Diver Van Avery grew up in the Twin Cities with little exposure to nature. But as a teen, they fell in love with the North Shore and developed a special connection with Sugarloaf Cove, a nature preserve along Lake Superior, about 45 miles north of Two Harbors.

“You learn right away when you’re there that it used to be clear-cut,” they said, referring to the site’s past use as an industrial log storage facility. “[It] has — really in our lifetimes — come to be this forested place that feels wild. My little ecological-minded soul always felt touched by it.”

Van Avery, a writer and public artist based in Minneapolis, has created two new audio pieces designed for walking along the preserve’s nature trail. The projects, premiering July 11 as part of the site’s grand re-opening, invite visitors into an immersive experience of stillness, listening and mindfulness. 

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Sugarloaf Cove sits on a protected bay of Lake Superior, surrounded by cliffs of volcanic rock 1.1 billion years old. Nearby, visitors can spot geological features that reveal the site’s deep time, from wavy rocks formed by ancient lava flows to 2.7 billion-year-old pebbles. The U.S. government obtained the land from the Ojibwe through the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe. 

Today, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources owns the protected beachfront. The surrounding acreage and the nature center are owned and managed by a nonprofit organization, Sugarloaf: The North Shore Stewardship Association.

Van Avery, who also works as a licensed therapist, has spent decades creating art that engages with unusual materials and venues. Poetry and Pie, an annual event happening on June 21 in Minneapolis’ Powderhorn Park, is a quintessential example of their focus on food, community and literature. They also co-founded Poetry for People and co-created the Poetry Mobile with sculptor Adam Croft, transforming a golf cart into a mobile writing studio. 

While Van Avery initially dreamed of a multimedia live performance for Sugarloaf Cove, they eventually settled on the audio format.

“People listening to things through headphones have a unique, solitary experience that is also quite intimate. That felt really compelling to me,” they said. “And then it was just amazing to call up this scrappy, beautiful little organization. I said, ‘Hi, I’m an artist, can I make art on your site?’ And Molly [Thompson], the executive director, was like, ‘Yep, sure.’”

Van Avery’s first audio project for the site, “The Seeker,” premiered in 2024. It explored climate anxiety alongside grief over a parent’s death, incorporating music and meditation.

“It was a great project, and it set up the relationship for us to do more,” Thompson said.

The nature preserve has hosted artistic collaborations in the past, including a 2021 installation by artist Sean Connaughty in partnership with the Grand Marais Art Colony. Connaughty installed giant round nests throughout the site, some of which remain visible today.

“It just opens up a whole new audience for us,” Thompson said of the artist partnerships. “It gets people to enjoy the site and experience nature in a different way than they normally would.”

For the new works, Van Avery collaborated with a team of musicians. Peter Morrow designed the sound and composed music for “The Successors,” which taps into the site’s history, reflecting on both its past and its future. Morrow worked alongside singers Theo Langason and Christian Bardin with drummer A.P. Looze composing the beats. 

For “The Beholder,” musicians Margot Bassett Silver and Crystal Myslajek composed a score that guides listeners into a state of mindfulness, deepening the appreciation of the natural surroundings.

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For the grand re-opening event on July 11, visitors can check out iPods equipped with headphones or use QR codes to stream the tracks. Because internet access is limited outside the interpretive center, visitors are encouraged to download the audio from the website before arriving. The opening celebration will also feature a nature craft station, a personalized poem station and a live musical performance by Bardin, Langason and Morrow at 3 p.m.

The event also marks the debut of the nature center’s newly renovated interior, designed by Split Rock Studios. The firm has designed museum exhibits across the country, including regional projects such as the Bell Museum of Natural History, the Chik-Wauk Museum & Nature Center on the Gunflint Trail and He Mni Can–Barn Bluff in Red Wing.

The Sugarloaf Cove Nature Center grand re-opening and the premiere of Van Avery’s audio installations takes place Saturday, July 11, from 1 to 4 p.m., with a live musical performance at 3 p.m., at Sugarloaf Cove, 9096 Hwy. 61, Schroeder (Free). More information here.

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