2024 Annual Report
2024 was the year to reimagine organizational goals and plan for the future of Adventures in Preservation (AiP). Discussions generated innovative ideas and concrete steps to advance the successful programming AiP has offered for 23 years. Our mission remains to connect people and preservation through enriching experiential programs that safeguard heritage and foster community sustainability. The board’s focus shifted to identifying a variety of compelling new projects and finding methods that enhance interest in and draw a more diverse group to each project.
Adventures in Preservation Jammers working with the Fairfield Foundation on an archeological preservation project. June 2024
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
2024 saw a turnover in AiP’s Board of Directors. We were sorry to lose several long-standing board members who were instrumental in helping Adventures in Preservation successfully navigate Covid and its affects. Andreas Sandre and Tara Cubie moved on to other interests, and we thank them for their valuable input on the board.
New board members, Sharon Kong-Perring (left) and Lorie Komlyn (center) with content creator Dr. Sydney Conroy working at the Dunans Castle project site in Argyll, Scotland.
Our new board members brought a variety of much needed skills.
Sharon Kong-Perring is a historian and academic as well as a travel journalist. She specializes in artifact and collections care with experience in 17th-19th century American and British objects and an affinity for Asian and Oceanic objects. Sharon is pursuing her PhD in media and cultural studies.
Paul Wright served as Director of Geographic Information Systems, Office of Geospatial Information at the State of Missouri and spent more than 35 years in Information Technology (IT). He holds a Master’s degree in Information Systems Management. In retirement, Paul volunteers with an archaeological field school, focusing on his interest in ancient history.
Lorie Komlyn is an architectural historian who is also a trained ballet dancer and skater. She most recently served as Architectural Historian for the city of Boston, and has decades of experience as a college counselor for gifted high school students. Lorie holds a Masters of Studies in Architectural History from the University of Cambridge in the UK and a Juris Doctorate from Golden Gate University. She serves on a number of historic house Boards in the New England region.
We continue to build our Board and welcome all inquiries.
2024 PROJECTS
Dunans Castle Conservation – April Session in
Glendaruel, Argyll, Scotland
Master stonemason and project expert, Eland Stuart, mixing up mortar for repointing work at Dunans Castle.
As long ago as 1590, cartographers noted a property on their maps called Dounens. This location became known as Dunans, and beginning around 1725, served as home to the Fletcher clan for over 200 years.
The Dunans Bridge and Castle project was initiated in 2017 to assist with conservation of Dunans heritage structures – the 1815 A-listed Thomas Telford bridge and the Dunans Castle built in 1864. The castle is connected to a hunting lodge initially built in the 17th century.
Work in April focused on repair of the arched entryway leading into the small courtyard in front of the hunting lodge. Five volunteers (jammers) came for two weeks, working with Eland Stuart, a Masonry Conservator who also has a degree in Archaeology. The group learned skills in stone repair, arch reconstruction and repointing.
IMPACT
Jammers donated almost 300 hours of labor to complete the project, as well as enjoying three days exploring historic sites around Argyll. This project supports the increase in well-managed heritage tourism, which in turn is helping to grow a sustainable economy on the Cowal Peninsula of Argyll.
Dig into History at Fairfield Plantation
in Gloucester, Virginia, USA
The architecture archeology site with the Fairfield Foundation in Gloucester County, Virginia.
Fairfield was home to a 1694 Colonial-era manor house, once surrounded by 7,000 acres of tobacco fields and forestland. Fairfield Foundation staff, supported by volunteers, work to uncover and digitally record the remains of the manor house, destroyed in an 1897 fire, and the plantation’s historic landscape. The goal is to reveal the lives of both plantation owners and the many enslaved Africans and African Americans who made up the workforce.
As AiP’s partner on this project, the Fairfield Foundation is dedicated to involving and educating the community about their efforts to discover and preserve local history. They provide hands-on activities, such as public dig days and Tuesday lab night, for people of all ages who want to experience an archaeological dig or help preserve and restore historic structures. They also bring together the descendants of all those historically tied to the plantation to better understand the lives and legacy of all involved.
IMPACT
In June, five AiP volunteers worked on the manor house dig, giving 175 hours to further the Foundation’s goals of education and engagement. The jammers also spent a day and a half visiting historic sites such as Rosewell, the Bacon House, Williamsburg and more, in order to understand that context of the plantation’s history.
Dunans Castle Conservation – September Session
in Glendaruel, Argyll, Scotland
Jammers working to repoint a Victorian, 19th century exterior castle wall at Dunans Castle.
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Sydney Conroy
In September, jammers focused on repair and conservation of the historic curtain wall that provided privacy for the entrance of the 17th century hunting lodge. Eland Stuart, Masonry Conservator, led the group of eight in skills training and application of their skills as work progressed on the stone wall.
Jammers learned how to place new stones in the wall as needed and repoint the wall with lime mortar. They also learned repair techniques for the decorative profile of historic stones that had various levels of deterioration.
IMPACT
The entire wall was completed in a week with 288 hours of donated labor. As mentioned above, this project supports the increase in well-managed heritage tourism, which is helping to grow a sustainable economy for residents of the Cowal Peninsula of Argyll. This region has been economically depressed and is now, with input from entrepreneurs and volunteers, becoming a vital community.
Our Dunans partner stated: AIP have provided us with great volunteers, lots of progress and the opportunity to work on projects which we'd not have attempted. This has really progressed our thinking on the methods and materials we should be using at Dunans.
MARKETING
Among ideas generated to advance the success of AiP, top priority for 2024 and into 2025 was assigned to initiating a solid marketing plan. The plan will address our need to both reach a larger audience and draw a more diverse group. Our marketing will be presented in a way that piques curiosity and enhances interest, highlights the value and impact of our projects, and addresses reasons people want to volunteer. Our goal is to engage people from a variety of professions and areas of interest, as well as attracting a greater range of ages.
Our Marketing Plan will include: podcasts, conventions/conferences, lectures/programs, partnerships with sponsors, influencers/journalists trips.
The development of a new website is also key, with improved SEO and capabilities for a built-in data management system. The new website is well underway and will be live in mid-2025.
Our first on-site influencer was Dr. Sydney Conroy who attended Dunans September session. Sydney worked and toured along with the group of jammers. Following the session, Sydney created small video reels on her own social media profiles to promote AiP. She also wrote a blog post describing her insights and experience working with Adventures in Preservation.
Our board is looking into setting up a mock work day at Dunans Castle & Bridge and Fairfield to engage the press. At this event AiP will illustrate accomplishments achieved thus far and plans for the future. We will also continue to show the great value of historic preservation in the world today.
NEW PROJECT DEVELOPMENT
An essential part of marketing is finding compelling new projects that appeal to the diverse clientele we strive to engage. We are currently investigating potential projects in France and England. We believe these projects have great potential to keep AiP jammers engaged with our organization and increase their enthusiasm about continuing to donate their time. Details will be announced as soon as projects are finalized.
Another opportunity is to address new project requests in communities we already serve. In Armenia an ancient stone inscription, dated 774 BCE, still survives on a hillside outside of Gyumri. It is the first written record of the ancient state established in this region. The stone has developed cracks that place the inscription in peril. A project is under development to save the inscription, and AiP has been asked to participate.
The Fairfield Foundation in Gloucester, Virginia, is AiP’s longest-standing partner. They recently acquired the stabilized ruins of Rosewell, one of the most elaborate homes of Colonial America. Built 1725-1738, it was gutted by fire in 1916. AiP will begin a project on the site in 2026.
GOALS FOR THE FUTURE
Identify compelling new projects
Engage a larger, more diverse group of Jammers
Build the Board to bring expertise in sponsorships, fundraising, and outreach
Illustrate through our projects the meaningful impact historic preservation makes on resolving some of today’s pressing issues
We have ambitious and consequential ideas that we are working toward, largely through development of new projects in new parts of the world. While we can’t yet divulge all the details, your support could help make these ideas a reality!