Digital guide from Beech Works, Rooted Wisdom Walks, joins hundreds of cultural institutions around the globe on the Bloomberg Connects app
Adkins Arboretum and Beech Works are excited to announce the newest offering from their ongoing collaboration exploring nature’s role in the Underground Railroad through the landscape at the Arboretum.
Rooted Wisdom Walks, the digital guide from Beech Works, is available on Bloomberg Connects, the free arts and culture app created by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Three walks at the Arboretum explore how self-liberators used their knowledge of nature to forge a path to freedom as well as ways we can honor this knowledge today by creating new connections to the landscape. The walks are led by historian Anthony Cohen of The Menare Foundation, who has personally walked routes of the Underground Railroad, including from Maryland to Canada. Visitors are guided through the woodlands, meadow and wetlands with conversations that examine historic narratives of freedom seekers while also exploring our relationship to this history. Photographs offer additional context and aid visitors in identifying plants and animals they may encounter.
In speaking of the deeply valued partnership between the Arboretum, Cohen and Beech Works, Adkins Arboretum Executive Director Ginna Tiernan said, “Our collaboration with Anthony dates back fifteen years when we first began interpreting this history at the Arboretum. The new tours in the Rooted Wisdom Walks guide result from more learning, research and sensitivity, culminating in a transformative way to engage with nature, which is core to our mission.”
Bloomberg Connects offers free digital guides to cultural organizations around the world. The app platform is part of Bloomberg Philanthropies’ longstanding commitment to supporting digital innovation in the arts. Bloomberg Connects makes it easy to access and engage with arts and culture from mobile devices when visiting in person, or anytime from anywhere. With dynamic content exclusive to each partner organization, the app provides a range of features including video; audio, and text; expert commentary; and way-finding maps.
“With this new platform, visitors can use their mobile devices to explore the walks while at the Arboretum or even from home,” said Lauren Giordano of Beech Works. “Through our partnership with Bloomberg Philanthropies, we look forward to continuing the exploration of the Underground Railroad with more walks at more sites—adding more voices and amplifying more pieces of this story.”
Visitors can find more information at rootedwisdom.org/walks or talk to Arboretum staff for assistance. For more resources exploring the Underground Railroad, visit rootedwisdom.org.
Rooted Wisdom Walks is a project of Beech Works in collaboration with The Menare Foundation. The walks at Adkins Arboretum were produced in partnership with Adkins Arboretum. Material in the guide is based upon work assisted by a grant from the Association for the Study of African-American Life and History (ASALH) funded by the 400 Years of African-American History Commission. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the ASALH or the Department of the Interior. This project has been financed in part by Eastern Shore Heritage, Inc., with State funds from the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority, an instrumentality of the State of Maryland. However, project contents or opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority.
