ARTS

LONGLEAF Art SPOTLIGHT Exploring, Observing, Learning

Isaiah E. Scott, with Margaret Platt

Effingham County, Georgia native Isaiah “Ike” Emmanuel Scott is a young Black ornithologist, a bird photographer, a nature journaler, and a selftaught illustrator. A Cornell University sophomore, Ike studies environment and sustainability, focusing on ornithology. He is also the founder and leader of ‘Ike’s Birding Hikes.’

At age 18, Scott received the 2021 Eckelberry Fellowship from Drexel University to research and illustrate a cultural and field guide to the historic

Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. He is researching the birds of these areas and how they connect to the people, how birds may have played a role in agriculture, what kind of birds enslaved people saw every day on the plantations, how birds inspired them, and the significance to their culture.

Painted Bunting, Passerina ciris

Left: Northern Bobwhite Quail, Colinus virginianus

Right: Pine-woods Sparrow, Peucaea aestivalis. Pine-woods Sparrow is both a historic and more descriptive common name for Bachman's Sparrow, adopted in the effort to change eponymous common names (i.e., birds named after people).

What sparked your passions for birding and illustrating in the natural world? I have been fascinated by nature since I was a little boy, but a visit to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in Ithaca, New York, sparked my interest in birds. I was amazed by their diversity and beauty and wanted to know how many bird species I could see. At the same time, I loved drawing and painting, so after I fell in love with birds, I began illustrating them.

How has the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor connected you to the longleaf pine ecosystem? The longleaf pine savanna is one of the many natural habitats found within the Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor extending along the coastal areas of southern North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida. This habitat is very important for sustaining biodiversity and providing habitat for many bird species, such as the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker, a habitat specialist of open pine savannas like longleaf. Furthermore, this fire-dependent forest provides essential natural resources for the Gullah Geechee people and culture. Sweetgrass, rushes, and sedges are harvested from the landscape and used for basket weaving. Northern Bobwhite Quail were hunted for food and is a staple meat for Gullah Geechee cuisine. With my Ike’s Birding Hikes 40-acre Nature Preserve Initiative, I hope to collaborate with conservation organizations, colleges, and groups to manage a longleaf pine savanna habitat for species conservation, education, and the preservation of my culture.

Your photography is exciting and impressive! Tell us about a recent and memorable Ike’s Birding Hikes adventure.

I recently visited Flatwoods Wilderness Park in Florida, where they have beautifully preserved pine flatwoods and savanna habitats. I saw many bird species, such as Swallowtailed Kites, Eastern Bluebirds, Pine Warblers, and Northern Bobwhite Quail! That was my first time seeing Northern Bobwhites in the wild, and I could take great photos of them.

Follow Isaiah's photography and birding adventures @ikesbirdinghikes and his art account @theisaiahescott on Instagram. Browse his art at charlestonartmarket.com and theisaiahescott.com.

The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, and the federal Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission established to oversee it, were designated by Congress through the National Heritage Areas Act of 2006. The goals of the Corridor designation are: to recognize, sustain, and celebrate the important contributions made to American culture and history by the Gullah Geechee; to assist state and local governments and public and private entities in interpreting the story of the Gullah Geechee and to preserve Gullah Geechee folklore, arts, crafts, and music; and to assist in identifying and preserving sites, historical data, artifacts, and objects associated with Gullah Geechee people and culture for the benefit and education of the public. Learn more at gullahgeecheecorridor.org.