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ACCA newsletter + cleanups
Hey MACA Resto cavers!
The report of our August Camp activities is published in the Fall newsletter of the ACCA (American Cave Conservation Association --the folks over at Hidden River Cave, in nearby Horse Cave KY).
The newsletter is attached to this message.
If anyone is wanting to help, the ACCA will be hosting two cleanup events in November:? one is to clean up construction debris and remove ivy from the entrance area of Hidden River Cave, and the other will be the removal of trash from a shallow cave pit (see page 7 of the newsletter).
Regardless, please mark you calendars for the first weekend of November, which will be our next MACA Restoration weekend. Signup for this event will begin at 12:01am Eastern time on Fri. Oct. 1.
see you then!
- Brian & Gary
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Re: MACA Resto Camp Photos - Echo Spring & Concrete Chipping
Nice work, Deb!
Thanks for sharing...
loved those 'underwater' shots! -----Original Message-----
From: Deborah Nelson via groups.io <deborah.nelson75@...> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, Sep 1, 2021 10:16 pm Subject: [MACAresto] MACA Resto Camp Photos - Echo Spring & Concrete Chipping Hello,
I hope everyone's doing well & enjoying summer!
Here are two links to some more photos from our August camp.
Friday's work at Echo Spring:?
Wednesday's Concrete Chipping:?
Hope you enjoy them!
Thanks,
Deb Nelson
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In today's Chicago Tribune: story about robot cave guide
Persephone, the robot guide, leads visitors in a Greek cave
Persephone is the name given to a robot used as a tour guide inside Alistrati Cave, about 84 miles northeast of Thessaloniki, Greece. (Giannis Papanikos/ap )
By Costas Kantouris Associated Press
ALISTRATI, Greece — Persephone is a tour guide in Greece, but perhaps not the type people are used to.
Billed as the world’s first robot tour guide inside a cave, Persephone has been welcoming visitors since mid-July to the Alistrati Cave in northern Greece, 84 miles northeast of the city of Thessaloniki.
The multilingual robot covers the first 500 feet of the part of the cave that is open to the public. In the remaining 2,400 feet, a human guide takes over.
The robot was named Persephone because, according to one version of the ancient Greek myth, it was in a nearby plain that Pluto — the god of the underworld who was also known as Hades — abducted Persephone, with the consent of her father Zeus, to take her as his wife.
The robot can give its part of the tour in 33 languages and interact at a basic level with visitors in three languages. It can also answer 33 questions, but only in Greek.
Nikos Kartalis, the scientific director for the Alistrati site, had the idea of creating the robot when he saw one on TV guiding visitors at an art gallery. Seventeen years later, “we got our funds and the robot guide became a reality,” Kartalis said.
The robot was built by the National Technology and Research Foundation and cost $139,000.
“We already have a 70% increase in visitors compared to last year since we started using” the robot, said Kartalis. “People are enthusiastic, especially the children, and people who had visited in the past are coming back to see the robot guide.”
The robot moves along a walkway, passing through an ornate, colorful landscape of stalactites and stalagmites. These varied formations can reach 50 feet tall and are seen throughout the cave’s nearly 1.6-mile walkway, which is accessible to people with limited mobility.
Kartalis said the cave was 3 million years old and was first explored in 1974 by the Hellenic Speleological Society and a team of Austrian speleologists. It opened to visitors in 1998.
Persephone, with a white body, black head and two luminous eyes, moves on wheels, guiding visitors to the first three of eight stops along the walkway.
The robot begins by saying: “My name is Persephone, I am the daughter of the goddess Demeter and the wife of Pluto, the god of the underworld. I welcome you to my under Earth kingdom, the Alistrati Cave.”
Many visitors are intrigued by the robot guide.
“It was surprising for me. I’ve never experienced such a thing. Actually, honestly, I prefer a live guide, but it’s interesting doing it this way. And I like the pace of the robot. It goes slower, so I can look around,” said Patrick Markes, a Czech visitor.
Evdokia Karafera is one of the tour guides who partners with the robot.
“It is helpful, because it speaks many languages. There’s just a little delay in the touring,” she said. “Most find it fascinating, especially the children, and find it interesting that it speaks many languages.”
-end-
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Re: MACA Resto Camp Photos - Wed Night & Thursday
they work!
nice shots, Debs! -----Original Message-----
From: Deborah Nelson via groups.io <deborah.nelson75@...> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, Aug 25, 2021 12:49 am Subject: [MACAresto] MACA Resto Camp Photos - Wed Night & Thursday Not sure why the other links didn't work, but I think these do (fingers crossed)
Wednesday Night Tour:
Thursday:
Please let me know if you have any issues getting to the pictures.
Thanks,
Deb
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Re: RFC 2021 photo link
Excellent photos, Ken!
Great pics of Couch Cave.
My favorites are the ones you snapped on the Wed. night 'reward trip' (--those stairs all look so CLEAN) -----Original Message-----
From: Ken Dejonge <caveboyken@...> To: [email protected] Sent: Wed, Aug 11, 2021 6:37 pm Subject: [MACAresto] RFC 2021 photo link Hopefully this works for all the pic's I took last week. If it doesn't please let me know and I'll try to figure out why.
-Ken |
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Summer Employee Newsletter
-----Original Message-----
From: Ballard, Chelsea S <Chelsea_Ballard@...> To: NPS MACA All Employees <MACA_All_Employees@...> Cc: pamsaberton@... <pamsaberton@...>; garygibula@... <garygibula@...> Sent: Wed, Aug 11, 2021 11:33 am Subject: Summer Employee Newsletter
Hello!
I have attached the summer employee newsletter! Thanks to everyone who submitted articles or photos for this publication. For the fall edition there is a quick turn around with the deadline for photos and article submissions being on
September 1st! Please know that we would like to see submissions from each division, let me know how I can help!?
I hope you enjoy this publication.?
Thanks,
Chelsea Ballard
Division of Interpretation
Mammoth Cave National Park
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Re: Aug 2021 MACA Resto Camp photos - Coach Cave
Well done, Deb --that's a LOT of pics from just those two days! Well documented, great job :) -----Original Message-----
From: Deborah Nelson via groups.io <deborah.nelson75@...> To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Sent: Mon, Aug 9, 2021 10:46 pm Subject: [MACAresto] Aug 2021 MACA Resto Camp photos - Coach Cave Hello,
Here's a link to the pictures I took last Monday & Tuesday while we were working in Coach Cave
I hope you enjoy them?
 - Deborah Nelson
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Gary Gibula
