Fall 2010 NYSOEA Pathways

8/2/2019 Fall 2010 NYSOEA Pathways

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PathwaysOfcial Publication of the New York State Outdoor Education Association Fall 2010

ScarecrowFestivalin

NewPaltz!Page11

Bookreviewsand

lessonplansinside!!

Fallintosometastytreatsandgreatdesigns.page10

Greenroof projectskeepgrowing.Page7

If achildspeaks,is

thereanyonethereto

hearthem?Page3


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Invitation for Articles and News.Te PATHWAYSteam is always eager to ear from members and publis te ar-ticles tat tey ave autored or news or event announcements tat tey would liketo sare wit fellow members. We invite you to send your submission for our nextissue. Simply send us te text wit any supporting material -- pictures, newspaperclippings, and more. We can receive it in any of te ways listed below.

Advertising in PathwaysPATHWAYSwelcomes advertisements wic will be of interest to te membersip

of NYSOEA. If you ave a product, service, equipment, resource, program, etc. tatyou would like to sare wit our membersip via an advertisement, we can receive ittroug any of te following ways.

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

Materials sould be typed. Please include a sort biograpical section about teautor of te article. References cited in te article sould be listed at te end of tearticle, APA style.

(ISSN 1077-5100) PATHWAYSis publised four times a year by te New York StateOutdoor Education Association and is emailed to NYSOEA members. Opinionsexpressed by contributors are teirs solely and not necessarily tose of te EditorialBoard of PAThWAYS or of NYSOEA. Advertisements included in patways souldnot be interpreted as endorsement of te product(s) by NYSOEA.

A Note from the President

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

NYSOEA Executive BoardPresident

MaryLynne Malone

VP AdministrationMaritza Cuevas

VP CommunicationNirmal Mercant

VP human ResourcesTim Stanley

VP ProgramRebecca houser

SecretaryMeagan Boice-Green

TreasurerElizabet Van Acker

OfceDarleen Lieber

Regional DirectorsEastern- Tim NeuMetro- Jessica KratzNortern- Gary Griz CaudleWestern- Lauren MakeyenkoCentral- Cristine DeCesare

2010 National Confer-ence Committee ChairsJessica Olenyc

Betsy UkeritisMaryLynne Malone

PAthwaysJessica Kratz (Editor)Ricard Parisio (Poetry Editor)Frank Knigt (Member)Natan Garcia (Layout, Student)Nicole Gaterer (Teacer)Jonatan Duda (Marketing Manager)Snapper Petta (Member)

Te leaves are starting to turn, te smells of bugspray and sunscreen are starting to fade, and tegreat crisp mornings of autumn are upon us. Tis isa great time to tink about ow you migt partici-pate in one of our great committees, ceck tat

your NYSOEA membersip is up to date, and waysyou migt represent NYSOEA at your own upcom-ing events. Eac of te regional directors now asa fully functional display tat you may borrow atany time for any event. Simply contact your region-al director for pick up and drop off information and

membersip/ELP information to set out wit te display.

Altoug we did not conduct our own conference tis fall, many of our membersattended te NAAEE-osted conference in Buffalo. Te Welcome to NY team wasa great success saring wit attendees te excitement of NY, as well as NYSOEAnews for New Yorkers unfamiliar wit us. My callenge of gaining 10 new memberswas exceeded, and some new afliate members joined, as well. NYSOEAs newbi-laws were successfully introduced at te Annual Meeting. I urge you all to take alook on te web at te wonderful work te Visioning Committee as accomplised.Please watc for information on an on-line auction, and you may renew your mem-bersip on line including any new contact information you ave. NYSOEA is explor-ing making classroom teacers a bigger part of our organization and establisinga new afliate category for scools and scool districts. If you are a classroomteacer and ave ideas on making tis a wortwile partnersip, please contact me.Please mark your calendars for our Awards Ceremony at Asokans Winter Week-end event February 4-6. Some wonderful folks will be receiving NYSOEA awardstere.



Nation-wide events ave been sweeping across te countryfocusing on a topic outdoor educators can appreciate.Americas Great Outdoors Initiative establised on April16t, 2010, by President Obama is targeted to develop a21st Century agenda for conserving te outdoor spaces tatelp make America special. Te President understandstat efforts to protect and restore te lands and water tat

we love and to reconnect people to te outdoors mustbegin in our communities. Senior government ofcialsfrom te Department of Interior, Environmental ProtectionAgency, and te Department of Agriculture osted a seriesof public listening sessions in various locations across tecountry.

On August 5t, 2010, I ad te fortunate opportunity toaccompany ten Fres Air Fund campers to a yout listeningsession at te Wallace Center at te FDR Library in hydePark. Our delegation of 6 Career Awareness Programteen leaders from Camp Maria and 4 teen leaders fromCamp ABC joined over 150 oter yout from te hudson

Valley including young adults from Albany, Pougkeepsie,and Beacon. Tese 10 New York City urban yout ad noidea wat te day would entail and only knew tey wouldave te opportunity to speak on bealf of te environmentand te outdoors. Tey focused on a set of 4 poignantquestions, Wen you go outdoors, were do you like to go?Wat do you do personally to protect te environment?Wat are some obstacles and callenges tat preventyoung people from spending time outdoors? Watrecommendations would you make to President Obama toget more young people engaged in and connected to, teoutdoor?

Te following excerpts are from narratives tat were writtenby te Fres Air Fund teen leaders.

I feel tat most kids tis day and age are denitely notgetting involved outdoors enoug. As a teenager living inte urban part of te state, its almost like tings are servedto teenagers on a silver platter. Everyting is in New York

City: every sow, museum, or restaurant imaginable. I feeltat tere are not enoug green spaces or parks availablein most neigboroods wit all tese industrialized places.Teenager kids, and even most adults are too lazy to geton a train to Central Park. Tere was one idea tat was

brougt to te spokesman of te government by one ofte ABC girls, Maogany Marsall; ave an importanceon a more environmental curriculum at scool. Duringmy speec, I mentioned tat te educational system inour country always stresses mat and Englis. SATsare Englis and mat, based exams tat count eavily oncollege acceptances. Wy not educate our yout on tebeauties of our natural world, rater tan always gettingcaugt up wit tat recent trigonometry question? Gettingte kids outside in a more natural environment of learninggives tem tat ands-on activity tat cost noting. Sciencelabs in scool require materials to be bougt. Spreadingawareness about getting more people to participate inactivities outside isnt as easy as it sounds, as many of youwould know. Cristine Sancez, Fres Air Fund CAP Teen

Te idea tat Tatiana brougt up, and we all supported,was putting compost into scools across America. Wense said tat, anoter girl from anoter organization yelledwit excitement. Everyone seemed to like tat idea.Anoter suggestion tat was made was to educate youtfrom early ages and create a mandatory class or insert anenvironmental appreciation class into te curriculum. I feeltat if ealt class can be placed in te curriculum as amandatory course for graduation, ten te environment can

also be included. Tere are some environmental sciencecourses, but tey only focus on te actual science andstructure of te environment. Tere can and sould be acourse on te preservation and upkeep of Americas land.Lauraine Desilus, Fres Air Fund CAP Teen

In response to aving environmental education in scool,one of te government representatives asked te group,Dont you tink tere is already enoug testing andstandards in scool witout aving more added on? Tefollowing are paraprased responses from te crowd,

A Momentous Day for the OutdoorsBy Tim Stanley


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Tests, tests, and more tests and ten a regents on top oftat. Do you tink we are going to remember tat on page14, question 35 was letter C. No, we wont remembertat. We ave enoug tests. But we will rememberexperiences were we were allowed to feel, see, and do.

Our teacers want to be more creative but are unable todo so because tey are always teacing to te tests.

If we dont learn about te outdoors in scool or at camp,were are we going to learn about it? Our parents donttake us outside because tey dont know wat to do orwere to go. We need someone to sow us ow to gooutdoors.

I realized NYSOEA is moving in a proactive directionby pusing for an environmental literacy plan for NewYork State. Our students are eager to go outside, and anenvironmental literacy plan can map out te direction to anenvironmentally literate citizenry. More information on tiscurrent issue can be found at www.nysoea.org.

Te day was a powerful moment for te attendees woad a cance to sare ideas and disappointments wit tegovernment. Te entusiasm and passion tat engulfedte Wallace Center was encouraging. I ope tat teensuing years will elp our yout focus tis energy to makepositive cange. I walked away wit a greater fait for tisgeneration of young people and teir idden desires to livein a tecnological world tat embraces and appreciates tenatural environment.

To learn more about tis event and oter ListeningSessions, please visit te Americas Great OutdoorsInitiative website at:

ttp://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/

Contribute your ideas to te Idea Forum at:ttp://ideas.usda.gov/ago/ideas.nsf/

Is The BP Spill The Worst AmericanDisaster or Has It been Blown

Out Of Proportion?

Te BP Spill: has Te Damage Been Exaggerated?

Essay by Micael Grunwald

In is essay on te BP oil spill, Micael Grunwald looks attwo scools of tougt; Tose like President Obama wosee te spill as te worst environmental disaster Americaas ever faced, and tose like geocemist JacquelineMicel wo tink te impacts ave been muc, muc lesstan everyone feared. he suggests tat altoug te spillwas a denite tragedy wose long-term effects may notbe known for years, te damage was not as bad as we allsurmised. Wat do you tink?

To read te TIME, July 29, 2010, article in full and give youropinion on te autors ideas wic we may edit and print,please visit www.nysoea.org. Click on te ttp://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2007202,00.tml link. Weare trying to initiate reader discussion on environmentalissues, so please also consider submitting debatableissues tat you would enjoy seeing discussed.

Micael Grunwald, winner of te Society of EnvironmentalJournalists award for is reporting on te Everglades.

Controversy Corner

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Wenever I read a wonderful cildrens book, I rememberte account of te newspaper reporter asking JonBurrougs broter wat e tougt of Jons fame.Anybody can write stories about cipmunks, was tereply. Of course, simple farmer broter ad never readany of Jons work. Wile Jon wrote mostly for an adultaudience, several of is animal essays were publisedin special editions for te Cicago Scool System andenjoyed tere and elsewere by tousands of studentslearning to read.

Jessicas book is also foradults and cildren, but teoter way around: cildrensaring teir outdooradventures wit signicantadults in teir lives. Weterwriting about cipmunksor frogs, an autor needsto know te subject, andJessica knows frogs. Reader biograpical sketc at te

end of te book to appreciatetat Jessica prepared erwole life to write tis ander oter writings.

As a cild, Jessica saredadventures wit er fateriking te Greenbelt ofStaten Island, te borougof parks near er ome. InSleigh Bells in Springtime,er young adventurer explores a park trail wit er faterin te spring wile still remembering er favorite December

olidays wit sleig bells and carols. Tis reviewer wasdeligted tat Jessica cose to narrate er story in verse,always great fun to be read to or read aloud to adults,siblings, and friends.On teir nature ramble, tey enjoy discovering springs newemerging life. After braving a stream crossing over a scaryrustic bridge, our eroine ears er beloved sleig bells butcant nd teir source.

At tis point, te maturing autor Jessica inuences tetrack of te story. As a day camper and ten a teenage

junior counselor at Staten Islands hig Rock Park,

Jessica learned tat natural istory prociency comesfrom bot eld and library study. So our narrators fater,rater tan simply telling er te answer, suggests somelibrary researc were tey learn about our native frogsincluding te elusive spring peeper. Burrougs would aveconcurred in Dads decision since muc of is knowledgeof birds was sarpened at te library of te MilitaryAcademy at West Point.

Once again, we see our young adventurer inuencedby autor Jessica Kratz womoved from library to computerresearc to citizen sciencestudies as an AmeriCorpsmember and now a NatureCenter Coordinator wit teNYC Department of Parks &Recreation. Burrougs wouldave required a tutorial oncomputers, but e would avebeen no less surprised anddeligted tan I to see on te

computer screen beautifulcolor potos of our frogs in abook oterwise illustrated witdeligtful color drawings.

Working wit er sister andfater, te youngster learnsonline about te tools needed focollecting data for systematic in-te-eld researc, and te joysof saring ndings wit teacers

and classmates. Keeping at it troug te summer and falltey discovered were frogs spend te winter. December

sleig bells took on a wole new meaning.

Wit no formal college science training, most of watBurrougs knew and sared wit is 19 t and early 20tCentury readers, e learned from is own eld studies.Jessica Kratz and er young friend take teir 21st Centurycildren and guiding adult readers in cities, suburbs, andcountry one giant step furter inspiring tem wit te joysof making and saring teir ownoutdoor discoveries.

Autorhouse,1663 Liberty Drive, Bloomington, IN 4740348 pages, color illustrationswww.sleigbellsinspringtime.com for signed book copies from autor, $17.

Also available from www.amazon.com and www.barnesandnoble.com

by Frank Knight

BookReview

Sleigh Bells in Springtime: Frogs CallingBy Jessica R. Kratz, illustrated by Stephen Adams



Ramblings

fRom

RedH

ill

bySnapperPetta

Consider tis basic equation: Take 1 trip toYosemite National Park, add 2 grandsonsplus 1 grandfater, and wat do you get? Tecontinuing education of grandpa!

Its July, 2010, and Im in California to attend awedding. Te daugter of our closest friendsas presented my family wit te perfect excuseto take a side trip to Americas tird oldestnational park. Nestled witin a full-service cabin(satellite TV anyone?), my wife, daugter, son-in-law, two grandsons, and I used tis omeybase to explore tis grandiose landscape madefamous by Jon Muir.

If youve never been to Yosemite, te searenormity of tis park can be overwelming,and tis is especially so for young cildren.Sequoias oversadow small bodies, waterfallsloom undreds of feet above, and te soaring

vistas go on forever. Yet, if given te opportunityto explore, you will ear joy as cildren treadligtly beneat te beemot trees. Gigglesring out as wind driven mist brings uge smilesto small wet faces. As for te views, you willquickly compreend te impression made on ayoung mind wen you ear, Grandpa, can youpick me up so I can see the beautiful view?forwat seems like te tent time tat day.

As it is wit most of our outings, David, woturns 3 tis summer, and is broter, James,all of 8 monts, continue to guide me in seeing

te natural world in a renewed ligt. Teirneed to be outdoors seemsard wired in teir DNA,but I certainly dont mind.Because of tem I spentalmost twenty minutesobserving two mots,entangled in some sort ofprimitive motian embrace,on te deck of our cabin. Iwaded tig deep in te icycill of te Merced River,

owing strongly wit snow melted waters, to agravel bar for a glimpse of half Dome. And, wilenot an accomplised rock climber, I clambered overlots of granite; feeling te suns warmt emanatingfrom te stone wile its cracks, edges, and texturegave our ngers places to grip. In eac of tesesort adventures, I saw te world at teir level,allowing me te gift of seeing nature from teirperspective. Tey were my instructors; not te oterway around as is most often te case.

So, wat ten is te long term value of tese recentoutings? Realistically it is probably negligibleas far as te boys remembering muc. After all,James isnt even a year old, and David is notquite tree. If were lucky, David will ave one ortwo solid memories of Yosemite wile James willave none. But does tat matter? For me, it isnta consideration at all. At teir young ages, it isour sared experiences tat matter more; as it is

wit most people and young cildren. Time spenttraveling on grandpas soulders or saring asandwic outdoors wile watcing squirrels mattermore, and tese true gifts can be sared anywereregardless of te natural surroundings.

In te end, my message to anyone wo coosesto read tis is: Go outdoors wit your cildren,grandcildren, neigbors kids, or woever elsesurrounds your life. Dont worry about wat you do,

just do someting; togeter. Te time sared willreap great rewards for you and tem trougoutteir lives. Wile tese migt go unseen to you

in your lifetime, te seeds you sow during teircildood are sure to bear tefruits of self reliance, curiosity,exploration, and care for teenvironment due to your love.Wat better gift can you givea cild? Especially since teywere guiding you along te way?

Until next time, may all yourrambles lead you to new andexciting places...

The Continuing Education of Grandpa


7/12



Grades: 2-5Objectives:

Students will be able to identify wat acid rain is Students will be able to identify wo discovered it and

were acid rain was discovered Students will be able to dene te different terms for

acid rain Students will be able to identify te difference between

an acidic and non acidic ph Students will be able to identify some of te different

tings/areas tat are affected by acid rain

Materials:Informational seet, bag for collecting, scavenger untprases, outdoor props for placing true prases on.

Engagement: Inform te students tat tey will be involved in an

acid rain scavenger unt after learning te istory andcauses of acid rain.

Lesson Procedures: Te students will eac receive te informational seet

tat tey will read togeter.

Tis seet contains wat acid rain is, were it comesfrom, wo discovered it, and were it is te mostprevalent.

Ten te students will embark on a scavenger untlooking for prases associated wit acid rain.

Te students will ave 15-20 minutes to coose tecorrect prases to pick up during teir unt based onte reading.

Every answer witin te scavenger unt can be foundwitin te reading wic tey can take wit tem as aguide.

Te items for teir scavenger unt will be placedoutside, and te students can work in teams of 2. Truefacts will be placed on or near a variety of props oritems (listed below) wic ave been affected by acidrain. False facts will be placed near ealty trees,plants, insects, or rocks.

Closure:After te scavenger unt, we will all come togeter andsare our ndings. Some students may ave founddifferent tings due to time and were tey looked. Testudents will sare teir ndings, telling wat te fact andprop is in correlation wit acid rain and ow it pertains towat tey just learned.

Justine Boeshore is an undergraduate student atPlattsburgh State University. She is currently anElementary Education major with a minor in CulturalAnthropology.

Subjects MatterAcid Rain Scavenger HuntBy Justine Boeshore

(To view te lesson and its materials in full please visitwww.nysoea.org.)

On July 26, 2010, America celebrated te 20t anniversary ofte Americans wit Disabilities Act (ADA,) a broad-reacingcivil rigts law tat proibits discrimination based on a personsdisability. Te law mandates equal access and opportunityfor people wit disabilities in state and local services aswell as public accommodations. After many years of publiccomment and work by people wit and witout disabilities,te U.S. Department of Justice as issued nal regulationsrevising Title II and III of te Americans wit Disabilities Act,including canges to te standards for Accessible Design.

For years, many outdoor educators ave struggled to balancete need to preserve and protect te environment wit teneed to make te outdoors accessible to all. Tese new

guidelines provide muc needed direction for te provisionof many outdoor recreation services. Te revisions will effectover 80,000 state and local government recreation agencies,as well as over 7,000,000 not-for-prots and businessescovered under te ADAs title II and title III regulations.Te new rules will take effect on Marc 15, 2011. Tesenew regulations ave broad implications, including newguidelines for recreation areas, te use of service animals,te use of mobility devices, and more. Some of te specicrecreation areas tat are identied in te new regulationsinclude:

Recreational Boating Facilities Fising Piers and Platforms Exercise Facilities Swimming Pools and Wading Areas Sooting Facilities Golf & Miniature Courses Play Grounds

Additionally, te new regulations provide clarication formany of te previous rulings. Issues regarding accessibleroutes of travel, te use of effective communication, andte provision of accessible spectator seating ave all beenaddressed in detail. Work continues for nal regulation

Outdoor Recreation & FinalRegulations Revising theAmericans with Disabilities Act

By Laurie Penney McGee, M.S., CTRS


9/12

On a crisp autumn morning last October, an odd exodusbegan. Te doors of Duzine Elementary Scool in New

Paltz opened, and out marced a gaggle of scarecrowsof all sapes and sizes: scarecrow families, scarecrowbabies, even a scarecrow frog! Tere were tall, pumpkin-eaded farmers and fancy patcwork ladies, a scarecrowin a wedding dress, anoter covered in monarc butteries,eac one created by pre-K troug second grade studentsand teacers. Tis strange parade was eaded forDuzines new Green Classroom, a fty by fty foot organicgarden, recently created by te scool community to inspirestudents writing and enance learning in science, socialstudies, and music. Te Scarecrow Festival ad begun!Eac scarecrow was tied securely to te gardens fenceby te time classes began owing out of te building to

participate in six learning stations. In te elds adjacent tote garden, te scools music teacer led a oe downwit arvest songs and dances wile te art teacer guidedcildren troug weaving, collage, and scarecrow-makingactivities, using natural materials found in and around tegarden. In a rustic rocking cair under a nearby tree, tescool librarian told te story of Stone Soup to classesof young cildren. Parent volunteers ladled out bowls ofstone soup to te young audience. Te soup ad beencreated by te districts ead cef wit produce grown inte Green Classroom. In and around te garden beds,environmental educators from te Moonk Preserveand Pillies Bridge Farm Project led mini-worksops in

composting and introduced te cildren to te principlesof companion gardening in te Tree Sisters Garden. Aste cildren ground corn, strung beans, and scooped outpumpkins, tey learned about te farming tecniques ofte Lenni Lenape wo once lived along te banks of tenearby Wallkill River. Presiding over tis colorful arvestfestival were te scarecrows temselves, all wit interestingstories to tell, for pinned to eac scarecrow was is or erbiograpy, composed by te students in eac classroom.Tese stories would be compiled and publised in AScarecrow Storybook, and placed in te scools library forall classes to enjoy.

Tis was just one of four seasonal all-scool eventsplanned for te Green Classroom by Duzines activeGarden Committee. Teacers, community members, andparents are working togeter to plan a Winter DreamGarden assembly, were cildren can sare art, writing,and songs drawn from teir experiences in te Green

Classroom. Next, Te Spring Fling in April will bringeac class back to te garden to plant early cold crops.Last years crops of sugar snap peas and lettuce werebig its, enticing cildren and teir teacers to te gardento observe, investigate, write, and eat! A nal all-scoolevent hot Crops Day will be eld late in te spring,wen te Tree Sisters beds of corn, beans, and squaswill be planted, along wit erbs, potatoes, cucumbers,sunowers, and oter eat-loving crops. Last summer,te Green Classroom was lovingly tended by parentvolunteers, to te deligt of te returning students in tefall.

In tis digital age, wen a commonly eld belief is tat 21stCentury cildren dont know ow to be outdoors anymore,its been a deligt to see te cildren of tis small scoolwork and play togeter so appily in a garden given totem by teir community. On tat perfect fall day, underte benevolent gaze of ragtag scarecrows, it was easyto imagine a Green Classroom in every scool, leadingcildren back to a deep understanding of nature and senseof wonder.

Scarecrow Fest at Duzine Elem.Schools Green Classroom

By Rebecca Burdett

Page9 of 12Patways Fall 2010

on additional outdoor areas, suc as trails and beaces.For more information, visit www.ada.gov.

Te New York State Inclusive Recreation Resource Centerstrives to promote opportunities for people of all abilitiesto play and recreate werever tey coose. Wile manycallenges exist in making natural environments accessibleto people wit a variety of functional differences, it isessential tat everyone as te opportunity to enjoy te

outdoors and te many wonderful programs and servicesoffered by environmental educators. Please feel free to visitte NYS IRRC website at www.nysirrc.org or contact teCenter at [email protected] to learn more aboutinclusive recreation services.


10/12

Cinnamon-Ginger ApplesauceServes 10

1 lb eac McIntos, Granny Smit and Rome Apples1 cup unsweetened apple cider or apple juice

2 strips lemon zest (approx. 3 in. eac1 Tbsp lemon juice

3 Tbsp cinnamon red ot candies1 1/4 tsp ground ginge

1. Peel, alve and core apples. Cut into 2 in. cunks. Place in a 5qt pot wit apple cider, lemon zest and lemon juice. Bring to a boilreduce eat to low and simmer, partially covered, 25 minutesor until apples are very tender.

2. Stir in remaining ingredients. Continue to cook, stirring, untilte candies dissolve (about 3 minutes). Discard zest. Crus wita potato maser until te applesauce is cunky or smoot accord-ing to taste. Serve warm or cold.

Patways Fall 2010Page10 of 12

Dried Apple and CinnamonNoodle Hangings

Slice apples sideways and place in a lemonjuice and water mixture for a few minutes.Moisten rigatoni pasta wit water and ten rollin cinnamon to coat. Using plastic needles andyarn, ave cildren alternately string te applesand noodles. Add a country fabric bow to tetop and dry near a sunny window. Tey lookand smell great!

Idea from: [email protected]

Johnny Appleseed

Legend says tat Jonny Appleseed slept in a treetop ammock, played wit a bear, and even ad a wolf for a pet.Weter te tings are true or not, one ting is for sure! Jonny Appleseed is a great American ero. Jonny Appleseedsreal name was Jon Capman. he was born in 1774 in a small town in Massacusetts. he grew up on a farm and lovedelping is fater wit te work. But is favorite spot was te apple orcard! It was is job to take care of te trees, andeac fall e would pick te apples from te trees and ll many a basket!

Wagon trains on teir way out West would pass troug te farm. Jon would sit for ours, talking to te drivers, learningtat te soil out West was good for growing trees. he dreamed of going West imself, but is fater tried to discourageim, saying tere were no apples out West. Jonny said,Ten I will bring apples to te people tere. I will plant all kindsof apples-red, yellow, and green.

Jonny set out on is long journey wit a walking stick in is and and a pot on is ead. he carried books and a sack of

seeds on is back. he planted seeds everywere along te way. Everyone loved im! Cildren listened to is stories andte animals of te forest would run up to im, waiting to be fed. Everywere Jonny went, apple trees began to grow. Tatis wy e became known by te name Jonny Appleseed. Even today te story of ow e elped plant apple trees is toldall over te country.

- story taken from www.alpabet-soup.ne



NaturallyPoetic

Autumn Leaf

Youve settled your affairs.Youve painted yourself for your brief fallto eart. Your glory will become parcment,a curled single in te roofused by millipedes, ciggers, ants,te wite treads tat root musrooms.It is te way of te world; you will be litterfar longer tan you eld out your green palm.Welcome, little one, to te ground Ive walked onall my life. You are not my beautiful deat.You are te tiny ag in my anddeclaring victory for wat was

and wat is to come.

- Will Nixon

Will Nixon is coautor, wit Micael Perkins, of WalkingWoodstock - Journeys into te Wild heart of AmericasMost Famous Small Town (Buswack Books, 2009).

Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast:A Field Guide

Reviewed by Frank Knigt

I am a Norteast plantssnob; or I was until I beganusing Tredicis Wild UrbanPlants of the Northeasttissummer. I grew up in asmall upstate NY city and Ilive in anoter one now,but my Scouting-fueledcildood rambles took mebeyond te city limits tolearn and enjoy and laterto potograp wild nativeplants in near pristineabitats.

But, urban ecologist Steward T.A. Picketts Forwardreminds us tat more tan 80% of Americans live in ornear cities and suburbs; a percentage tat surely includesmost NYS Outdoor Education Association members andte students tey serve. Mr. Pickett tells us, tat like me,city/suburb residents of tis dominant abitat ignore tewild plants of unmanaged grounds. Tis volunteer wildvegetation ecologically enrices us and offers urban

inhabitants easy access to nature and it lessons andbenets. Pickett concludes, This book provides arefreshingly unprejudiced look at urban wild oraand ultimately invites us all to look for better ways to

appreciate wild plants and to use them in our efforts toimprove the ecology and the human life of the city.

Remarkably, as you turn pages you will rediscover watwere until now nameless plants you overlook on almost

any outing. We campion te underdog surviving greatadversity, and many botanical examples are ere: Bostonivy under a dry sady igway overpass and a carpetweedgetting all its moisture from an air conditioner drip.

Peter Del Tredicis Introduction to is eld guide of 222species (including 32 trees) provides enoug detail for amiddle-, ig scool, or college level exploration of wildurban plants, but as a photographer I appreciate itsusefulness to upper elementary teachers and students.Paired facing pages for eac plant provide six color potossowing leaves, owers, fruit, and plants in teir abitatmaking it easy for page turners to nd teir plant at and.

Te left-and page gives names, life form, place of origin,vegetative caracteristics, owers and fruit, germinationand regeneration, abitat preferences, ecological functions,and cultural signicance. Two examples stress te guideseducational value: herbaceous coltsfoots ecologicalfunctions are disturbance-adapted colonizer of bare groundand erosion control on slopes. In its native EuropeanAlps, it colonizes te bare rocky soil exposed as glaciersretreat. It was used in Europe as a coug suppressant andto avor coug drops. Te autor notes its soft wite woolyleaf undersides as an excellent source of emergency toiletpaper an amusing fact for cildren.

Deciduous European Norway maples distinctive milkysap is illustrated. Its ecological functions include toleranceof roadway salt and compacted soil; eat reduction inpaved areas and erosion control on slopes. Culturalsignicance: Introduced to America by famed JonBartram of Piladelpia in 1756, it became popular in te1800s resurging in te 1950s and 60s to replace disease-decimated American elm. Many states, including NewYork, now list tis maple an invasive species.

A useful Appendix includes key caracteristics of temost important dozen of te 39 included plant families, aglossary, and bibliograpy. Teacer Resource Centers,scool libraries, and outdoor-oriented teacers sould allave and use tis guide.

Cornell University Press / Comstock PublisingAssociates, Itaca, NY. 2010.ISBN: 978-0-8014-7458-3.$29.95 paperback


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Fall 2010 NYSOEA Pathways