SHAYNA: ONE WAY TO EXPLORE THE OUTDOORS, CAMPING.
BUT WHAT IF YOU ARE NOT INTO THAT?
THIS SPOT IN SOUTHWEST HARBOR MIGHT BE THE ANSWER.
>> I COULD CAMP WITH THIS.
[LAUGHTER] >> WE FOUND OUT THAT GLAMPING WAS A THING.
PEOPLE DON’T JUST WANT TO GO ON VACATION, THEY WANT AN EXPERIENCE.
STAYING IN A YURT IS AN EXPERIENCE.
SHAYNA: YURTS ARE TRADITIONALLY MODEST CIRCULAR DWELLINGS.
THEY ORIGINATED IN CENTRAL ASIA A FEW THOUSAND YEARS AGO.
ACADIA YURTS MAKES YOUR LIFE THE -- YURT LIFE THE LUX LIFE.
THESE ARE CO-OWNERS AND DOMESTIC PARTNERS.
>> THE SMALLER YURTS CAN SLEEP FOUR, THE LARGER CAN SLEEP SIX.
THE PROPERTY CAN HOLD 32 PEOPLE.
SHAYNA: THESE YURT ARE AIRY, WITH A SPA-LIKE FEEL.
>> THE DOMA ALLOWS A LOT OF NATURAL LIGHT TO COME IN.
WE SAW THIS YURT AND WE WERE INSPIRED BY IT.
WE BROUGHT THE MODERN LUXURIES TO THAT SPACE.
WE PUT IN KITCHENS AND BATHROOMS.
WE HAVE WI-FI AND AIR CONDITIONING.
WE WANTED THE SPACE TO BE COMFORTABLE, BECAUSE THAT IS HOW WE WOULD PREFER TO LIVE.
[LAUGHTER] SHAYNA: AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, THESE BATHROOMS DO HAVE REAL PLUMBING, WHICH TAKES GLAMPING TO A NEW LEVEL.
THE ONLY AMENITY MISSING, TV’S.
THEY SAY THEY HOPE THAT GUESTS COME HERE TO UNPLUG.
>> WE ARE A LITTLE TOO CONNECTED TO OUR DEVICES.
WE NEED TO TALK TO EACH OTHER AND BE QUIET FOR A WHILE.
>> IT WAS A PLACE TO GET AWAY FROM THE DISTRACTIONS OF EVERYDAY LIFE AND LIVE A LITTLE MORE SIMPLY FOR THE WEEK.
SHAYNA: PROFESSOR JOHN ANDERSON HAS SPENT MUCH OF HIS CAREER UNPLUGGING FOR RESEARCH.
>> WITH THE ORGANISMS IN THE ENVIRONMENT THEY ARE OPERATING IN, YOU ARE SEEING THEM WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK THEY EVOLVED.
SHAYNA: IN THE TRADITION OF CHARLES DARWIN, PROFESSOR ANDERSON IS A NATURAL HISTORIAN AND AUTHOR.
>> CHARLES DARWIN NEVER CALLED HIMSELF A SCIENTIST.
HE DID NOT FOCUS IN ON ONE TINY PIECE OF THE NATURAL WORLD.
HE WAS INTERESTED IN EVERYTHING FROM BIRDS TO BARNACLES.
THAT IS WHAT WE ARE TRYING TO DO WITH NATURAL HISTORY, TO GET AWAY FROM THE HYPER SPECIALIZATION.
IF YOU LOSE CONTEXT, THEN YOU CAN RUN YOURSELF INTO ALL KINDS OF TROUBLE.
SHAYNA: PROFESSOR ANDERSON TEACHES AT THE COLLEGE OF THE ATLANTIC IN BAR HARBOR.
THE SCHOOL OFFERS ITS STUDENTS DEGREES IN HUMAN ECOLOGY, WHICH ENCOMPASS EVERYTHING FROM NATURAL HISTORY TO THE VISUAL ARTS TO MARINE SCIENCE.
PROFESSOR ANDERSON AND HIS STUDENTS HAVE MADE STARTLING DISCOVERIES ABOUT SEABIRDS.
>> MAINE IS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO BE A BIRD AND A BIRD LOVER.
WE ARE RIGHT ON THE EDGE OF THE TRUE NORTH, SO WE GET SPECIES LIKE PUFFINS AND AND RAZOR BILL ORCS.
THIS HAS HUGE EFFECTS ON FISH SPECIES.
SHAYNA: WARMING WATERS DO NOT HOLD OXYGEN AS WELL.
>> FOR REALLY ACTIVE FISH, THINGS LIKE TUNA, THAT IS A REAL WORRY.
ALSO, IT HAS EFFECTS ON LARVAE.
SHAYNA: OTHER CREATURES AT RISK, HERRING GULLS AND BLACK BACKED GULLS.
>> WE HAVE SEEN A 40% DECLINE IN THEIR NUMBERS, ALL AROUND THE NORTH ATLANTIC BASIN.
THE GULL POPULATIONS ARE DECLINING.
SHAYNA: FOR ANDERSON, THIS RAISES A BROADER POINT.
>> IF IT WERE OTHER SPECIES, PEOPLE WOULD BE IMMEDIATELY UP IN ARMS.
BUT PEOPLE JUST SAY, THEY ARE SIEGEL’S, WHO CARES?
I HAVE SEEN LOTS OF SEAGULLS.
THEY ARE ACTUALLY REALLY INTERESTING INDICATORS OF THE OVERALL HEALTH OF THE COAST.
SHAYNA: COULD SEAGULLS BE A SPECIES IN DANGER?
IF SO, WILL THE PUBLIC EMBRACE A BIRD OFTEN DERIDED AS A BEACH PIGEON?
>> CONSERVATION IS REALLY IMPORTANT.
WE GREW UP AS A SPECIES IN A REALLY DIVERSE WORLD, SO WE HAVE EMPHASIZED CUTE SPECIES.
IT IS NO ACCIDENT THAT PANDA BEARS FEATURE PROMINENTLY IN CONSERVATION.
ONE OF THE THINGS I FOUND WONDERFUL ABOUT NATURAL HISTORY IS IF I PAY ATTENTION TO ANY SPECIES, IT TURNS OUT TO BE REALLY GORGEOUS.
SHAYNA: FORTUNATELY, THERE IS STILL VARIETIES IN THE SKIES OVER MAINE.
>> I CAN SIT IN A LIGHTHOUSE TOWER AND WATCH GULLS FOR HOURS.
THEY ARE SENDING I MESSAGE ABOUT THE WILDNESS OF THE COAST THAT I COULD NEVER GET JUST SITTING INDOORS AND READING ABOUT IT.
ANTHONY: SO BEAUTIFUL.
BACK TO THE YURTS, KAREN AND AARON PLAN ON BUILDING A SPA WITH A YOGA STUDIO.
SHAYNA: THEY ARE PRETTY COOL.
THEY ALSO HAD A TINY HOUSE ON PROPERTY.
DEPENDING ON THE SEASON, YURTS ARE BETWEEN $800 AND $1500 A WEEK.
THEY ARE NOT AVAILABLE DURING THE WINTER MONTHS.
ANTH