction would be a major draw for someone interested in participating in such an experiment, making discovery a heavy element.

To summarize the way the local narrative would work, multiple people would meet at the reservoir. There are multiple parking lots set up throughout the area so the participants would not have to start at the same spot. From there they begin their nature walk. At each intersecting trail point they will notify the other participants with cycle commands as to where the original person will need to travel to. From there the participants can take it upon themselves to take in the wildlife and surrounding natural environment as well as all points of interest they may encounter throughout their cycle of trails. The use of GPS means all people will know where everyone else is. If someone is displayed as being in a parking lot they can be considered done with the narrative. The locative narrative is meant to be for personal gain and relaxation, so there is no requirement for the amount of time of involvement.

The locative narrative makes use of the area in its simplicity. The environment stays in the forefront as participants navigate the trail system of the area. The wildlife stays significant as the people I’d expect to take part in the exercise would be doing so for the wildlife aspect. Protected forests are shrinking, along with nature trails, so Merrill Creek in itself becomes interesting as one of the few places where wildlife is in full abundance. As a child I was often taken to Merrill Creek, took many school trips there, and I did a small video project for it at Northampton Community College. To me, it’s a very relaxing place to experience nature and hope it doesn’t get shut down as so many places like it already have.