(birds chirping) >>It's beautiful here.
Can you tell me a little bit about this place and the history of it and its significance?
>>Welcome to Machicomo co State Park.
We're here in Gloucester, Virginia.
Here at this park, we have over 645 acres that the state manages.
Right now we are standing in our interpretive area.
And this is a really beautiful area to come whenever you come out to the park.
We have beautiful view sheds and we have a lot of history that we have on display.
>>When did this site open?
>>Well, this site opened on April 16th of 2021.
>>What does Machicomoco mean?
>>Machicomoco, excellent question.
That is Algonquin language, which means a special meeting place.
It got its name from the committee that was on the design team.
The indigenous peoples of Virginia got together and came up with the name.
>>Can you tell me a little bit about how you are incorporating that into the management and preservation and conservation of this area?
>>Well, our mission here is to, obviously with state parks, we preserve and conserve the lands that we look after.
And here at this park, it's truly a unique one 'cause we were dedicated to help support the, in telling the stories of the indigenous peoples that lived here and continue to live here in the Senecamaca region.
>>So does that story include Powhatan that we all know?
How does that play into this?
>>Well Powhatan, if you travel 10 miles upstream, that is the Werowocomoco, that is the the capital of the Powhatan chiefdom.
That is where the paramount chief set.
>>I see you have a lot of native plants incorporated into your conservation and land management practices here.
What are the significance of these plants to the interpretive center at this site?
>>Right, the plants that you'll find here whenever you visit the interpretive area have a lot of special use and cultural meaning to the indigenous peoples of the day.
A lot of it is medicinal, some structural uses.
Some of the plants are the inkberries.
We have some switchgrass, little bluestem, many different different species you'll find here at the park.
>>How do those work in conjunction with the structure that you have here?
Can you tell me what that is?
>>Well, the structure behind us is a modern interpretation of a yi-hakan.
Yi-hakan is another Algonquin word that means a long house.
So that was the homes that the indigenous peoples lived in.
So the bone structures of the yi-hakan is actually made out of the black locust, of which that is what the typical tree that would've, they would've used for the studs of the home.
>>Very nice.
Tell me more about the other things we see here.
What's behind us?
>>Of course, as you go down the path to the west of the yi-hakan, you'll come across a map of Senecamaca, which is the region that we're in.
That map is made up of a Virginia mist granite.
It has some unique features and key points that is marked on the map to kind of tell you important features, like where the indigenous tribes live today, and then some other key areas in Virginia.
>>That's great.
Let's see more of the park.
>>Perfect.
Let's go for a hike.
(birds calling) >>Tell me a little bit about this.
What is this?
>>This is our history timeline.
As you walk down the timeline, you'll come across some different points throughout history that were key to the indigenous peoples.
So here at Machicomoco, we have over six miles of trails.
Right now we're on the interpretive trail.
We're gonna head over to the forestry trail where we're going to be taken to a more natural area.
Over there we'll see more views of the Catlett Islands and the waterways.
>>This is beautiful.
(gravel crunching) (water gurgling) (insects chirping) >>This is a really excellent place for bird habitats.
This year we have more than 160 different bird species.
>>Oh wow.
(birds chirping) So we saw a lot of different kinds of habitat here.
Can you tell me more about what we've seen?
>>Yeah, that's one of the amazing things here at Machicomoco is we have such a diverse habitat.
As we walk past this pathway here at the cartop kayak launch, you can kind of see those transitions.
From the road, there's the ag field, then you have the tall grass, then you have the taller shrubs, and then as we're walking into the more mature trees here.
So it's a great experience to kind of actually see the ecological succession that happens.
>>That's wonderful that you are intentionally creating plans to preserve this area for future generations.
Is it a long-term plan that you work on?
>>Right now we are in the process of planning out our long-term vision here.
What we'll do there is just kinda look at an aerial view of the property that we're managing, and determine the resources that are there, and then figure out which areas that we want to kind let grow back up into maybe a more mature forest, or maybe keep as a grassland.
So it'll be a lot of park rangers kind of getting together and kind of coming up with the best opportunity here.
>>So what are we seeing here?
>>Oh, this is an amazing spot to come.
This is our boardwalk, which leads out to a really nice cartop kayak launch.
And then the view shed is just amazing.
This is Poplar Creek here, and out there just on the other side of the creek is the Catlett Islands.
Just beyond the islands is the York River, of which back in the day was the Pamunkey River.
What we do here with the watershed is we provide kayaking opportunities, and then also some bird watching.
Off of the islands over here you can get a glimpse of one of the eagle's nests that was active last year.
We had two eaglets born.
>>I'm so glad that you're doing this for the residents of Virginia.
This is a really special place.
>>One of the great things with working with state parks is that, not only do we conserve and preserve the land that we manage, but we also offer recreational and educational opportunities for people to come out and kind of learn about the land and just kind of enjoy it as well.
And so yeah, it's an amazing opportunity.
>>It is amazing.
Thank you so much for having me out today.
>>Yeah, well thank you for coming.
You definitely brought a beautiful day with you.
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