Fall 2009 NYSOEA Pathways

8/2/2019 Fall 2009 NYSOEA Pathways

1/12Page1 of 12Pathways Fall 2009

Pathways

The technological wonders of our age have allowed us to be tunedin and stay better connected to our favorite entertainment, socialnetworking sites and current affairs. As we become more con-nected, we have also become more disconnected from our naturalworld. As educators, we see rst-hand that parents are skepticalof the unknown that lurks in nature and consider the indoors as asafe alternative. However, the outdoors draws our curiosity, andto be deprived of outdoor play can be described as synonymousof being robbed of our childhood. It is in the forest our imagina-tion blossoms and we come to understand our relationship to theworld, it is here we transform from the environmentally ignorant tothe environmentally literate citizens that come to appreciate andrespect the natural world.

In a very short time, author Richard Louv and the Children and Nature Network (C&NN), the organization inspired by his2005 Last Child in the Woods book, is reversing the nature-decit disorder epidemic. Hundreds of grass roots groupsnationwide are rediscovering the outdoors, and recently the federal government reintroduced the, No Child Left InsideActon Earth Day 2009. This legislation would encourage states to create environmental literacy plans that would ensureenvironmental literacy for as part of K-12 education. This legislation also calls for the professional de-

NYSOEA moves to promote Environmental Literacy for all New Yorkers

Ofcial Publication of the New York State Outdoor Education Association Fall 2009

w w w . n y s o e a . o r g 6 0 7 . 5 9 1 . 6 4 2 2

In this issue: New Members Updates Award recognition Info Ramblings from Red Hill And much more!!

by Tim stanley

Warm Blooded Plantsby Cynthia Wood

If you live in the Northeastern US and you walk in the woodson spring mornings, youre likely to see a skunk cabbage.Indeed, you might see a skunk cabbage growing while the

snow is still on the ground. What you may not notice, unlessyou look closely, is that the snow around the skunk cabbagehas melted. Its not a spectacular sight, but around all of theskunk cabbages you see, there will be a small hole in thesnow.

Whats happening here? Is the sun warming the darkerplants and melting the snow? No. Actually, the phenomenonyoure seeing is called thermogenesis, and its a normalability of the plant. Or to put it another way, the easternskunk cabbage is warm-blooded. Its ability to generate heatenables it to grow and ower while the snow is still on theground even though the plant is not frost-resistant. The

frost will never touch it.

(continued on page 9)

(continued on page 11)Go Outsideand Play!

(details inside)

New Study: Kids Need the Adventure of Risky Play.

Photo courtesy from Tim Stanley and Nathan Garcia



2/12Pathways Fall 2009Page2 of 12

NYSOEA Executive BoardPresident

MaryLynne Malone

VP AdministrationMaritza Cuevas

VP CommunicationNirmal Merchant

VP Human ResourcesTim Stanley

VP ProgramRebecca Houser

SecretaryMeaghan Boice-Green

TreasurerElizabeth Van Acker

OfceDarleen Lieber

Regional DirectorsEastern- Tim NeuMetro- Jessica KratzNorthern- Gary Griz CaudleWestern- Lauren MakeyenkoCentral- Christine DeCesare

2010 National Confer-ence Committee ChairsJessica Olenych

Betsy UkeritisMaryLynne Malone

PAthwaysEditor- Frank KnightLayout- Nathan Garcia

Invitation for Articles and News.The PATHWAYSteam is always eager to hear from members and publish the ar-ticles that they have authored or news or event announcements that they would liketo share with fellow members. We invite you to send your submission for our nextissue. Simply send us the text with any supporting material -- pictures, newspaperclippings and more. We can receive it in any of the ways listed below.

Advertising in PathwaysPATHWAYSwelcomes advertisements which will be of interest to the membership

of NYSOEA. If you have a product, service, equipment, resource, program, etc. thatyou would like to share with our membership via an advertisement, we can receive itthrough any of the following ways.

Email: [email protected]: (607) 753-5982

Materials should be typed. Please include a short biographical section about theauthor of the article. References cited in the article should be listed at the end of thearticle, APA style.

(ISSN 1077-5100) PATHWAYSis published four times a year by the New York StateOutdoor Education Association and is emailed to NYSOEA members. Opinionsexpressed by contributors are theirs solely and not necessarily those of the EditorialBoard of pathways or of NYSOEA. Advertisements included in pathways should notbe interpreted as endorsement of the product(s) by NYSOEA.

Greetings. Each time I sit to write news for themembership, I am overwhelmed by all of the greathappenings in our organization and throughout thestate at our afliate organizations. I am pleased tolet everyone know that the new NYSOEA websiteis absolutely amazing. I truly believe that we havesomething to be proud of. The launch scheduledfor November 15, 2009, is a couple of monthssooner than I had originally intended, but thanksto the dedication of the Communications Com-mittee and the new VP Communications, Nirmal

Merchant, its a reality. You will nd new and interesting things becoming a part of itall of the time. The launch will not include all of the features, but they will be unveiledperiodically. Our 42nd Annual Conference was very successful and as always, leftme exhausted but rejuvenated at the same time. There were wonderful speakers,volunteers, workshop presenters, activities and performers. Over $2000 was raisedfor the endowment with our auction, our store was buzzing with folks, and our rafebrought in a healthy amount of income as well. The 2010 Committee chairs traveled

to Portland, Oregon, to present a welcome to Buffalo presentation and has beendiligently recruiting committee chairs and volunteers as well as seeking out donors,sponsors and partners. The Environmental Literacy Committee is forging forwardwith a plan. We have a committee that is working on creating certication for non-formal educators in NY. Our Diversity Committee is becoming more active again.The board has been in constant communication and has been making some won-derful progress spreading the word about the association, recruiting new membersand activating committees.

Enjoy the crisp morning air and whats left of the leaves!Dont forget to visit nysoea.org!

MaryLynne Malone

A Note from the President

Mail: Darleen M. LieberRef: Pathways Advertisement / ArticleE-334 Park Center, SUNY Cortland RPLS Dept.PO Box 2000 Cortland, NY 13045



Jessica Kratz(Metro Region) is the incoming Metro Region representative andlooks forward to co-hosting meetings, eld trips, and service activities through-out the region, such as the green roof on Randalls Island and the Chelsea HighLine. Jessica has been a member of NYSOEA for about 5 years and has begunattending conferences in 04 at Montauk and started presenting as her alter ego,the Statue of Liber-tree in 08 in the Adirondacks and has since presented aboutmarketing and fundraising, emerging areas of expertise she hopes to bring toNYSOEA.As an Urban Park Ranger, She had experience leading outdoor education pro-grams for all age groups. In the GreenApple Corps, She provided the administra-tive framework for a green-collar jobs program at the forefront of sustainabilityinitiatives, such as Million Trees plantings, green roofs, and sustainable mountainbike trail construction. In her current role as coordinator of the Greenbelt NatureCenter, she marries the programmatic and administrative background with facili-ties management to bring a diverse array of programs to a wide audience.Additionally, Jessica an avid hiker and poet with an occasional yen for swimming

and for on-water adventure. Nature is her gym and her muse.

Welcome to Our New Regional Directors

(Continued)

Lauren Makeyenko(Western Region) joined the NYSOEA board this year asthe Western New York region chair. She attended her rst NYSOEA conferencein 2006 at Beaver Hollow Conference Center and uses many of the techniquesfrom workshops she attended at that conference to this day. She is currently theExperience Manager at Tifft Nature Preserve, a 264-acre urban preserve operatedby the Buffalo Museum of Science. Prior to working at Tifft, Lauren held a posi-tion as an Environmental Educator at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve. She hasalso worked for the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning in the

pollution prevention program and as Program Coordinator for the Center for GreatLakes Environmental Education. She co-instructs a Great Lakes Ecology course atthe University of Buffalo and loves to get students involved with local environmen-tal organizations.

Lauren spends most of her free time with her husband Josh and 22-month old daughterRuby. Living in the historic district of Buffalo, they like to bust out and explore nature areasthroughout WNY whenever they can. Since Rubys current favorite activity is lifting rocks tond worms, Lauren often nds herself getting dirty wherever a rock can be found! Laurenalso enjoys nature photography, especially macro. She is excited to be working with NY-SOEA and cant wait for the conference to come to Buffalo in 2010!

Tim Neu(Eastern Region) began his career at the Ashokan Field Campus in1982. In 2003, Tim became Director of Ashokan, just as some major challengeswere on the horizon. He was part of the team that guided the transition to whatis now the Ashokan Center through a cooperative effort between Open SpaceInstitute, NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and the Ashokan Founda-tion, More challenges lie ahead as plans are underway to relocate the heart of theAshokan campus to higher ground. His vision of Ashokans future is to become amodel of sustainability, and to create a living classroom dedicated to promotingour cultural heritage through living history, music, and the arts, and to bring envi-ronmental awareness, responsible stewardship, and sustainable practices backinto mainstream consciousness.


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(directors continued)

Gary Griz Caudle(Northern Region) is an adjunct lecturer at SUNYPlattsburgh and SUNY Geneseo. He retired from full-time teaching7 years ago and moved to the land he has loved his whole life; theAdirondacks. He has written several college programs for experien-tial outdoor education and various curricula for elementary and high

school classes. In his spare time, he paddles when the lakes andstreams are open, hikes and climbs year-round, and snowboardsover 100 days a season. His goal for NYSOEA is to have every NewYork school involved in some manner with the organization.

The greatest gift teachers can give is to help youth validatethemselves as capable people.

Chris DeCesare(Central Region) - She is currently the central region repre-

sentative for NYSOEA. She hopes to reach out to members of her region forprofessional development and networking opportunities and gather new mem-bers by showing them why its fullling to be a part of this organization. She hasattended conferences for many years and began giving back to NYSOEA in2005 by offering her rst workshop and designing the cover of the conferencebooklet. She was the workshop chair for the 2008 conference in Lake Placid.She has been happily employed as an environmental educator at NYSDECsRogers Center for 11 years. Her formal education includes a bachelors degreein wildlife biology and a masters degree in environmental education.

Chris has many outdoor interests from hiking, biking, and kayaking to garden-ing and landscaping. She likes to do so many things that sometimes she feelshe cant possibly do them all!

Nominations open for the 2010 Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award

The Richard C. Bartlett Award is presented annually by the National Environmental Education

Foundation to an outstanding teacher who has successfully integrated environmental educa-tion into his or her daily curriculum. The 2010 prize will be given to a high school teacher whocan serve as an inspiration and model for both students and colleagues. The winner receives a$5,000 award and a trip to Washington D.C. where he or she meets with representatives fromthe environmental education community to further his or her education network. Do you know ateacher who stands out among the rest? If so, please nominate him/her for the 2010 Richard C.Bartlett Award. Nominations will be accepted through January 15, 2010.

To learn more or submit your nomination visit http://www.neefusa.org/bartlettaward.htm



Board Movements

Nirmal Merchantjoins the NYSOEA board as VP of Communicationsthis year (2009). His mission is to bring the NYSOEA.org website andthe Pathways publications into the Web 2.0 era. He plans to open themfor interaction with anyone and everyone interested in environmentaleducation by leveraging social and open media.

He currently serves as IT Project Manager at McKinsey & Companywhere he works on solving business problems using technology innancial content and knowledge management domains.

When he is not getting his hands dirty in technology, he bikes or kayaksalong the Hudson. He makes it a point to be in touch with nature, be itscuba diving, biking or hiking whenever he travels. He enjoys absorbingthe beauty of nature and culture.

Nirmal feels that our generation is a bit removed from the very forces and resources that sustain itand that environmental education plays a key role in strengthening that connection. He hopes thathis participation at NYSOEA gives him an avenue to make a difference in that direction.

New Board Member

Tim Stanley -Is privileged to serve on the NYSOEA board of directors as VPof Human Resources. It is his charge to build the membership and developrelationships with people and organizations that share our commitment to theoutdoors and education.

He attained his BT in Agriculture at SUNY Cobleskill and an AAS in forestryfrom SUNY ESF. After being a Maryland Forest Ranger for two years, hereturned to New York where he currently works for The Fresh Air FundsSharpe Environmental Center as an Environmental Education Coordinator.He has been in this position for many years providing quality environmentaland agricultural education to many schools and of course, many summersof Fresh Air Fund campers. It is his intent to inspire the present and future

generations to develop social responsibility for the natural world, their inheritance.

His greatest pleasure is canoeing an Adirondack lake on a sunny August day surrounded by waterand wilderness. It is there that he truly feel part of something and life just makes sense.

Rebecca Houseris NYSOEAs VP of Programs this year. She has been

a member for 7 years and served previously on the board as the EasternRegion Represenative. She has been teaching environmental ed for the past13 years, and for the past 8 has been teaching about the Hudson River. Sheco-hosted the 2009 NYSOEA Conference with Susan Hereth; a challeng-ing year-long endeavor. The great success of the Conference at Fishkill andSharpe was a tribute to their dedicated hard work. As an avid outdoor womanshe enjoys hiking, swimming, and gardening.



It was mid-August and I was on my way to Vermontwith a bit of apprehension as a traveling companion.So far, my post knee replacement activities hadgone fairly well but this one had me concerned. Thecountryside of the Green Mountain State is knownfor its covered bridges, beautiful views and ruggedterrain. It was into this world that my new joint wasgoing to take its nal exam; a weekend adventurewith Bike Vermont.

As with most bike tours everyone started at abeautiful inn; in this case Montgomery House, just15 miles from the Canadian border. Our diverseband was made up of hard core riders in skinhugging spandex, baggy-shorted weekend warriorsand a few who hadnt been on a bike in a long time.While I had been riding quite a bit as part of myrehab, it was all on a stationary wind trainer. Thiswas going to be my rst real test on a non-tetheredbicycle; and not horizontal or in front of a TV.

The rst morning Erik, one of the tour leaders,

went over the days route. He informed everyonethat he would be coming around in a van, helpinganyone in need. Empty water bottle? Hed rell it.Need a snack? Fig Newtons and granola bars allaround; fruit too if youd like. Hill too steep? A quickride in the van to the top and youd be on your wayagain. And while all of that sounded reassuring, itwasnt how I wanted to approach this ride. I reallywanted to see if I was up to the challenge withouta van crutch. As we left the inns parking lot, mycondence wasnt faltering but it wasnt ying skyhigh either. Only time and many miles in the saddlewould tell how this would all work out.

The rst few miles of the morning consisted ofnumerous small rolling hills; just what I needed todiscover if this ride was achievable or just a pipedream. Quickly followed by a reclaimed rail trailalong the Missisquoi River, the path was borderedby vast ripening cornelds. Green leaves andgolden tassels were all a blur as I rode through thismaize tunnel. Rushing rapids in the backgroundadded a natural soundtrack to my ride as thecountryside ew by. Before I realized it the rst bighills were successfully overcome and I was at the

border eager to enter Quebec. Passport in handI approached the gate, exchanged pleasantrieswith the guard and rode on to the village ofFrelighsburg. With half the ride completed, I feltupbeat, elated and ready for more riding after abrief lunch.

Ah, but there was the rub: the steepest terrain ofthe day still awaited! The leaders had warned usabout the hill, intimating that some riders wouldmost assuredly be looking for the van to whiskthem to the top. So here was my challenge.The crux of this ride lay just ahead and while Iwasnt nervous about it, since I was fairly certainI wouldnt be pedaling to the top. It was then thatsomething Erik shared with me came to mind. Afriend of his, who usually rides in out of the wayplaces, has a saying; if you aint hiking, then youaint biking! I took great comfort in this phrase,using it as my mental mantra while approachingthe dreaded slope.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK was the only sound Iheard as my thumb shifters lowered me intoan appropriate gear. With only a third of the hillbehind me, Id clicked down as far as I could.It was time to walk. And I did; gladly. For thenext half mile I looked out over a beautiful appleorchard, taking in the increasing view as I pushedmy bike along the roads shoulder to the top. Atthe summit I saddled up and was off again; thewheels of my bike humming contentedly as theypassed over the smooth black asphalt. The joyin that sound mirrored what I felt at the end ofthe days ride. As with most of lifes pleasures

and perils, there are tradeoffs: while the beautifulcorneld had been a eeting blur, the appleorchard and slowly unfolding scenic view werea delight. I had covered a distance of 44 milesover hill and dale, testing my knee throughout thecourse of six hours. It had been a great day to beoutside and better yet, to be walking normally atthe end of it. Id happily been hiking and biking.

Until next time, may all your rambles lead you tonew and exciting places...

If you aint hiking, then you aint biking!

Ramblings

fRom

RedH

ill

bySnapperPetta




AWARD NOMINATIONSDo you know someone who deserves recognition for dedication and hard work? If so, NYSOEA annually recognizesindividuals for their achievements. If you want to show your appreciation, simply nominate the individual by December 1,2009.Nominating someone is SIMPLE. Follow these two easy steps

Step 1:Read the description to see if your nominee qualies.Step 2:Make a note of the nominees achievements in regard to the award. Think of any necessary facts, dates and ac-

complishments supporting your nomination.

Step 3: Go to http://nysoea.org/2009/10/31/awards/ and ll in the details of your nomination and submit your nomination.You may also print the online form and mail the copy along with any supporting material to the address provided below.

OR

Step 4:Fill in the details in the nomination form provided as an insert in your printed copy of Pathways and send it to thefollowing address:

NYSOEA Ofce,c/o Dept. of Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies

Box 2000, SUNY Cortland, Cortland, NY 13045e-mail: [email protected]

This years award ceremony will be at Ashokan Centers Winter Weekend, February 5th -7th, 2010.

Harlan Gold Metcalf Award, The highest honor present-ed to a member of the Association. Candidates must havemade a valuable professional contribution in New YorkState, demonstrated outstanding leadership, contributed to,

and made signicant achievements in the eld of outdooreducation. Recipients must have 10 years professionalexperience and be a current NYSOEA member.

Leadership Award, Presented to candidate who is re-sponsible for the growth of professionals in the eld, whocreated innovative programs, and/or provided the manage-ment support that expanded outdoor education at the local,state or national level. Recipient does not have to be amember of the Association.

Service Award, Presented for outstanding support of As-sociation goals by contribution of personal time and energy.

Recipient must be a member for three years.

Art and Literary Award, Given for outstanding artistic orliterary ability demonstrated by publication, scholarly pur-suits and other creative art achievements related to outdooreducation. Nomination does not require Association mem-bership.

Environmental Impact Outdoor Educator Award, Award-ed to an individual or organization involved in research,conservation and political action that inuence, protectedand successfully dealt with problems associated with the

environment. NYSOEA membership is not required.

Outdoor Educator Award, This honor recognizes theoutstanding classroom teacher, environmental educator orinterpreter in the Association who has used the outdoorsto enrich curriculum and/or interpret the natural world in away that has expanded the environmental appreciation ofchildren or adults. Candidates must be active in the eld forve years and a NYSOEA member for two years.

Julian Smith Student Award, Presented to a deserv-ing undergraduate or graduate student who have showna commitment to outdoor education through study, lead-

ership, volunteer work and seasonal employment. Thestudent must be enrolled full time (12 hours) and have agrade point average of 2.5 in a program of study related tooutdoor education. Applicant must submit a statement ofinterest and highlight experiences and /or contributions tothe eld. Two letters of recommendation must be securedfrom professors or one each from a NYSOEA member anda professor familiar with the students background.

Other Awards, Presidential Award, Volunteer EducatorAward, Appreciation Award.

Awards to consider are:



velopment of teachers and educators and outdoor learningexperiences for students.

In response to the national momentum, NYSOEA formedan environmental literacy committee to address this issuein New York State. As the statewide outdoor educationassociation, it was a logical step for our organization, offormal and non-formal educators, to take a proactive stancein helping build momentum at the state level. ProfessorsBeth Klein from SUNY Cortland and Mary Leou from NewYork University approached the NYSOEA Board of Direc-tors with an interest to develop an environmental literacyplan for New York State. That led to the formation of theEnvironmental Literacy Committee in January 2009. Thecommittee set forth to inform NYSOEA members and alsogather preliminary information on how to dene an environ-mentally literate citizen in New York State and the pathwaysthat lead environmental literacy. A series of roundtableswere held in the ve regions of NYSOEA. The goal of the

roundtables was to engage constituents in a dialogue aboutthe development of an environmental literacy plan. Impor-tant information was gleaned from this series of conversa-tions, and the results were presented at the 2009 NYSOEAconference in September. The results will be posted on theNYSOEA website.

The committees ultimate goal is to ensure an environmen-tal literacy plan comes to fruition in New York State thatprovides for environmental education in grades K-12 andteacher training and preparation to support it. The com-mittee will also work with the New York State EducationDepartment to secure an Environmental Literacy Plan forNYS. Once New York has an environmental literacy planand The No Child Left Inside Legislation is signed into law,New York will be eligible for federal funding to begin steer-ing our educational system into a direction that will inspireour youth to better understand and make the decisions thatensure a healthy future for a sustainable world.

Susan HerethNYSOEA Environmental Literacy Committee ChairScenic Hudson Education [email protected]

Mary LeouNew York University34 Stuyvesant Street 5th .New York, NY 10003(212) [email protected]

Helpful LinksNYSOEA Ning Site: http://nysoea.ning.com/Visit to view and participate in committee updates, online discussions, etc.

The Bradley Bill: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A03726NY State Environmental Education legislation in process

The Kavanagh Bill: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A07391

NY State Environmental Education legislation in process

No Child Left Inside Federal Environmental Education legislation in process:Senate Version http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.866:

House Version - http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.2054:

NCLI Coalition:http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=699

TEEP Listserve: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/wallerstein/teep

(continued from front page)

Beth KleinSUNY CortlandPO Box 2000Cortland, NY 13045

(607) [email protected]

Contact Information For the NYS Literacy Committee



10/12

NAAEEs 39th annual conference

environmental education

Building Connections~Bridging Gaps

Buffalo-Niagara, New York Sept. 29 - Oct. 2, 2010

7th Annual Research Symposium Sept. 28 & 29

STRANDS

Arts, Culture, and Spirituality

Conservation Education

Innovative Programs and Practices

Network and Leadership Development

Place-based Education

Socio-ecological Justice andCommunity Engagement

Teaching and Learning Sustainability

Technology and Energy

Urban and Rural Interface

THREADS

Business and Industry

Diversity

Early Childhood

International

K-12 Formal Education

Research and Evaluation

Service Learning

All sessions held at the Hyatt Regency Buffalo

and the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center

Volunteer committees are forming contact

[email protected]

CALL FOR PAPERSopens September 15http://www.naaee.org/conference/call-for-presentations

Page10 of 12 Pathways Fall 2009



play behavior, such as climbing trees,playing tag and splashing throughcreeks helps children learn to make

judgements and know their own limits.They also suggested that todays par-ents are keeping their kids too safe.The original article, posted in The

Observer, notes that more children areadmitted to the hospital with injuriesfrom falling out of bed than out oftrees.

They went on to say, The tendencyto wrap children in cotton wool hastransformed how they experiencechildhood. According to the research,70 per cent of adults had their big-gest childhood adventures in outdoorspaces among trees, rivers and

woods, compared with only 29 percent of children today. The majorityof young people questioned said thattheir biggest adventures took place inplaygrounds.

Do you stand in the backyard or onthe front porch and yell, Heidi, timeto come home! when your kids areoutside playing unsupervised in theneighbors yard? No? Then perhapsyou are among the generation ofparents reported on in todays Tree

Huggere-newsletter, New Study: KidsNeed the Adventure of Risky Play.

The group Play England, who con-ducted the study, suggested that risky

Go Outside and Playby Heidi Hunt

Thermogenesis is rare in plants butdoes occur in several species of Arumand in the philodendron, as well as

the skunk cabbage. The heat genera-tion of these thermogenic plants is nottrivial, either. Recent measurementsof the titan arum Ted, at UC Davis,showed the inorescence the ower-like structure of the arum couldmaintain a temperature of 32 degreesCentigrade (90 F), well above the sur-rounding air temperature of 20 C (68F). The skunk cabbage can do evenbetter, maintaining temperatures ashigh as 35 C, even when the air tem-

perature is below freezing.

Why do these plants do this? Whatpossible benets could accrue? Sur-prisingly, it appears that they did notdevelop their unique ability as a way toward off the cold. While the skunk cab-bage certainly uses its thermogenicabilities to be able to bloom earlier,most thermogenic plants come fromwarmer, or even tropical climes. Thearums, being fairly ancient plants, itseems more likely that the skunk cab-

bage has merely found another usefor an already existing ability. So whywould tropical plants need to heat up?

Titan Arum Ted the answer, ac-cording to most biologists, is simple

the need to attract pollinators. Manyarums, such as the titan arum men-tioned above, bloom infrequently (as

rarely as every 8 to 10 years in somecases), and so their pollinators needto be able to nd them quickly, and

from far away. By heating up the plantcan render its scent more volatile, andtherefore more easily disseminated.The titan arums distinctively horriblescent, which has earned it the name

the Corpse Flower, can be detectedmore than a mile away. Once the pol-linators, usually insects, have beenattracted, the warm inorescence alsomakes an attractive place to rest. Theneed to spread scent widely is thesame drive that gives the titan arum its

enormous central spadia (the centralpillar, seen in the photo). That spadia,and the surrounding inorescence,make up the largest oral structure inthe plant world up to three meterstall.

The advantage of thermogenesismust be strong because the energy

demands on the plant are huge. It isestimated that the skunk cabbage,when maintaining its heat against sub-

freezing temperatures, uses as muchmetabolic energy as a small rodent,or even a hummingbird. Normal plantmetabolism is much slower, so thismuch energy usage is remarkable.In order to generate all this energy,thermogenic plants use an entirealternate respiratory process, one thatuses mitochondria and fats, neither ofwhich is involved in normal plant res-piration. The whole process, in otherwords, looks rather more like animal

metabolism than normal plant metabo-lism. This energy cost is undoubtedlywhy most thermogenic plants dontmaintain heat constantly, but ratheruse it sparingly. In the arums, only theinorescence itself heats up, and thenonly during the day. The skunk cab-bage uses heat more lavishly, presum-ably to protect itself from the cold, butonce the snow is gone and bloomingis over, it too reverts to normal cold-blooded plant behavior.

Perhaps we should be grateful thatplants only use this particular pathwayfor heat generation. After all, with allthat available energy, who knows whatthey could do by using it for somethingmore than just a little heat. The greatmonsters of tomorrow may not comefrom outer space or the laboratory, butfrom our backyards.

(continued from front page)


12/12

Non-Prot

U.S. Postage

P A I DCortland, NY

Permit No. 14

New York State Outdoor Education Association

c/o Department of Recreation, Parks and Leisure StudiesP.O. Box 2000

SUNY Cortland

Cortland, New York 13045

NYSOEAisaprofessionalorganizationthatpromotesinterdisciplinarylife-longlearningin,for,andabouttheoutdoorsandseekstoinspireappreciationoftheenvironmentbyallpeople.

PathwaysInthisFall2009issue:

NewMembersUpdates

AwardrecognitionInfo

RamblingsfromRedHill

Andmuchmore!!

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website!www.nysoea.org

Fall 2009 NYSOEA Pathways

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