www.nysoea.org • 607.591.6422

PATHWAYSOfficial Publication of the New York State Outdoor Education Association • Fall 2015

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Timothy J. StanleyPresident, NYSOEApresident@nysoea.org

Opening Eyes, Minds & HeartsPresident’s Message

In early November, the keynote speaker at the 2015 Annual NYSOEA Conference, Elizabeth Titus Putnam, founder of the Student Conservation Association (SCA), addressed us: “To my eyes, you deserve to be recognized. You are opening eyes and minds… and you have opened my heart and filled it with renewed hope for our Earth. Like the SCA, you are creating a positive pathway for our youth, a pathway that glows with the promise and commitment and light shining from each and every one of you.” These words are a testimonial on behalf of the professional organization that represents its members and affiliate organizations across New York State.

The annual NYSOEA Conference was a huge success. It attracted 180 people (including many students and professionals just entering the field), all of whom enjoyed a variety of workshops, outdoor activities and great networking opportunities. The wine and cheese hour, set in a large tent adorned with festive lights, invited participants to bid on the silent auction while connecting with new and old friends. Both the silent and live auctions -- with an assortment of items from field binoculars to Haitian art -- raised the most amount of money yet to help grow our organizational endowment. The raffle, too, broke records, and raised enough money to send two campers to the DEC camps this summer. An anonymous donation of $350.00 put our goal of sending campers from all six of our regions to DEC summer camps ahead of schedule.

As President, I extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to each and every one who made 2015 a very successful year for NYSOEA. The Annual Conference is always a highlight and is nothing less than a labor of love by our Conference committees, this year spearheaded by Rebecca Houser, Kate Brill and Susan Hereth. Without the dedication of our volunteers, events like this would never be possible. They brought 180 people together for not only professional development but a celebration

of our professional successes. I am deeply grateful to them, as well as the NYSOEA Board of Directors and all the Committee Chairs and volunteers that make serving the organization a great honor. I am also pleased to welcome Eric Powers, our new President Elect, to the forefront as we begin the transition of leadership. I am excited to have Eric in this new role as we continue to move NYSOEA towards its 50th year celebration in 2018!

If you haven’t done so, I encourage you to visit www.nysoea.org and review the 2015 Annual Report that highlights our combined efforts to promote outdoor education in New York State. There are many ways to support the organization either by volunteering in one of our many active committees, hosting a regional event or activity, renewing your membership, or through financial support.

In our continued NYSOEA efforts to open eyes, minds, and hearts to the wonders of the world outside, we can remind everyone that: Outside is the Best Side!

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A Botanical Bounty at the Freshkills BioBlitzWritten by Jessica Kratz vp_human_resources@nysoea.org

Editor’s Corner

August 30, 2015: a sunny late summer Sunday morning on Staten Island. The crickets were chirping, and many species of butterflies were fluttering by. With the temperature approaching 90 degrees, it was very much still summer, although subtle changes in the phenophase, from fruited trees to changing leaves, gave reason to believe that autumn was around the corner. Walking along a path on the North Mound in what was once the world’s largest landfill, and now transforming into Freshkills Park, I was amazed by the profound peace and the abundance of nature in this setting. Experiencing a state of dadirri (deep listening; quiet still awareness), I was very happy in my solitary quiet contemplation as I walked along the 1-mile path to BioBlitz1 base camp until I came across a man collecting plant specimens.

I greet the man, and he graciously allows me to join his adventure. Daniel E. Atha, Conservation Program Manager of The New York Botanical Garden, describes his specimen collecting process to me in great detail. Each specimen he collects will be pressed, numbered, dried, and then put on archival paper 11.5”x16.5”, becoming part of the William

1. According to National Geographic, a BioBlitz is “a 24-hour event in which teams of volunteer scientists, families, students, teachers, and other community members work together to find and identify as many species of plants, animals, microbes, fungi, and other organisms as possible.” The first BioBlitz in NYC was held in Central Park in 2003. In 2013, Macaulay Honors College, City of New York, made the BioBlitz a mandatory field experience for incoming sophomores. The 2013 BioBlitz was held in Central Park and led to Daniel Atha and Dr. Regina Alvarez working on a Central Park Plant Guide. In 2014, the BioBlitz moved to the New York Botanical Garden, and in 2015, the BioBlitz was held in Freshkills Park, bringing many students to Staten Island for the first time and providing researchers with unprecedented access to specimens and data.

and Lynda Steere Herbarium, where it can be stored for centuries. The Herbarium at the New York Botanical Garden contains over 7.5 million specimens, dating back to the 18th century expeditions of Captain James Cook. In previous centuries, people experienced a greater connection to the flora in the natural world, and explorers took botanists with them on expeditions, just as Captain Cook took Joseph Banks and Daniel Solander on his

first journey to the South Pacific. Additionally, a leaf of each sample will be placed in silica gel and stored in the freezer for DNA as a companion to the herbarium sample.

Some of the finds brought sheer serendipitous joy. Daniel and I came upon a Blackjack Oak (Quercus marilandica). In the immediate moment, I was mostly interested in the shade this tree provided. But when Daniel explained that the Blackjack Oak is a NYS rare species found only in Richmond, Bronx, Suffolk and Nassau Counties, I became more intrigued and excited by our find, and took a photo of Daniel under the tree to capture both the size perspective of the tree and the excitement of the moment.

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Other finds were less joyful but equally, if not more, scientifically significant. Daniel identified and took a sample of Chinese Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata). Though this plant species, a member of the pea family (Fabaceae), was originally introduced in the late 1800s to control erosion and improve soil1, it is a rapidly spreading invasive plant with an insidious root system. This may be the first time this species was identified on Staten Island, though it has been seen in Brooklyn and collected once in the Bronx. The implications of this finding may be that the U.S. Department of Agriculture- Natural Resources Conservation Service Lespedeza cuneata species distribution map2 will need to be updated.

As the morning wore on and the sun beat down upon us, my admiration for Daniel’s tenacity, talent, and ability to endure the tedium of some of the identification tasks continued to grow. He somehow managed to identify over a dozen species of grass, using nature’s nuances to distinguish between barnyard grass and orchard grass. He took the time to point out tips such as the triangular characteristic of sedges and took me deeper into a salt marsh than I have ever been, introducing me to the appropriately named genus Salicornia. Additionally, he showed me that the whole is often greater than the sum of its parts, with a cluster of oak, blackgum, poplar, and cottonwood trees, along with chokeberry, holly, briers, and fetterbush indicate a high quality wetland.

Imbued with the sense of awe and gratitude from the morning’s apprenticeship, I continued the adventure in the afternoon, as an assistant chaperone for a group of incoming sophomores from Macaulay Honors College, who comprised the majority of the BioBlitz experience. While much of the walk to the wetland insect monitoring site was going over safety precautions and offering snacks and water to make them more comfortable with their first field experience, the students quickly mastered their sweep nets and monitoring protocol, catching the coveted Bronzed Tiger Beetle (Cicindela repanda), and transferring a diverse array of other specimens, from crickets to wasps, from sweep nets to alcohol-filled test tubes and placing butterflies into glassines.

I ended the day much wiser. Over twelve years since I participated in my first BioBlitz, I realized the importance of maintaining dialogue between different perspectives and disciplines. And at this midpoint in both my life and career, I recognize how valuable it is to see things from the vantage point of both educator and student, and to sometimes switch between each role. I am glad I took advantage of this opportunity, and I look forward to more field experiences that lend themselves to both teaching and learning.

References

“BioBlitz- National Geographic.” http://www.nationalgeographic.com/

explorers/projects/bioblitz/. Accessed 15 September 2015.

“Chinese Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata).” http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/

pubs/midatlantic/lecu.htm. Accessed 15 September 2015

“Flora of Central Park, New York City.” http://www.nybg.org/files/

scientists/datha//CentralPark/Index.html Accessed 15 September 2015.

Foderaro, Lisa W. “A Mission to Catalog Hidden Life in Central Park.” The

New York Times. 02 July 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/03/

nyregion/a-mission-to-catalog-hidden-life-in-central-park.html. Accessed 15

September 2015.

“Treasures of New York: The William and Lynda Steere Herbarium.” http://

www.thirteen.org/program-content/the-new-york-botanical-garden-the-

william-and-lynda-steere-herbarium/ Accessed 15 September 2015.

Endnotes

1. “Chinese Lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata).” http://www.nps.gov/plants/

alien/pubs/midatlantic/lecu.htm. Accessed 15 September 2015

2. “Lespedeza cuneata (Dum. Cours.) G. Don sericea lespedeza.” http://

plants.usda.gov/core/profile?symbol=LECU. Accessed 15 September 2015.

Daniel Atha under a Blackjack Oak (Quercus marilandica)

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Engaging Your Members and Students Through Social Media Written by MaryLynne Malone

Past President, Awards and Diversity Committee Chairdiversitycommittee@nysoea.org

photo courtesy of Rhonda Jacobs

Sometimes life provides an opportunity and you stop and think, “Hey what can I do to bring awareness to others?” Last year’s campaign for awareness of ALS (“Lou Gehrig’s Disease”) was a huge success. The idea challenged people to get ice water dumped on their head and then nominate others to do the same. To prove you actually took the challenge you had to film it then post it on Facebook. Millions did it! It reminded me of the very catchy ad campaign for shampoo. The user was so excited about the product she told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on and so on, with the visual of faces multiplying exponentially on the screen as the ad fades out.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media sites allow you to tell many people your status and if you mark your photo or phrase with a # (hashtag) and others post using the same #, trends begin. #WordGetsAround #NewYear #ForeverWild #NYSOEAPathways. Those of you in the under 40 crowd will have to excuse this explanation. This writer falls in the over 40 crowd so she knows the explanation may be necessary for some. With this relatively new easy-to-use and popular technology, why not engage your students or members?

Throughout the month of September, I used the #NatureGoesGold. Each day, a new photo with the # was posted on a Facebook page I manage for Regional Nature Museums Harriman State Park. The reasons were many. First, I post photos daily or near daily anyway. Second, I use it to engage the followers. Third, I use it in order to encourage more people to like the photo and share with their friends and increase the number of followers. Finally, that particular # was inspired by the fact that September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, which is represented by the color of gold. The thing is, nature is really going gold during September. I can photograph more than 30 different things in the month and still have the theme continue…

Citizen science seems like a hefty order but plenty of people used the #MonarchWatch this migration season. Now scientists monitoring can have access to the time and date of the photo as well as the photo’s location if your device allows for location settings to be turned on. Not bad.

The DEC’s Snapshot Day was a little before its time. Now the program is called “Day in the Life of the Hudson,” where hundreds gather on the banks of the Hudson River on the

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same day to collect data, draw pictures, take photographs, and get outdoors. This information can be used in so many research projects and gets students involved. As of yet, there are no preset or official # but #FunByTheHudson…. #DayIntheLife2015: whatever they are, I will be looking for them.

New York State is diverse in its geology, topography, and demography, among other things. NYSOEA has members in every region of this great state. I recently took a photo of the sunrise here in Harriman State Park over Lake Stahahe as per a request from my son as he was leaving for school. I went out and took the picture then texted it to him. As I was getting my day started, I took a look at Facebook. My

daughter was up at Camp Huntington on Raquette Lake with her education class, due to head back to Antlers and then back to school and, lo and behold, in my newsfeed is this gorgeous sunrise taken by Cortland staff member and friend of mine, Rhonda Jacobs Pitoniak. Talk about coincidence: the photos have to be minutes apart! Two kids hundreds of miles away, same sunset, totally random.

Here is the challenge: on January 1st, 2016, at 1:00pm (mark your calendar and set a reminder alarm) to go outside and take a photo. Use the #NYSOEAFirstPhoto or #NYSOEANewYear or #OutdoorDiversityNYS. Each month, our Regional Directors will be coming up with some #s of their own.

photo courtesy of MaryLynne Malone

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SCA Founder Earns Leadership Award Article and Photographs by Kevin Hamilton

VP Communications, the Student Conservation Association

Liz Putnam receiving the 2015 NYSOEA Leadership Award from Tim Stanley, NYSOEA President (left) and Joshua Hunn, SCA Program Officer (right)

Liz Putnam Attends a Hudson Valley HomecomingFor Liz Putnam, the weekend was something of a homecoming.

The SCA founder keynoted the annual conference of the New York State Outdoor Education Association (NYSOEA) in Fishkill, NY, just a few miles from Vassar College, where 60 years ago Liz used her senior thesis to construct an “SCA.”Two of the event’s three co-chairs – Kate Brill and Susan Hereth – are SCA alumnae (and now with Scenic Hudson, an SCA partner), while the third co-chair, Rebecca Houser, regularly interacts with SCA members as a Hudson River environmental analyst with New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation. And many members of the SCA Hudson Valley Corps, which celebrated the conclusion of its 2015 program year Friday with a ceremony at nearby Sharpe Reservation, stayed to hear and mingle with Liz. Over 150 conference attendees spent most of the weekend in workshops focusing on topics such as “Pollution in the Hudson” and “Saving Seeds.” During Liz’s remarks, however, they spent much of their time on the feet, punctuating her presentation with spirited ovations.

Liz lamented the politicization of climate change, championed greater inclusivity in the outdoors, and called for conservation to be a core curriculum in school classrooms, prompting one conferee to comment “I am so inspired! You’ve put into words what everyone in this field thinks!”And when Liz received the NYSOEA Leadership Award, she turned the spotlight around, telling the association’s members, “To my eyes, you deserve to be recognized. You are opening eyes and minds… and you have opened my heart and filled it with renewed hope for our Earth.”

Liz added that leadership comes in many forms – none more important or influential than that of a teacher.  “Like SCA, you are creating a positive pathway for our youth,” she stated. “A pathway that glows with the promise and commitment and light shining from each and every one of you.” They stood again, filling the hall with thunderous applause. “Thank you,” said Liz, “for all you do.”

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Liz Putnam’s acceptance remarks:Thank you, Mr. Stanley [NYSOEA President], from the bottom of my heart.  I am both honored and humbled.  Coming from such a remarkable organization and group of people – this means so much to me.

A few weeks ago, my husband, Bruce, and I drove from our home in southern Vermont to Lake St. Catherine State Park in Poultney, Vermont, just across the border from New York.  There we met with three SCA interns – one was still in college, the other two had recently graduated.  We sat at a picnic table near the water where the interns – Maura, Cat and Nate – animatedly shared with us their experiences to date.

All three had been brought on by Vermont State Parks to serve as environmental educators.  They’d go into local classrooms and teach young children about the outdoors, from how the Green Mountains were formed to why we should celebrate bugs rather than fear them. The kids, we were told, responded with awe and wonder!  Because even though they lived in rural Vermont – renowned for its autumn splendor, maple syrup and majestic moose – many of these school children had little to no connection with nature.

Sitting in the sunshine and listening to Maura, Cat and Nate was awesome.  They passionately traded stories, compared lesson plans and collaborated behind new ideas.  There were so many sparks flying I thought our picnic table might burst into flames!

Then the conversation turned to Vermont’s heroin epidemic as Cat noted so many young children have addicts as role models.  She said: “One girl in my class declared she wanted to be a scientist.  Now, I don’t know which of my kids will become future scientists and which may fall into drug abuse, but that’s the exciting part!” she said.  “We can put these children on a positive pathway!”

Leadership comes in many forms.  But none is more important or influential than that of a teacher. It moves me deeply to accept your award, but to my eyes YOU ALL deserve to be recognized.  Like those SCA interns, you are opening eyes to the marvels of our natural world.  You are opening minds to the challenges facing our great outdoors and how to lead more sustainable lifestyles.  You are opening doors to careers and other opportunities that can make such a vital difference for our beleaguered Earth.You have also opened my heart and filled it with renewed hope.  As I listened in on some of the workshops here and participated in so many enriching hallway conversations, I saw that “positive pathway.”  And it glowed with the promise and commitment and light shining from each and every one of you.

I have loved being a part of this conference and I congratulate all those who put it together, including co-chairs Kate Brill, Susan Hereth, and Rebecca Houser.  It pleases me to no end that Kate and Susan are SCA alumnae and that Rebecca regularly supervises SCA members in the field.  All three of you personify “Solid Roots” [the conference theme].

I also want to acknowledge SCA’s Eastern Regional Manager Kathy Baugh, Program Director Josh Hunn and their staffs for all they do in leading SCA’s efforts in New York State.  And, of course, I salute the graduating members of SCA’s Hudson Valley Corps, who – after ten months of service and stewardship throughout the region – will soon begin to write exciting new chapters in their respective lives. I am confident we have only seen the beginning of what you will achieve.Throughout the weekend, I’ve been reminded of the words of John Lubbock: “Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.”

As I noted earlier, Leadership comes in many forms…and one needs no more proof than this gathering of the New York State Outdoor Educators Association.  Thank you for this award, and thank you for all you are doing for our planet.  Good night.

Conference Chairs Kate Brill, Susan Hereth, and Rebecca Houser present Liz Putnam with a beautiful piece of art following her keynote address.

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is America’s oldest and largest youth conservation organization. SCA transforms lives and lands by empowering young people of all backgrounds to plan, act, and lead, while they protect and restore our natural and cultural resources. Founded in 1957, its mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders, and seven in 10 of SCA’s 75,000 alumni worldwide are employed or studying in conservation-related fields. SCA is headquartered in Washington, DC. For more, visit www.thesca.org.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared as web content on The SCA website on 10 November 2015 and is reprinted with the permission of The SCA. The web content can be accessed here: https://www.thesca.org/liz-putnam-receives-outdoor-educator-award

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Snapshots of Our 2015 Conference Award Recipients

Leadership AwardElizabeth Cushman Titus PutnamAs a college student, Elizabeth Putnam felt the need to respond to the threats facing America’s national parks. Her senior thesis at Vassar College in 1953 proposed the creation of a volunteer student conservation corps to perform essential service for these endangered natural resources. In 1957, this idea became the Student Conservation Association (SCA), which today is the largest provider of youth development and conservation service opportunities in the United States. Ms. Putnam dedicates her life to ensuring that America’s treasured but fragile public lands are preserved for future generations and that those generations become future stewards of the land. Her enthusiastic call to action and hard work on behalf of the nation’s public lands encouraged more than 75,000 SCA volunteers over the past 58 years, who have provided valued and essential service to national and state parks, forests, refuges and urban green spaces. Across New York State, Ms. Putnam’s vision has resulted in the creation of SCA programs that have provided opportunities for the next generation of conservation leaders for many years, including the Adirondack Corps and Hudson Valley Corps, founded in the late 1990s, and the new Excelsior Conservation Corps, launching in 2016. Ms. Putnam remains SCA’s premier ambassador, and was a fascinating keynote speaker at the 2015 NYSOEA Conference. For her tireless efforts and nearly six decades of commitment, Joshua Hunn, Program Officer, The Student Conservation Association, nominated Elizabeth Cushman Titus Putnam for the Leadership Award.

Environmental Impact AwardMark Castiglione, Hudson Valley Greenway ConservancyThe Hudson River Valley Greenway is a unique state-sponsored program established by the Greenway Act of 1991 to encourage communities to develop projects and initiatives related to the criteria of natural and cultural resource protection, regional and local planning, economic development, public access to the Hudson River (as well as other regional and local resources), and heritage and environmental education. It provides technical assistance and small grants for planning, water trail and land-based trails and other projects that reinforce the Greenway Criteria. In keeping with the New York tradition of home rule, the Greenway program has no regulatory authority and participation by municipalities in Greenway programs and projects is entirely voluntary. The Greenway also manages the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.

The Hudson River Valley Greenway is one of the key organizers for the signature September event, the Hudson River Valley Ramble. The Ramble spans all four weekends in September and features nearly 300 events run by nearly 200 environmental, land conservation, trail groups, heritage sites and historic preservation organizations, and stretching from Saratoga and Washington Counties and the Capital Region to New York City. Participants can enjoy guided walking, hiking, kayaking and biking opportunities, estuary explorations and historic site tours that highlight significant historical, cultural and natural resources found throughout the Hudson River Valley.

For tremendous vision and energy in promoting outdoor recreation, community partnership, and economic vitality in the Hudson Valley, Tim Stanley nominated Mark Castiglione and the Hudson Valley Greenway Conservancy for the Environmental Impact Award.

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Appreciation AwardNYSOEA Development CommitteeMegan Hoffman, Jan Humbert, Jane RauschThe NYSOEA Development Committee winter of 2013-14 with the goal of securing donated items for the raffle and silent & live auctions held at the annual conferences. Together, they have brought these fundraising efforts to a more professional level, increasing the quality and appeal of items for the silent and live auctions and helping the organization move closer to a goal of a $100,000 endowment in time for NYSOEA’s 50th anniversary in 2018. Jan and Jane, both from Sharpe Reservation, cheerfully joined the Development Committee to help boost the raffle and auction offerings. They took time to become familiar with NYSOEA and the history and purpose of the fundraisers. They helped craft form letters for both seeking donations and thanking businesses and organizations showing support. They devised solicitation strategies, creating lists of businesses and organizations whose products would appeal to our members. Most notably, they have logged countless hours and miles, traveling to, writing, and calling businesses and organizations, requesting and picking up donations. In addition to auction items for the 2015 conference, their efforts expanded into seeking donated food and drinks for the receptions. Since joining the Development Committee, Jan and Jane have become members of the organization and attended events such as Winter Weekend and the annual Conference.

Megan Hoffman, Education Manager, Hudson Highlands Nature Museum, takes care of much of the “behind-the-scenes magic” involved in running the raffles and auctions

From left: Megan Hoffman, Jane Rausch, Jan Humbert

at the conferences. She has missed workshops and speakers to organize, separate, and label items, determine where the item will make the biggest profit, put them on display in the most appealing manner, track “winners,” and collect payment. In addition to the incredible amount of time and energy at the conference, Megan joined the Development Committee when it formed and has helped solicit businesses and organizations to secure donations.  Due to the efforts of these Development Committee members, the Conference Committees have not needed to concern themselves with the raffles and auctions, and instead been able to focus their attention on the other aspects of conference planning.   For their continual work and dedication, the members of the Development Committee were nominated by Jolene Thompson, VP Programs, and Libby Young, VP Administration, to receive the Appreciation Award.

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Solid Roots Recap

NYSOEA’s 47th Annual Conference took place November 5th-8th 2015. 190 NYSOEA members and outdoor education enthusiasts gathered at Sharpe Reservation in Fishkill, NY for networking, professional development and fun. The unseasonably warm weather lent itself to form a perfect fall backdrop to the weekend.

With the conference theme “Solid Roots”, spent the weekend thinking about what has brought them to a profession in outdoor education and how they can instill a solid foundation of nature appreciation in future generations. A few of the workshop highlights included nature-based art projects, a high ropes course, and an eye-opening presentation about the life of colonial women. There was a look into the future of outdoor education looking at how to grapple with climate change, include everyone in outdoor education, and even tips on how best to use social media to meet your education goals. The Saturday group activity had everyone involved moving, laughing and maybe even making a fool of themselves.

Friday attendees were treated to storytelling with Story Laurie and danced into the night with the music of Fun Seekers Anonymous. On Saturday, attendees had a thought-provoking look at Hudson Valley Painters past and present with Chris Bowser and an inspirational talk with SCA founder Liz Putnam. Award recipients included Mark

Written by Kathryn Brill, 2015 Conference Co-Chair conferencecommittee2015@nysoea.orgPhotos by Eric Powers, vp_president_elect@nysoea.org & Jessica Kratz vp_human_resources@nysoea.org

Castiglione with an Environmental Impact Award for the Hudson Valley Ramble program, Jane Rausch, Jan Humbert and Megan Hoffman with the Appreciation Award and SCA Founder Liz Putnam with a Leadership award.

Fundraising at the conference was a roaring success and raised over $4500 from the live and silent auctions, as well as the raffle. This money will go towards NYSOEA’s goal of the endowment reaching $100,000 by 2018, the year of NYSOEA’s 50th anniversary. We also raised enough money for the Brother Yusuf Campership Fund, to send two campers to DEC Summer Camps in 2016!

We are pleased to have had such a successful conference, but it couldn’t have been possible without the attendance, expertise, donations, cheer and enthusiasm of NYSOEA members and all the other attendees! Quoting keynote speaker and Leadership Award recipient Liz Putnam “You are opening eyes to the marvels of our natural world. You are opening minds to the challenges facing our great outdoors and how to lead more sustainable lifestyles. You are opening doors to careers and other opportunities that can make such a vital difference for our beleaguered Earth.”

With the success of this year’s conference, we are eagerly looking forward to the 2016 Annual Conference, so save the date: November 3rd-6th at Watson Homestead in Painted Post, NY.

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Holiday Book Review

Dave and Danny Pay it ForwardBy Gretchen Detora illustrated by Jason Boucher.

Herndon, VA: Mascot Books (Mascot Bookspermissions: info@mascotbooks.com or see: www.mascotbooks.com),ISBN: 13: 9781620866078, 10: 1620866072. $14.95 ($16.95 Canada). 20% of the profits go to the Vaughan Family Trust Fund1

Reviewed by Frederick W. Stoss, MS (zoo:ecol), MLSAssociate Librarian for Biological Sciences, Ecology, Geology, and Mathematics, SUNY University at Buffalo

Pay it Forward is one of the first and hopefully one of the best socially responsible concepts that ushered in the 21st century, based on a 1999 Catherine Ryan Hyde novel of the same title in 1999, followed quickly by a Hollywood adaptation to film in 2000 and DVD in 2001. The concept is that of doing something good or beneficial for a person with a caveat that the favor be passed on to others instead of the original person giving the favor. “Paying it forward” is not necessarily the easiest thing to explain to children, and Detora provides us with a work that helps with a lovable introduction to Dave Taylor, aka, “Mr. T,” the friendly and helpful neighbor, who needs no excuse to give a favor and no need to have the favor returned. Dave’s son, Danny, is quick to realize the generosity of his Dad and the many ways he shows it. By a chance meeting Dave and Danny meet the “new kid in town,” Ryan, along with his Mom. Ryan happens to be a big fan of hockey. Dave is the hockey coach, and Danny one of his players. Ryan’s Dad is sick and the family doesn’t have the resources for the necessary equipment and skates, but Dave has a plan and Ryan joins the team with only one string attached—pay it forward, when you can.

Dave tells Ryan’s Mom, “…when you find that you are in a position to give to someone, then you can do it too. Pay it forward, as they say.” Danny’s cycle of being given two tickets to a local hockey game with his Dad is completed when he pays it forward and gives them to his new friend, Ryan. In the opening lines of the book, there are five words describing what happens throughout the book, and hopefully, a concept carried by all who read this story or listen as it is read to them, when Dave is described as the popular slugger at neighborhood ball games, as he “…stepped up to the plate.” That, stepping up to the plate and not expecting anything in return, is the crux of this life lesson in generosity of paying it forward.

Gretchen Detora is a second grade Instructional Assistant in Andover, Massachusetts and writes inspirational children’s stories. Detora is testament to how just one person can make substantial good things happen. Jason Boucher, a construction worker by trade, is a self-taught illustrator. Boucher provides a very brightly colored touch to the illustration for this book. Sharing, caring, and understanding are three concepts deeply rooted in the concept of

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sustainability, especially in relation to sustainable communities and sustainable development. They are also concepts and practices that should be infused into just about every program or activity directed towards elementary school children. This book would be a great addition to a school or public library’s holding, and a VERY good gift from a grandparent, older sibling, or friend of the family. The back of the cover says, “This is the first book in the series of Pay It Forward stories. Let’s hope they are all as done as well as this inaugural offering.

It is incumbent for outdoor, environmental, and nature educators in formal K-12 and non-formal settings to set standards or practice that, whenever possible, infuse or encourage socially responsible behaviors in students of all ages. They should also try, whenever possible, to incorporate the concepts of sustainable communities into their programs, projects, activities, and teaching. Environmental stewardship and the ethically and morally just treatment and respect of the spaces where we live, work, study and play are socially responsible behaviors that when practiced inspire us and others to perpetuate them.

[NOTE: This concept was included in my presentation at the 2015 NYSOEA Annual Conference. There is a challenge here: are there ways that NYSOEA can infuse Outdoor or Environmental Ways to Pay It Forward? Send me your ideas and I will compile the list and publish it in Pathways. Send your Outdoor and Environmental and Nature “Pay It Forward” ideas to: Fred Stoss at fstoss@buffalo.edu.]

_____

1 The book is dedicated to the memory of David L. Vaughan who lost is life in a car crash. A trust fund was established for his three young children.

NYSOEA’s Winter Weekend

at theTACONIC OUTDOOR EDUCATION

CENTER

Cold Spring, NY

“Camp for Grown-ups”

February 19th -21st, 2016

Come enjoy professional development,

hikes, crafts, campfire sing along, good food, comfy lodging, and great

company!

Student discounts; weekend and daily rates

For more information

or to sign up to lead a workshop, email Kate Brill:

eastern_region@nysoea.org

Holiday Book Review continued

14 Pathways Fall 2015

Ever notice nature is a story of opposing and balancing forces? Of course you have. You are in the field of outdoor/environmental education. Amidst the beauty and bustle, have you taken the time to examine the symmetry among the seasons of equinoxes, fall and spring?

This equal-but-opposite observation struck us recently while idly chatting after hours on the lawn at the Greenbelt Nature Center. The glimmering, shimmering gold of a Northeastern autumn gloriously glinting off scattered sunbeams in the warm afternoon made it impossible to ignore the parallels between the fabulous season of fall and its counterbalance season, the serendipitous spring.

In the spring, our sense of rebirth and renewal is colored with blooming daffodils, the first flush of willow and birch leaves, spicebush buds, and other halcyon-hued flora. Autumn, the dendrological denouement, provides dazzling displays of golden plumage. Maples, honeylocusts, and hickories are among the trees whose leaves proudly proclaim their presence with a “second flowering” prior to their helicopting descent and inevitable departure. The evanescence is powerful, palpable, and profound. The road that diverges in Frost’s woods is yellow, like the forsythia fall; descending upon us twice per year, we see it once as scattered flower petals, and again as golden leaves.

Dabbling deeper into the color palette, autumn and spring are symmetrical in other, sometimes more subtle, ways. Both

seasons offer golden opportunities to plant trees and shrubs. Both are seasons of migration. Sepia-toned birds of prey are often seen soaring in autumn, but their spring migration is impressive and important as well. From “April showers” to “November rain,” both seasons can be fairly wet, and help keep red-backed salamanders and other amphibians moist as they first prepare to breed, then prepare for diapause (aka “a long winter’s nap”). And, from an anthropological perspective, you may notice that in this (or most any) line of work, the temperate seasons bring arrivals, departures, and other changes, a “professional migration” of sorts.

From a micro lens, these two seasons bring us the most patrons and park visitors, since, judging by the numbers, it seems, fewer of us are accustomed to “stopping by woods on a snowy evening.” This surge in shoulder season visitation is perhaps one part “rage against the dying of the light,” and one part seeking the gold before it goes, for as one well knows, “Nothing gold can stay.”

So too do the waves, the ebb and flow of planning as the days wane shorter as we prepare, in equal parts rebellion and responsibility, for the waking and warming time we know will come after the winds of winter have blown themselves away. The fall is time to revel in the pause, to squirrel away resources for the coming cold, but also to plant seeds (or bulbs) for plants and for programs, in preparation for the inevitable thaw, understanding that “nature’s first green is gold.”

A Closer Look at the Second FloweringWritten by Maren V. Morsch, Environmental Educator, Staten Island Greenbelt &

Jessica R. Kratz, Coordinator Greenbelt Nature Center vp_communications@nysoea.org

15 Pathways Fall 2015

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NYSOEA Executive BoardPresident – Tim StanleyVP Administration – Elizabeth YoungVP Communication – Eric PowersVP Human Resources – Jessica KratzVP Program - Jolene ThompsonSecretary - Loren Smith, Ph.D.Treasurer - Elizabeth Van AckerOffice - Darleen Lieber

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Has this piece inspired you to wax poetic? How many classic poetry references

do you recognize? Send the titles and authors of the poems referenced in this piece, and/or any poetry you have been inspired to write, to pathways@nysoea.

org by January 15, 2016, and you may be selected to win a prize, to be announced during National Poetry Month (April).

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