PATHWAYS Spring 2019

PATHWAYS
Official Publication of the New York State Outdoor Education Association

www.nysoea.org • 607. 591.6422 • Spring 2019
In this Issue… Message from the Board
NYSOEA’s mission statement is to “promote interdisciplinary
life-long learning in, for, and about the outdoors and to seek
NYSOEA celebrates Earth Day everyday, but there’s
to inspire appreciation of the environment by all people.”
something so very special about that one day in April
Looking forward to our role as a 21st century environmental
when everyone takes a moment to appreciate our one
organization, we will need to listen to diverse voices and
and only Earth! We hope your celebration was one to
engage with systemic issues. To do so will take us beyond
remember. In this issue of PATHWAYS, we’re tuning our
diversity, and into the territory of transforming ourselves,
senses to all the little things sprouting and awakening not
our field, and our world. We believe it's the way forward for
only outdoors, but within ourselves as educators and as
a thriving, engaged, and relevant NYSOEA for the next fifty
an organization. Look for the common plants you may
years and beyond.
overlook, like the tenacious dandelion and the ever-present
thistle, or join Albany Pine Bush Preserve on their search New Yorkers are 30.6% non-white, and we feel our
for frogs, dragonflies, and whip-poor-wills! In this issue, membership and Board should be reflective of this diversity.
we also focus on the Western Region, an area scarred by As a Board, we also feel it is important for educators to
ice and where you can meet other outdoor educators at understand why this representation matters. Many NYSOEA
the Annual Environmental Educator Activity Exchange! members and non-members are doing terrific work in diverse
Take some time today to listen – not only to the chirps of communities all around New York State and we hope to build
eagles and spring, but also to your fellow educators. on these successes. Taking inspiration from these visionaries,
we are actively seeking more interconnectedness and ways to
Table of Contents strengthen us all.
2 A Letter from the NYSOEA Board One step we are taking as a Board is exploring educational
workshops and trainings to help us better understand how
3 President’s Message
to grapple with important issues in our field and our society.
4 Editor’s Corner – Dandelions Are Not the Enemy The first training is being planned for the Metro region this
6 FOCUS Western Region summer, and hopefully others will follow. We see these
conversations as a key first step in an evolving process,
8 Live the Girl Scout Camp Life!
represented and highlighted by our 2019 conference theme,
10 Affiliate Spotlight: “The Outdoors Is For Everyone.” We hope you'll lean in with us
Dr. Victor Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve and lend your voice in that evolution.
14 Scars of the Ice Titans: If you are excited about the 2019 conference, and are ready to
A Natural History of the Western Region join us on a journey toward becoming “color brave,” here are a
few good places to start that have helped us:
16 Western Region Annual Environmental
Activity Exchange 2019 1. Watch Mellody Hobson’s TED Talk, Color Blind or Color
Brave. She describes how we can be courageous and have
18 Lake Effect Snow
important conversations about race.
19 Invasive Species Awareness Week
2. Check out the NAAEE’s Diversity and Inclusion page for
20 Earth Day is Turning 50 information and resources.
24 Citizen Science: Albany Pine Bush Preserve If you’d like to get involved with the conference planning
28 The Outside Story: Thank a Thistle process, you may contact conferencecommittee2019@nysoea.
org. If you’re interested in joining the Communications and
30 Are Beavers Real in Real Life?
Technology Committee, please contact pathways@nysoea.
32 Teaching Tip: Common Volunteer Plants org. If you have any questions about this letter, NYSOEA, or
33 Teaching Tip: It’s a Small World want to get involved with our Board, Diversity Committee, or
other aspects of the organization, you can reach out to me at
34 Listening to the Outdoors and to Each Other
[email protected].
36 Search for Eagles
Sincerely,
39 Meet the New Eastern Region Director! Eric Powers and Board
Cover Photo courtesy of Kristen Rosenburg
2 Pathways Spring 2019

President’s Message
Yet another wonderful PATHWAYS is here at your fingertips. I love that this platform shares
our stories and ideas for successful outdoor and environmental education. I really encourage
members and affiliates to submit articles about the things that help you and your organization
because it will likely help others.
With that in mind, our wonderful organization has a bright future. The Board of Directors has a
young average age, perhaps the youngest in decades. Our endowment is nearing $100,000 and
we are very close to creating a scholarship structure. We are bringing on new affiliate members
all the time, and we now have over 110 affiliates. Our circulation continues to grow.
We have a really committed and dedicated Board of Directors and many amazing committees.
Frankly, our Communications and Technology Committee volunteers (whom put out both the
website and PATHWAYS) conduct a level of work in their spare time that most of us do not even
realize! Hardly a day goes by that our dedicated volunteers are not talking to each other and
planning things to come.
Our past Presidents and past Board members are always looking out for us. Our connection with
affiliates is strengthening, and our communications are open. New, energetic volunteers are
joining our ranks every month.
NYSOEA is strong and vibrant. Our next 50 years looks promising and with so much support I
expect it to be groundbreaking. Be strong, hold your head high, and look to our common future
with optimism.
Eric Powers
President, NYSOEA
[email protected]
Pathways Spring 2019 Flower Illustrations via www.freepik.com 3

DANDELIONS
ARE NOT THE ENEMY
Written by Amanda Dauman, PATHWAYS Chief Editor
4 Dandelion patch photo by Amanda Dauman Pathways Spring 2019

Yellow crowns. Fluffy puffs of seeds. The absolute scourge and sold here in the United States, and added to salads,
of the pristine, manicured lawn. Dandelions. Their image is sandwiches, and teas, while the roots can be ground as
one of frustration for many homeowners, landscapers, and an alternative to coffee. The flower heads are even used to
city planners. Even in the tiniest cracks in the pavement, make wine! As wonderful as dandelion is, don’t go pulling
the dandelion is a testament to nature’s relentlessness and your dandelions for soup just yet. The deep tap root is
tenacity. That’s a good thing, because dandelions are more talented at absorbing pollutants that may be present on
important than most people realize. your lawn, or your neighbor’s lawn. It’s safer to just buy
from your local farm.
The common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) is not a native
plant to North America. The wildflower’s original range So what good are the dandelions on your lawn, then, if you
extends from Europe to Asia. It wasn’t until the 17th century can’t eat them and your neighbor will scold you for them?
that Europeans brought the plant over to North America as an You’ll probably notice that the dandelions are coming up now.
herb and leafy food source. As European colonization of the Before any of your other flowers bloom, the pesky dandelion
Americas (and the world) spread, so, too, did the dandelion, is already sprouted and beckoning spring. This is how the
either with purpose or with the wind. Dandelions are now non-native dandelion gives back. Once the warmth returns,
found all over the world, save for Antarctica, and they have insects like bees, butterflies, and moths emerge looking for a
humans and their incredible adaptability to thank for it. meal, and the dandelion is ready to provide. For many of our
important pollinators, the early emergence of the dandelion is
Like many foreign organisms brought here by humans, a life-saver as they wait for native species to bloom. Once the
the dandelion’s infamous persistence has helped it survive seeds appear, small birds, such as the goldfinch, also enjoy a
most anywhere. This is one hardy plant, with a long tap root meal from this hardy plant.
that allows it to store energy and wait out even the longest
winters before popping up in spring. Dandelions will grow But what if you really hate dandelions and I have not
in most any habitat, from swamps and well-watered lawns, convinced you to allow them to grow? There are alternatives
to forgotten cracks in the sidewalk. Anywhere plants grow, to helping pollinators and getting rid of dandelions at the
the dandelion can stake its claim, too. Once rooted in a same time. One option is to allow a small space in your yard
spot, it's time to spread its seed, and, as your children may for dandelions and other wildflowers to grow uninterrupted,
demonstrate, is also an easy task for the dandelion. Those at least until other flowers in your yard have bloomed. You can
fluffy heads need only a light gust of wind to carry them miles also completely replace the need for dandelions by planting
away from their parent, and even further if it lands on the back other early-blooming plants. Examples of these would be
of a migrating animal. wild strawberry, and native New York flowers, such as Canada
columbine and creeping phlox. Check your area and local
When it comes to invasive species, you’ll groan with how farm for the best alternatives.
many times you’ll hear the animal or plant causing havoc was
brought here and released intentionally for one seemingly We have greatly changed our perception of the dandelion
ridiculous reason or another. Feral cats, mute swans, and over the past few hundred years. From medicinal plant worthy
European starlings are just some such species purposely of accompanying us to new worlds, to pesky scourge of the
released in New York alone, and they all hurt native species green lawn, the dandelion has nevertheless survived.
and the environment. For the dandelion, however, this is
References
not the case. Although the dandelion is now the epitome of Dandelion: A Tenacious Beauty by Dave Taft. New York Times https://cityroom.
shame on the homeowner and they can compete with new blogs.nytimes.com/2014/05/30/dandelion-a-tenacious-beauty/ . Accessed
seedlings if left unchecked, this stubborn flower was brought 03/14/19
here as an important herb and food source, and it continues Dandelions – Love Them or Hate Them, but Don’t Spray Them by Joellen
Lampman. New York State IPM Program. Cornell University. http://blogs.cornell.
to give back to its new home.
edu/nysipm/2014/05/20/dandelions-love-them-or-leave-them-but-dont-spray-
them/ . Accessed 03/14/19
Dandelion is chock full of vitamins and minerals, and in
Dandelions for Pollinators. EcoSuperior Environmental Programs http://www.
the past, was used medicinally by early Europeans and in ecosuperior.org/dandelions . Accessed 03/14/19
traditional Chinese medicine. The plant’s leaves and roots
Native Spring Blooming Perennials for the North Country. Cornell Cooperative
were used to treat many ailments, including digestive Extension. http://essex.cce.cornell.edu/resources/native-spring-blooming-
problems, diabetes, and fever. The roots are a natural diuretic, perennials . Accessed 03/14/19
and are still used today as such. Recently, though, dandelion, Weed of the Month: Dandelion by Saara Nifici. Brooklyn Botanic Garden https://
like any natural herb, is suggested only at the discretion of www.bbg.org/news/weed_of_the_month_dandelion . Accessed 03/14/19
your physician, as its other properties can interfere with Anita Sanchez book The Tooth of the Lion
other medications. Nevertheless, dandelion leaves are grown
Pathways Spring 2019 5

Focus:
WESTERN REGION
Written by Jill Eisenstein
Miles and miles of rolling hills and flat plains stretching west of refugees in recent years and now benefit from great
from central New York to the Great Lakes, with large tracts diversity. There, nature centers, parks, zoos, and aquariums
of forest and wilderness in the Southern Tier, make the deliver programs to help new urban new arrivals meet their
sprawling Western Region feel relaxing. Maybe “chill” would ecological neighbors.
be a better word for half the year, as “lake effect” snow off
The rural areas offer excellent access to green space and
the Great Lakes defines late fall through winter, sometimes
water, not only in forests and farmlands but often within
dumping several feet of snow in a matter of hours. Some have
towns and even schoolyards. Thomas J. Watson, Sr., the
called it “the snow belt.” But in summer, hordes of people
founder of the IBM Corporation, spent his boyhood in one
head for its breathtaking rivers, hidden lakes, and waterways
of the valleys of the Region, playing in the fields, woods, and
on the shores of the Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. The Region
streams that surrounded his parents' farm. The homestead is
boasts the Canisteo, Cohocton, and Chemung rivers flowing
now a conference and retreat center, and one of the places
through the picturesque valleys of the Alleghany Plateau, the
NYSOEA hosts its annual conference.
Genesee river valley with Letchworth State Park--the “Grand
Canyon of the East”-- and the Niagara, which became a Western Region co-directors say “there are tons of good
movie star in the 1900s with its mighty Niagara Falls. things happening” in NYSOEA’s Western Region. The
proximity of the Region to the Great Lakes inspires countless
NYSOEA’s Western Region encompasses 13 counties. It has
watershed restoration efforts. This year, two NYSOEA affiliates,
large cities like Buffalo and Rochester but is mostly rural in
Friends of Reinstein Woods and Buffalo Audubon Society,
character. This dichotomy makes for rich variation in EE
will partner to connect hundreds of students to their local
opportunities throughout the Region. Rochester and Buffalo
watershed in the “Day in the Life of the Niagara River/Lake
are both home to expansive urban parks and increased urban
Erie Watershed” program and environmental educators in the
greening efforts. Both cities have welcomed thousands
Genesee River valley are hoping to launch a similar program.
6 Tanglewood Nature Center overlooking the Chemung River in Elmira, NY photo by Tanglewood Nature Center Pathways Spring 2019
Enjoy the four miles of trail in the Outer Harbor on Lake Erie
photo by Barry Virgilio
With climate change increasingly at the forefront of regional Meet the Co-Directors
environmental conversations, Western New York youth are
Meet Shannon Lyaski and Mary Ronan, the co-directors of the Region. In an area
taking up the challenge. 2019 will be the third year of the that spreads far and wide and sometimes feels hard to cross or reach across,
Western New York Youth Climate Action Summit in Buffalo they share an ambition for bringing people together both online and in person to
(https://wnyyouthclimatesummit.org/) and ten exceptional offer inspiration and support. They would LOVE your ideas and input!
youth leaders are part of the Buffalo-based Youth and Climate Shannon is Conservation Education Program Coordinator for Genesee County
Justice Fellowship. NYSOEA offered a film screening of Parks, Recreation & Forestry. She is responsible for coordinating programming,
“Chasing Coral” for Climate Education Week. volunteer efforts, Interpretive Nature Center staff, and visitor services for
Genesee County Parks. An adventurer at heart, Shannon loves hiking, camping,
The health benefits of the outdoors have gained traction in kayaking and traveling to new places. She also loves different forms of dance,
the Region. More forest schools and outdoor pre-schools are and has studied middle eastern dance styles for 18 years, and hula for six. For
popping up, promoting the academic, behavioral, and health the Western Region, she is working on forming a listserv to give members “more
ways to connect and help one another meet challenges and grow in success!”
gains of nature play and learning outdoors. And forest bathing
Shannon became a member of NYSOEA in 2005. She became a Western
has been a featured program in at least three Western NYSOEA
Region co-Director because she believed NYSOEA members had contributed
Affiliate organizations this year. tremendously to her professional development and it was time to give back!
She can be reached at [email protected]
The jewel of the Regional events is the annual Environmental
Educator Activity Exchange (see separate article on p. 16), held
every February at one of the many EE centers in the region.
The event brings together people from many organizations
throughout the Region to share experiences, learning
activities, ideas, and vision about environmental education.
This time spent together is of the most inspiring events each
year in the Western Region.
The first state park in the city of Buffalo, with beautiful views of Lake Erie.
Photo by Tina Spencer
Mary works as an Environmental Educator, NYSDEC at Reinstein Woods

Environmental Education Center in Depew, NY. Mary returned to Reinstein Woods
in the fall of 2017 after a short stint there as a Naturalist Intern in 2011. She
loves the variability in her work days, splitting time between leading professional
development workshops, school programs in classrooms and at the preserve, and
promoting local nature exploration in after-school Discover Your Neighborhood
programs. For fun, she fly fishes with her own hand-tied flies and spends most
warm days knee-deep in a WNY stream stalking mayflies and Great Blue herons.
She was drawn to NYSOEA because its ideals align with her own, and she wants
to “ensure future environmental educators continue to have a space where they
can be inspired and challenged by their peers.” She can be reached at Western_
[email protected].

Live the GIRL SCOUT LIFE
By Girl Scouts of Western New York
Girl Scouts of Western New York’s (GSWNY) pledge is to New York, girls can both “learn and earn.” For example, in
ensure that any Girl Scout who seeks opportunities in the our Basics of Outdoor Survival program, girls earn their eco-
outdoors is enabled to do so. For over 100 years, Girl Scouts trekker and outdoor adventurer badges which involves hiking,
has created opportunities for girls and women to grow into wild edible and medicinal plant ID, fire-making, shelter-
strong leaders, critical thinkers, and compassionate citizens. building, and natural resource utilities. These programs also
Combining outdoor adventure with social emotional learning emphasize the meaning of environmental stewardship,
for girls of any age is a critical stepping stone of development, leadership and collaboration with a hands-on education on
though it is particularly important with girls in adolescence. how all humans play a role in caring for the ecosystem and
how girls themselves, can think of new ways to help protect
Girl Scouts of Western New York outdoor and summer the environment.
camp experiences are great resources for this type of
positive development. GSWNY programs not only give girls When girls participate in Girl Scout programs including
the opportunity to have fun, but also learn from outdoor outdoor and summer camp, it helps to prepare them for a
experts, challenge themselves, work as a team, and become lifetime of leadership. The proof is in the results with Girl
empowered to reach their full potential, throughout year- Scouts’ strong history of inclusion and girl safety, and legacy
long programs packed with adventure. Whether girls choose of women leaders including 70% of today’s women senators,
a summer adventure or seek these activities year-round, Girl 100% of women Secretaries of States, 80% of female tech
Scout programs are an ideal place for girls to meet and make leaders, and 90% of female astronauts who have flown in
new friends, grow, become independent, and explore skills. space in the U.S. were all Girl Scouts.
With activities such as ropes courses, archery, wilderness
skills, adventure backpacking, kayaking, rock climbing, fire So when studies show that girls today are not spending nearly
safety, navigation, and other outdoor activities throughout enough time outdoors, and that technology and structured
8 Girl Scouts enjoying outdoor fun inside their tent at Girl Scouts of Western New York Camp Piperwood. Pathways Spring 2019
Girl Scout zip-lining at Girl Scouts of Western New York Camp Seven Hills.
activities leave less time for girls to get outside, engage in a Better yet, the lessons learned at Girl Scout camp last far
full spectrum of youth development and enjoy nature, Girl beyond their camp experience. Responsibility, an appreciation
Scouts’ knows that our programs are even more critical; the for diversity, the ability to persevere, and willingness to try
Girl Scout Research Institute collaborated with the American new things were rated by camp alums as most important to
Camp Association (ACA) to explore whether the skills, their daily lives today. This finding suggests camp experiences
behaviors, and attitudes youth learn at camp carry over to are distinct from other learning environments such as home
other parts of their lives. It was found that 83% of Girl Scout and school. Notably, Girl Scout camp alums are more likely
camp alums say their first camp experience was at a Girl Scout than non–Girl Scout camp alums to attribute the learning of
camp. Accredited by the American Camp Association®, we these life skills and characteristics to camp.
more than expect girls who attend Girl Scout camp to both
learn and become environmental stewards, but also engage Additionally, the Girl Scouts are looking to introduce and
in the experiences and challenges that grow successful maintain a relationship between state parks and councils that
adults. In fact, the majority of Girl Scout camp alums say their will amplify our girls’ outdoor experiences and highlight the
camp experience was central to the development of their resources that abound in our state parks. To this end, there
sense of self, positive values, challenge seeking skills, healthy will be Girl Scouts Love State Parks events, activities, and
relationships, and leadership skills! service projects the weekend of July 13-14, 2019 in state parks
in Western New York.
1. Girl Scout programs are designed to create key moments
when girls: GSWNY offers all girls invaluable outdoor and summer camp
2. Discover that they can better solve problems and experiences regardless of their ability to pay, race, creed,
overcome challenges religion, sexual orientation, disability, economic status,
or cultural background. Remember, life is a journey, not a
3. Develop leadership skills, build social bonds, and are
destination. Make time to get outside! To learn more about
happier overall
GSWNY’s outdoor and summer camp programs visit
4. Become team players and care more about protecting our
www.gswny.org.
environment
Girl Scouts helping their Girl Scout sister on the low ropes course at Girl Scouts practicing fire-making at Girl Scouts
Girl Scouts of Western New York Camp Seven Hills. of Western New York Camp Seven Hills.

Affiliate Spotlight
Dr. Victor Reinstein Woods

Nature Preserve
Written by Jill Eisenstein
Photos by Kristen Rosenburg
I
n aerial shots, Reinstein Woods looks like an island of
habitat for wildlife in the middle of the eastern Buffalo
suburbs. More than a million people live within 30 miles
of the DEC’s 292-acre preserve, but it sustains abundant
animal species native to New York State in its complex of
forests, ponds and wetlands.
People enjoy it, too. More than 200,000 people are served
annually by on-site guided tours and off-site outreach programs,
self-guided trails, public programs and special events at “the
Woods”, as the locals call it. Fall Festival is the biggest event of
the year, attracting crowds of 2,000-3,000 people for a variety of
activities and displays. Full Moon Walks are popular year-round,
and in the winter, Learn to Cross-Country Ski.
The property, deeded to DEC by the Reinstein estate in 1986,
welcomes visitors in every season. From examining pond life
with magnifying lenses to scanning treetops with binoculars,
from “stories in the woods” sessions for parents and Pre-K
children, to “forest bathing” sessions for adults, from owl prowls
at night to snowshoeing at dawn, the place is abuzz with
opportunities to get outside. For the staff of the Preserve and its
non-profit Friends group, wonder and instruction make perfect
partners.
Summer brings the annual Get Outdoors! Community Day
(this year on Saturday, June 8, from 10-3). Friends of Reinstein
Woods runs the annual summer day camp called Kids in the
Woods, serving about 140 kids during the summer season. DEC
educators hold an annual Summer Teacher Institute. This year,
in partnership with Buffalo Audubon and SUNY Fredonia, the
Summer Institute will offer teacher training in “A Day in the Life
of the Lake Erie/Niagara River Watershed”. With support from the
National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Great
Lakes Bay Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) Program,
this program will combine classroom learning with hands-on
field experiences to connect 6th-12th grade students with their
local watershed.
Even inside space invites visitors outside. Reinstein Woods
Environmental Education Center, a 4,900-square-foot “green”
building opened in 2007, boasts ample windows that provide
natural light in three-quarters of the space. Complimentary
field guides entreat those inside to view the birds and trees
outside. One of the features of the Silver LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design)-rated building is its use of
on-site materials. Black cherry trees removed in clearing the
site were locally milled for trim in the meeting room. Leftover
wood trim from construction was used to make frames for signs.
According to Kristen Rosenburg, Program Coordinator, Division
of Operations, who has worked at Reinstein Woods for nearly 20
years, “the whole building is a teaching tool.”

School Tour
And in case one needs help with an individual plan to reduce/ With an eye to the future, Reinstein Woods’ Christmas Bird
re-use/recycle – twice a year, Reinstein Woods offers Dare to Count for Kids gives youth the reins. Families sign up, get
Repair Café, where repair coaches help people fix items, from trained in bird identification, do “binocular boot camp”, then
broken zippers to broken lamps, instead of throwing them teams of 4-6 children (with adult chaperones) go out for 90
away. minutes on a designated trail.
While many outdoor education places rest a bit in winter, Natural rewards abound at Reinstein Woods. A few years ago
the pace never slacks at Reinstein Woods. In February, the in spring a snapping turtle made a nest by the front door of
staff – including five DEC Environmental Educators, two the Environmental Center, and while preparing for the Fall
DEC EE interns, an SCA Americorps volunteer, and a host Festival that same year, the staff saw the baby turtles emerge
of volunteers from Friends of Reinstein Woods – host the from the nest. Last April, more than 30 loons stopped on the
Winter Wonderland Festival. This past year, unique activities biggest pond for a few weeks due to snowy weather during
of the Festival included having fun recycling old alkaline spring migration.
batteries with games from The Coalition of Positively Charged It makes Rosenburg smile. “I love that after all the years, there
People; a birding challenge course; winter and flat ice rescue is still always something new to discover.”
techniques taught by Niagara Search and Rescue and NYSDEC
Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve & Environmental Education
Forest Rangers; and a snowflake exploration station with
Center: http://www.dec.ny.gov/education/1837.html
Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper.
Friends of Reinstein Woods: https://reinsteinwoods.org/
A Day in the Life of the Lake Erie/Niagara River Watershed Children learn about local wildlife in an after-school program

Lily pond at Reinstein Woods
Learning to cross-country ski

SCARS OF THE ICE TITANS:
A Natural History of the Western Region
By Conrad Baker
Western New York is a land defined by the death throes of titan These mountains shed incomprehensible tons of clay, silt,
glaciers that once carved the entire northern quarter of the and sand westward into the sea via gradual erosion in the
globe. ages that followed. Grain by grain, inch by inch, the sea bed
here rose and eventually crested the water over the course
The Niagara gorge...Letchworth gorge...the Great Lakes...all
of about 350 million years, equaling trillions of organism
are the remains of ancient and powerful faceless giants that
lifetimes. Thousands of species flourished and perished in
once ruled this region. Still, a few mysterious places were for
diversification explosions and extinctions on land and sea.
some reason neglected by the ancients and are to this day
The tons of organic riches piled higher and higher.
untouched.
Then, just 2.6 million years before the present day, planetary
The Western Region's geologic heritage hails back to the
cooling set in motion the most recent proliferation and
'shallow sea' of the Silurian and Devonian Periods. Vascular
migration of ice giants in the north.
plants and the first recognizable insects colonized land
elsewhere on earth, but in the seas over the North American Lumbering, grumbling titans, a mile high and horizons wide,
tectonic plate, crinoids swayed, trilobites scuttled, and finally marched down from the arctic in just a few thousand
Devonian fish diversified explosively. years. Plains of organics and sediment carefully laid over the
eons were like sandboxes for the unstoppable ice sheets to
All ages must end. As mass extinctions rocked thousands of
churn.
species during the ebbing millions of years of the Devonian,
known as the Famennian faunal stage, far greater creatures The multimillion-ton titans carved the earth with raw power.
were suffering profound growing pains. A tectonic collision They kneaded the earth into land features that stretch to
with Baltica, the tectonic plate to our east, shot skyward our horizons. They plowed valleys, chiseled lake basins, and
the now extinct Acadian mountains, the old crown of the erected moraines that to this day memorialize the glaciers’
American east coast. size and strength.
14 Allegany State Park photo credit Flickr.com Pathways Spring 2019

But as it turned out, even the mighty ice titans were mere tons of sediment, forming a wide, gentle valley. As the glaciers
mortals. retreated, water rushing northward from what is now northern
Pennsylvania not only washed this sediment toward Lake
Rising global temperatures turned the tide against them, and
Ontario, but over thousands of years etched a staggering scar
they never made it far south of what is now Pennsylvania.
in the Devonian bedrock, in some places 550 feet deep.
The sun ruined them, melting torrential wounds in their
backs as they battled for their lives. They partially melted and This steep, shallow, and steep again gorge is now known as
refroze many times, pitifully sliding and rolling in the mud Letchworth Gorge in Letchworth State Park, and still carries
for thousands of years. About 16,000 years ago, well within water over three terrifically popular waterfalls and many more
our own ancestral memory, the last titans finally perished or lesser known ones. Ice age-era and alpine plants still cling
retreated from the region, leaking whole lakes of fresh water. to the cold, shadowy cliffs, species out of time that can live
Today, the last of New York's glaciers nurse their wounds in nowhere else in the region.
Greenland and the eastern Canadian arctic.
Despite all this, even the titans’ powers had their limits. The
What we are left with today are the goliath signs they made as Salamanca Re-Entrant is a zone in the southwest of New York
they retreated from the cataclysmic heat. State that the glaciers never reached. Huge slabs of intact
Devonian bedrock, still containing distinctive conglomerate
The wallowing glaciers left huge, muddy expanses of
pebbles and crinoid and trilobite fossils stand many times
meltwater in the gouged-out earth behind. Meltwaters
higher than the tallest person.
wandered the churned landscape for thousands of years
until they found a low spot, what is now Lewiston, NY, and In the millions of years since they were deposited there,
Queenston, ON. The floods poured over a shelf of Silurian seasonal freeze-thaw and the constant downhill pull of gravity
rock known as the Niagara Escarpment and escaped eastward, has opened cracks and alleys between the rocks, sometimes
toward the Atlantic Ocean. called 'streets.' Several people could walk shoulder-to-shoulder
in some of these 'streets.' The area is known as the Thunder
In the past 12,000 years, the constant pouring water has
Rocks or Rock City, now within Allegany State Park, and is a
washed away a deep gorge seven miles long. The water,
favorite place for a good old freestyle rock climb.
now called the Niagara River, currently thunders over the
escarpment at over 31,000 tons per second in Niagara Falls These remaining glacial scars are testaments to the power
State Park. A small creek, now only seasonal, once joined the of ice but the greater power of the sun, the immediate
Niagara as the glaciers retreated, swirling around a tricky spot effectiveness of sheer force but the inevitable passage of time.
for a few thousand years and carving out a semicircular bowl Standing by the deafening roar of the Niagara, the dizzying
now known as Devil's Hole in Devil's Hole State Park. canyon at Letchworth, the quiet, mossy walls in Allegany,
anyone can feel very small, like a fly on a rock wall, a tiny
East of Niagara, churning action of the melting glaciers and
spectator in a vast and ancient story still being told, grain by
the water they shed redrew maps in a blink of the geological
grain and inch by inch.
eye. In their heyday, advancing glaciers plowed millions of
Pathways Spring 2019 Niagara Falls photo courtesy of Creative Commons 15

WESTERN REGION
Annual Environmental Activity Exchange 2019
Written by Shannon Lyaski
What happens when NYSOEA members get together for a Genesee County Park & Forest. As the sun shone and snow
day in February? Plenty of good snacks, good conversation, fluttered down from towering spruce trees, Mary Ronan of
and silliness! The 5th annual Western Region NYSOEA Reinstein Woods led us in restorative forest bathing activities.
Environmental Educator's Activity Exchange, held at the
Genesee County Park & Forest in East Bethany, was an Following lunch, Helen Domske shared “Great Lakes Basin
absolute blast. 31 educators from across western New York Bins” information and Samantha D-Orsaneo and Autumn
brought their favorite activities and program topic information Syracuse shared the “Spot the Difference” game, an activity
to share with the group at this one-day workshop. Always similar to the tavern video I-spy games – remarkably effective
characterized by getting out of your chair for a mix of indoor at teaching marine biology! Kristen Rosenburg of Reinstein
and outdoor activities, it’s a solid day of learning that feels like Woods presented inquiry-based scientific observation with
goofing off with your friends. winter weeds (a program material we all have in abundance!).
Carol Rogers, Tina Spencer, Nicole Czarnecki and Ritcha Patel
The vibe was casual and fun as the morning opened with of the Niagara Region Interpretive Programs Office gave us
a wide array of breakfast snacks and the donation of useful a great new way of doing a tried-and-true activity with their
Campership raffle items. Group ice-breakers presented by “Track Rubbings” craft; Angela Cannon-Crothers of Cumming
Lauren Makeyenko of Buffalo Audubon Society were more Nature Center shared a “Scent Tracking” activity in the field,
than sharing names and home towns; these activities asked followed by “Squirrel Obstacle Course” taught by Lisa Thibault,
teams to share an opinion on a perceived situation and Jacki Levinson and Liz Thompson of the Buffalo Zoo. Late
convince self/others accordingly. Shortly after, we headed afternoon didn’t slow down, as Emily Malley of Cumming
outside to the forest for a guided hike by Shannon Lyaski of Nature Center took us deep into the fascinating world of
16 Photo: Mary Ronan shares insight as she leads Forest Bathing Pathways Spring 2019
Lauren Makeyenko kicks it off with group ice breaker – Connected or Not Liz Thompson donates her body to science education during the
Connected? 2 teams of opinion must decide, debate, convince the other team! Fossil Formation Demonstration.
honeybees with a pollinator activity, Beverly Jones of Pfeiffer for the workshop sparked many insightful discussions on
Nature Center sparked a great discussion with the “Great our different experiences with current trends, as well as
Pacific Garbage Patch” game, and Marcus Rosten of Buffalo our challenges and successes throughout the Region in
Niagara Waterkeeper opened our eyes and brought clarity Environmental Education and Recreation
with a “Fish Consumption” activity. The “Fossil Formation” The annual Environmental Educator Activity Exchange
demonstration presented by Coleen Edwards of Stella Niagara is always a thought-provoking and inspiring day that we
Education Park showed the perfect way to explain an abstract look forward to every year in the Western Region. HUGE
process to people of all ages. Last but not least, Heather THANKS to Kimberly Adriaansen, our fun and fabulous EEAE
Desorcie showed a neat variation of the “Oh Deer” population coordinator who has been running it each year! Kim keeps
ecology game. ` things rolling and shares the excellent activity and lesson
write-ups with participants after the workshop. Thanks to
The day finished up with the Campership raffle and small everyone for sharing their passion and making it an excellent
discussions among members. We raised $260 for the workshop day!
NYSOEA Campership Fund that day! Gathering together
Scent tracking activity through the snow! The scent trail led us to the critter!
Corrections to Winter Issue of PATHWAYS
Photo credits for Citizen Science Project FeederWatch, (pg.18) clockwise from top left:
Feeder birds by Paul Bigelow
Downy Woodpecker by Ted Nalesnik
Red-headed Woodpecker by Leah Tyrrell
Red-breasted Nuthatch by Paul Bigelow

Lake Effect SNOW
Writing and Photo by Mary Ronan
“Actually, being surrounded by all this white is beautiful. ever told you about the day I left work and got a mile down
People pay good money for this level of sensory deprivation. I the road, abandoned my car, and hiked back to sleep in the
should feel calm and relaxed in this space completely lacking office?” one co-worker told me after I recounted my white-
visual distraction.” knuckle drive. “I always carry a toothbrush with me now.” In
This is what I told myself as I drove across Genesee County the winter, no one has an available trunk—that space is packed
one December day – or at least what I would have told myself with extra blankets, candles, granola bars, a can of soup, and
if my brain wasn’t completely consumed with one thought: a few sudoku puzzles to keep you entertained while you’re
“Please let this be the road.” I had just driven into my first lake stranded on I-90 for eight hours.
effect snow band. In Western New York, this moment is as Winter program schedules in Western New York are fluid.
iconic as your first chicken wing, Bills game, or glimpse of Every Nature Center’s registration policy contains an implied
Niagara Falls. Provided you survive the experience, you will last-minute weather cancellation policy. Every school day is a
never forget it. possible snow day, from November through April, leaving kids
“Lake-effect snow” is a phenomenon in which a mass of cold sagging with disappointment and school years dragging on
air travels over a relatively warm body of water (for us, Lake through June to make up for missed days. We know the im-
Erie and Lake Ontario) and then deposits large amounts of portance of snowshoes, the perils of roof-shoveling, the rush
snow once it hits land downwind. These snow fronts can on milk and bread at Wegman’s.
move in relatively narrow bands, creating impassible white- That said, we will never leave. The same lakes that make each
out road conditions in minutes. One side of town may receive winter drive a possible horror film also fuel mild growing sea-
twelve inches of snow while the lawns a mile away still have sons, gift endless fresh water, and provide incredible sunsets.
grass tips peeking out. We’ll keep our beach picnics and vineyards, birding hot-spots
While “lake-effect snow” is not unique to the Great Lakes Re- and incredible steelhead runs. In fact, this region is touted as
gion—it can be found in the Great Salt Lake and large Cana- one of the best places to escape the effects of climate change.
dian lakes—we like to claim it as our own. Everyone I know But don’t move here, I hear the snow is terrible.
wears their lake-effect story like a badge of honor. “Have I

St. Lawrence Eastern Lake
Ontario (SLELO) PRISM photo
by Megan Pistolese
Inspecting hemlock.
Photo by Kristopher Williams
of Capital-Mohawk PRISM
Mark Your Calendars!

Invasive Species Awareness Week to be held July 7-13
New York State will be hosting its sixth annual Invasive Want to get involved? Anyone can host an ISAW event! ISAW
Species Awareness Week (ISAW) July 7th-13th, 2019. ISAW is a great opportunity to team up with your local Partnership
is a statewide educational campaign that aims to provide for Regional Invasive Species Management (PRISM) and
New Yorkers with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to spread the word about invasive species and how the public
protect the state’s lands and waters from the negative can help. Check out some examples of events in the works for
impacts of invasive species. Initiated in 2014, the week-long 2019:
campaign features numerous events statewide focused on
invasive species including removal projects, guided hikes, • Guided hike on surveying for hemlock woolly adelgid
paddling events, presentations, science trainings, film • Water chestnut removals at your local waterbody
screenings, and much more. Last year, more than 170 • Tabling at a local farmers market and providing information
events were held across the state, making it the most about local invasive species and prevention tips
successful ISAW campaign to date!
For more information on how to host an ISAW
This year, the theme is “Early Detection: Explore, Observe, event, including event host resources, visit https://
Report.” Detecting an invasive species infestation early can stoptheinvasionny.com/scheduling-an-event/. For any
help professionals respond quickly and stop its spread. Each inquiries or assistance planning a program, please contact
year, ISAW provides opportunities for the public to learn Emma Antolos of NYS Department of Environmental
about invasive species and how to report them. By arming the Conservation at [email protected].
public with these skills, we can greatly improve the chance of
catching and managing infestations earlier. You can help with
this mission!

EARTH DAY
IS TURNING 50!
“Earth Day is a commitment to make life better, not just bigger and faster; to provide real rather than
rhetorical solutions. It is a day to re-examine the ethic of individual progress at mankind’s expense. It is
a day to challenge the corporate and government leaders who promise change, but who shortchange
the necessary programs. It is a day for looking beyond tomorrow. April 22 seeks a future worth living.”
- Environmental Teach-In Advertisement, New York Times, January 18, 1970
Writing and Photos by Fred Stoss

SUNY University at Buffalo
20 View of Lewey Lake, NY Pathways Spring 2019

I would like to say a very special thanks to the late Jean Thompson, Associate
Director of Rochester New York’s Center for Environmental Information who
encouraged me to become an OBIS trainer (bet many of you have not heard
that acronym in a while—Outdoor Biological Instructional Strategies—the
first major (NSF-sponsored) post-Earth Day educational program out of
Lawrence Hall at the University of California in Berkeley), and gave my four
or five-year old daughter, Kaeti, now a long-time NYSOEA Member, her very
first outdoor education experience on the front yard of the Jonathan Child
House, home to CEI.
For a truly great historical overview of Earth Day: The

Genius of Earth Day: How a 1970 Teach-In Unexpectedly
Made the First Green Generation. 2013. Adam Rome.
New York: Hill and Wang (a division of Farrar, Straus,
Giroux). ISBN: 978-0-80904050-6.
Falls Brook, near Indian Lake, NY
It is hard for me to believe that one of the moments that enlightenment and consciousness. One cultural concept
changed the course of my studies and career will be 50 years around which millions of people began to rally was the
old on Wednesday, April 22, 2020. But, time has passed, we environment.
have weathered many storms, and are presently in one of
the most tumultuous times we have seen in our lives. I was The “birth” of the contemporary environmental movement
a sophomore biology major at Hartwick College on that day. began with the 1949 publication of Aldo Leopold’s Sand
I attended the morning and early afternoon “teach-ins”, and County Almanac, considered by many to be one of the
along with several of my ΑΔΩ Brothers, brought a handsome most important books on conservation written in the 20th
brace of freshly caught trout from Charlotte Creek back to our century. Leopold’s classic was preceded by the evolution
house, stopping for a six-pack of Lowenbrau Dark Beer for a of a contemporary wilderness ethic that began in the 1870s
handsome dinner. The remarkable thing about my first Earth with the creation of Yellowstone National Park (the first such
Day experience was that it took place AFTER I took my first preserve in the world). This land and resource preservation
environmental class at Hartwick. “Man and the Environment” movement extended to 1935 with the publication of The
was an interdisciplinary class where I was introduced to Living Wilderness by the Wilderness Society. The Society’s
Aldo Leopold, Joseph Sitler, Farley Mowat, John Muir, Rachel first director, Howard Zahniser, drafted the first version of
Carson (her Sea Trilogy), and others. So, how did all of this a wilderness bill in 1955. The bill was introduced in the U.S.
begin? Senate by Hubert Humphrey (D-Minnesota) in 1956 and
signed into law as the Wilderness Act by President Lyndon
“Earth Day” was created in late 1969 through early 1970, and Johnson in 1964. Rachel Carson’s book, Silent Spring, was
it was unveiled nationally on April 22, 1970. However, Earth published in 1962 and had a deep and lasting impact by
Day found its initial inspirations in the 1940s, 1950s and drawing people to heightened levels of concern about the
1960s -- decades marked by tremendous social and cultural quality of the environment and the potential for human
awareness, times of activism and change, times of spiritual activities to have heavy ecological consequences.

Earth Day 0.1 Late in the fall of 1969 the seed for an Earth Day
was planted when a group of persons in San Francisco led by
John McConnell approached Peter Tamaris, head of the San
Francisco Board of Supervisors, with a resolution to devote
one day a year (originally proposed on March 21, 1970, the date
of the vernal equinox) to celebrate the Earth and the intricacies
and fragile nature of its interactions.
See Earth Day: Past, Present, and Future for a history of

the original Earth Day and its founder, John McConnell.
Included in this site is McConnell’s original Earth Day
Proclamation. Earth Site is McConnell’s continuing efforts to
promote awareness for celebrating the Earth and from which
McConnell promotes these ongoing efforts. It is noted that
this Earth Day takes on a much spiritual mantle in celebrating
the gifts of Earth and its resources.
Earth Day 1.0 Coinciding with McConnell’s grassroots

initiative, Gaylord Nelson (D-Wisconsin) had become quite
frustrated with a lack of environmental interest among his
Senate colleagues. Hoping to stimulate popular interest
for the environment, Nelson looked to America’s non-
violent campus activism for inspiration and proposed a
series of environmental learning experiences, “teach-ins”,
for campuses across the nation. In a speech in Seattle in
September 1969, Nelson announced a national environmental
teach-in for the spring of 1970.
Several events stimulated a greater concern for the quality of

the environment in the 1960s. Among these events were:
• the Great Lakes were dead -- choked by what seemed to

be an endless infusion of pollutants (yet were VERY MUCH
alive with rampant eutrophication resulting from the
effluents of nutrient-rich sewage),
• the grounding of the “Torrey Canyon” off the coast of
England, the first catastrophic oil spill from a supertanker
that demonstrated how a pristine environment can be
destroyed in the blink of an eye,
• Ohio’s Cuyahoga River catching on fire -- three times
(1936, 1952, 1969) -- from the debris and fuels spilt on its
surface, and gave rise to Randy Newman’s song, Burn On,
with its refrain (See and hear: https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=VtW8RkI3-c4):
Burn on, big river, burn on

Burn on, big river, burn on
Now the Lord can make you tumble
And the Lord can make you turn
And the Lord can make you overflow
But the Lord can’t make you burn

Auger Falls, Sacandaga River, NY
Harvard graduate student Denis Hayes went to Washington, states passed Earth Day resolutions to commemorate the date.
D.C. to interview Senator Nelson, and the Senator made one An estimated 20 million Americans -- students, teachers, and
of his most persuasive environmental arguments, persuading officials -- took part in the activities. The wire services carried
the young, idealistic student to coordinate the nationwide the story nationwide. The response was dramatic and the
activities that would become another Earth Day celebration. call for making April 22 an annual Earth Day took root. Until
recently, this second, “popular” Earth Day has over-shadowed
There are several “conspiracy theories” surrounding the McConnell’s original idea for an Earth Day.
date of April 22 for Earth Day. One is that it was the 100th
birthday of Vladimir Lenin (there were some people thinking The impact on the nation was tremendous. Environmental
that this Earth Day was/is a Communist-inspired activity, organizations blossomed and the membership ranks of
and “stealing the thunder” of McConnell’s equinoctial Earth established conservation groups swelled. The United States
Day of the March 21 vernal equinox). April 22 may have Congress, spurred on by the earlier passage of the National
been chosen as the best and most practical date to reach the Environmental Policy Act of 1969, passed the Clean Air Act
primary audience, college students; a Wednesday was chosen amendments and the Clean Water Act revisions. By the end of
because it would be the least inconvenient for students who 1970, the Environmental Protection Agency was created.
were called upon to participate in the event. There would be
no competition with weekend activities, the weather in the Love Canal, Bhopal, Times Beach, Exxon Valdez, Chernobyl,
northern states would be warming, it was after the annual and Three Mile Island are grim reminders that since the first
southern migration of “spring-break” and well before final Earth Day our environmental problems have not been solved.
exams. Acid rain, global climate change, and ozone depletion --
topics that have no respect for political boundaries -- show
The result was a spectacular non-violent demonstration. Folk the global dimensions, scientific complexities, and policy
singer Pete Seeger performed at the Washington Monument, dilemmas of contemporary environmental issues.
and cars were banned from New York City’s Fifth Avenue to
accommodate the events. Public speeches, parades, marches, As outdoor, environmental, and nature educators, we have an
rallies on college campuses, and “teach-ins” launched the obligation that is motivated by our own unique perspectives,
contemporary environmental movement. Seeds planted in talents, and above all respect for the environment and
earlier years were beginning to provide trees that would bear the things that live therein. I have made a career of
fruit. promoting the concept of Environmental ICE - Information,
Communication, Education - and have taken great pride in
The first Earth Day was the largest focused demonstration in being associated with so many members of NYSOEA over the
history. Congress closed its doors as politicians went home years.
to attend or participate in local events. Legislatures from 42

Citizen
Science
COMMUNITY SCIENCE
at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve
Written by Margaret Maruschak
Maintaining a globally rare habitat of "outstanding biological

Citizen Science, or public participation in science significance"1 with rare plant and animal species is an
research, is nearly everywhere these days. Over the intense task at the Albany Pine Bush Preserve. Staff members
course of the next few issues of PATHWAYS, we will research, plant, pull, and burn; the management work can
take a closer look at initiatives NYSOEA affiliates and be difficult and time consuming. But how does the Preserve
members throughout New York State are involved in, know their efforts are working? Volunteers in community
as well as emerging and evolving connections between science programs are part of the answer.
citizen science and various segments of society. From
Scouts to Seniors, from bird feeders to ladybugs, there The Albany Pine Bush Preserve (APBP), which prefers to use
are initiatives – and insights – for everyone, and we the term "community science" rather than citizen science to
look forward to sharing them with you as the seasons convey inclusiveness, offers eight public community science
and stories unfold. programs in 2019. The APBP community science pamphlet
explains to volunteers that Pine Bush Preserve Commission
If you are a NYSOEA member or work for a NYSOEA "collect(s) scientific data at a large scale that we just couldn't
Affiliate and would like to submit your story about do without you".
involvement in Citizen Science, we want to hear from
you! Please email us at [email protected]. Pine Bush Field Ecologist and Entomologist Amanda Dillon,
who also directs the community science program, knows the
Photos clockwise from top left: Whip-poor-will, Spring Peeper, Woodcock, Black Swallowtail Butterfly. Photo credit to Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission.

Citizen
Science
FrogWatchUSA: Quick Facts

benefits to community science are not one-sided though.
Dillon and staff have a group of projects known as their
What is the monitoring season?
"Volunteer Corps", which includes FrogWatch USA3, and the
Evenings from February-August
American Woodcock and Eastern Whip-poor-will Surveys.
After training with APBP staff, volunteers do the surveys What is the goal
independently. When volunteers have their own unique site FrogWatch USA is AZA's citizen science program and
to monitor, it empowers them and gives them a sense of provides individuals, groups, and families opportunities
ownership of and responsibility for the site. These volunteers to learn about wetlands in their communities by
tend to be very motivated and will even do night surveys. reporting on the calls of local frogs and toads. Frogs
and toads also play an important role, serving as both
Valuable information gathered by community scientists prey and predator, in wetland ecosystems and are
can make an immediate impact on APBP management considered indicators of environmental health.
decisions. Based on studies from Whip-poor-will volunteers,
Who can participate?
staff decided to outfit several of the birds with GPS units to
Volunteers who have completed an in-person chapter
see exactly where Whip-poor-wills are using the Pine Bush
or online training and can listen for frogs and identify
habitat. Also, when an American woodcock is found by
calls for a 2 minute acclimation period, followed by a
volunteers, staff scientists can quickly go out and study the
3 minute monitoring period. Volunteers are generally
conditions at the site.
ages 8+.
FrogWatch USA is a popular project with families at the Pine What is the parent organization?
Bush. Trained FrogWatch volunteers identify frog and toad Association of Zoos and Aquariums
species by their calls after sunset from February through Visit https://www.aza.org/frogwatch for FrogWatch
August. Families sharpen their listening skills and learn about USA chapters, upcoming trainings, registration details,
wetlands all while enjoying an evening hike together. Frogs online tutorials, and more information
Pathways Spring 2019 Photo courtesy of Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission 25
Albany Pine Bush Preserve At a Glance
The 3,300+ - acre Albany Pine Bush Preserve (APBP), located in New
York’s Capital District, protects one of the best remaining inland pitch-
pine scrub oak barrens in the world. This extraordinary fire-dependent
ecosystem provides habitat for many plants and animals and supports
75 New York State-designated wildlife Species of Greatest Conserva-
tion Need. The APBP is a National Natural Landmark, Hudson River
Valley National Heritage Area Site, a New York State Unique Area, Bird
Conservation Area and a National Audubon Society Important Bird Area.
Characterized by rolling sand dunes and miles of trails, the APBP offers
visitors many recreational opportunities including hiking, bird watching,
cross-country skiing, horseback riding, mountain biking, hunting, fishing
and canoeing. The Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission is a public-
private partnership created by the NYS Legislature in 1988 to protect
and manage the APBP and provide the public with educational and
recreational opportunities.
As the gateway to the Pine Bush, the Discovery Center is a state-of-the-

art “green” certified interpretive center where visitors come to under-
stand why the Pine Bush is rare and special. The Center is open daily
weekdays 9am-4pm, weekends and most holidays 10am-4pm. For more
Snowpack monitoring. (Photo by Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission)
information, visit www.AlbanyPineBush.org or call 518-456-0655.
are widely considered to be indicators of the health of the

environment, so FrogWatch provides feedback on the health
of the Pine Bush. Interested in climate change? FrogWatch Education Program Director Erin Kinal is enthusiastic that
counts are entered into a national database to track changes in teachers are showing an increasing interest in community
both the location of different frogs and toads and in the timing science, particularly involving Next Generation Science
of their breeding activity. Standards. Each fall over 300 students participate in the
APBP's own Habitat Watch. Students take several water quality
The Pine Bush is home to many hundreds of species of measurements in a pond at a Preserve restoration site and are
butterflies and moths. Perhaps the most famous of these involved in a long term photo study
in the Pine Bush is the federally endangered Karner blue of the area. Students also monitor aquatic macroinvertebrates,
butterfly. In winter, snow pack provides needed insulation as well as conduct vegetation surveys as a part of the program.
to Karner blue butterfly eggs, which overwinter in leaf litter. The data is available to teachers and the students can plot and
Preserve neighbors2 measure snow depth once a week analyze measurements that they helped collect.
from October through March for the Snowpack Monitoring
community science study. When the public and nature Additional community science studies currently in use at
center staff work side-by-side through community science, the Pine Bush include Buckmoth Survey, National Butterfly
it is a great way to open communication with local residents, Count, and New York State Tracking Turkeys. The Albany Pine
which can lead to friendly partnerships and good community Bush has fully embraced the community science movement
support. and finds that it provides benefits to everyone involved. Visit
their website at http://www.albanypinebush.org/ for more
A one-time survey can fit into a busy schedule without a big information on all the community science opportunities
time commitment. The Pine Bush's Common Nighthawk offered.
Watch, run in collaboration with the Hudson Mohawk Bird
Club, is a fun evening to get the public out to help count Notes:
migrating nighthawks. These birds fly low when feeding and 1. http://www.albanypinebush.org/
often feed in flocks. With community science, there's more 2. homeowners within one half mile of preserve property
eyes in the skies and the search area is expanded. 3. FrogWatch USA is a program of the Association of Zoos and
Aquariums (AZA)
Trust in science is a very important benefit Dillon notices in
community science volunteers. Scientific literacy tends to
improve when participants train, collect data following a set of References:
rules, enter the data into a database, and see the results on the http://www.albanypinebush.org/ Accessed 03 April 2019.
project website. Volunteers witness firsthand the rigors of the 2019 Community Science Volunteer Opportunities brochure,
scientific method and learn to trust it.The Albany Pine Bush's Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission

Citizen
Science
Photos from APBP Dragonflies Program 2017. All photos courtesy of Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission.

O utside Sto
h e ry
T
Thank a Thistle
Written by Laurie D. Morrissey

There will always be thistle The thistle’s bad reputation is mostly due to the weedy and
invasive nature of several non-native species. They compete
said the late US Poet Laureate Maxine Kumin in one of her with crops, and their deep tap roots make them difficult to
poems, because “Sheep will not eat it / nor horses nor cattle/ eradicate. They’re also very prickly. Native species, on the
unless they are starving.” She described it “choking the sweet other hand, have stems that range from hairy to slightly
grass / defeating the clover,” and pricking the hands with its prickly. Non-native thistle species in the Northeast include the
spines. bull thistle, the nodding thistle, and the Canada thistle (which
is misnamed, since it was brought from Europe to North
Okay, I guess thistles are not everyone’s favorite wildflower,
America). So hated is the Canada thistle that many states have
but I’ve always liked them. I’m not a farmer, so it’s easy for me
taken legal measures to control it, starting with Vermont in
to say. I like them because they’re pretty, they remind me of
1795.
Scotland, and they’re like grocery stores for goldfinches.
Non-native thistles get a lot of people’s goats. (Goats will eat
Maxine Kumin didn’t exactly hate thistles, either. On her
thistles, though they save them for last.) Unfortunately, native
sidehill farm not far from where I live, she wrote poems
thistles suffer as a result. According to the Xerces Society for
inspired by her deep love of New Hampshire’s pastures,
Invertebrate Conservation, native thistles are often targeted
meadows, and woodlands. The final stanza of “Why There
for eradication along with non-native ones, putting several
Will Always Be Thistle” features chrome-yellow goldfinches
species at risk of extinction. The Society’s scientists point out
exploding from thistle seed heads after gorging on the
that, in some regions, monarch butterflies visit native thistles
contents.
more than any other wildflower during their migration. Other
Members of the sunflower family, thistles thrive in almost any butterflies and bees do not discriminate. Whether native or
environment except deep woods: open fields, sand and gravel introduced, thistles are a favorite food for pollinating insects
pits, vacant lots, roadsides, and the edges of wetlands. The US and many birds.
has more than 200 species, growing from two to ten feet high
The thistle’s biggest bird fan is the American goldfinch.
and bearing pink, purple, white, or yellow blooms. The flowers
Goldfinches rely heavily on thistle plants for food and use
are large; most thistle plants only flower once in a lifecycle, so
thistledown in their nests. Unlike most songbirds, goldfinches
a lot of energy goes into producing seed in that one bloom.
rarely eat insects or feed them to their babies. They are late
Some species produce 4,000 to 10,000 seeds per plant.
breeders, building nests in late June and early July and
The Northeast has native and non-native thistles. The one raising nestlings in late summer when thistle seed heads are
you’re most likely to see in northern New England, according abundant. Upside-down goldfinches are a common sight as
to New Hampshire’s state botanist Bill Nichols, is a native one: they bend thistle stalks over completely and cling to flowers to
the swamp thistle. It grows up to eight feet tall and has pink, peck at the seed heads.
lavender, and purple flowers. In the Midwest, this plant has a
With all the current threats to pollinators, including habitat
special niche as the host for an increasingly rare butterfly, the
loss, pollution, climate change, and light pollution, native
swamp metalmark, which lays its eggs on the underside of the
thistles deserve some love.
leaves. When the eggs hatch, the caterpillars dine exclusively
on swamp thistle flowers. Laurie D. Morrissey is a writer in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.
The illustration for this column was drawn by Adelaide
Native thistles also include the field thistle and the pasture
Tyrol. The Outside Story is assigned and edited by Northern
thistle. Also native, but less widespread, is the yellow thistle,
Woodlands magazine, and sponsored by the Wellborn Ecology
the only one on the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Bureau’s
Fund of the New Hampshire Charitable Foundation: wellborn@
rare plant list. It grows near the seacoast, at the edges of salt
nhcf.org. Reprinted by permission.
marshes and meadows, and has prickly leaf bracts that earn it
the species name Cirsium horridulum. Northern Woodlands is an Affiliate member of NYSOEA.

ARE BEAVERS REAL IN REAL LIFE?
Kid’s Poignant Words Nourish Budding Educator
Written by Conrad Baker
My team from Reinstein Woods was nailing it. We had a Ants on the kitchen counter are real. The bee that stung my
beaver fur. Educator Mary Ronan was passing around a skull. knee in first grade was real. But beavers...if I only ever hear
Eight kids from Buffalo were crowded around the table at their about them in school and see pictures of them in books, do
after-school program, boiling over each other to run a finger they exist? If so, where?
over the chisel-sharp, pumpkin-orange incisors as my fellow
intern educator and I refereed. The tactile experience of the skull and fur, not to mention our
bubbly anecdotes about seeing beavers at Reinstein brought it
We were going to satisfy our 45-minute time slot perfectly. home to our young friend that beavers, their ponds and their
The kids were taking turns nicely with the fur and skull. benefits, are indeed real. After all, our thriving beaver haven
Their questions were increasingly awesome: ‘Can beavers at Reinstein is a half-hour drive from absolutely anywhere in
kill people?’ ‘How does a beaver know where the door to deep, dark, urban Buffalo.
his house is?’ ‘What happens to the beavers’ pond when
they go away?’ The question brought something home for me, a child of
nature but new to the thrill of this field: that environmental
A quiet boy’s face suddenly wrinkled. He sat back, turned education doesn’t just coach kids to Reduce Reuse Recycle
something over in his head, then smirked incredulously, a or suggest that the ‘icky’ bugs that kids have seen can be
little shy…’Wait…are beavers real in real life?’ surprisingly interesting. More importantly, programs put
people in firsthand contact with the unseen…the beaver, its
For the sake of time, our team leader, Mary Ronan, answered ponds, and the impossibly complex ancient energy systems
his stunning query with a ‘Yes, they sure are!’ But, wow. they depend on. Programs resurrect the unseen from the
realm of fantasy back into humans’ sensory lives, make them
It was an arresting moment for a newbie interpreter. It
real, make them matter, and make them worth conserving.
underscored a core element of interpretive programming
that seems to be reflexively on the minds of experienced Conrad grew up on Grand Island, NY, which sits in the
educators. It is not enough to merely lecture about the middle of the Niagara River, a famous stopover spot for
subnivean zone and food webs in a tile-floored classroom. We arctic waterfowl and cruising range for bald eagles. He grew
and they need to bend down to the snow and dirt, huff weird up obsessively photographing them, fishing and collecting
odors, run fingers along an owl feather, to register that nature insects, furs and skulls from the island’s captivating wildlife.
doesn’t disappear when you close the book, go home from He is now an intern Environmental Educator at Reinstein
school, or look away. Woods Nature Preserve in Depew, NY.

COMMON VOLUNTEER PLANTS
Originally published in Nature Study: Journal of the American Nature Study Society (ANSS) 1908-2008
Written By Helen Ross Russell
Take a survey of your family and friends You will probably know one and Here is a possible list to start with:
familiarity with common plants in discover many more. Knowing a few common dandelion (everyone needs
the lawns and along the streets. The common volunteer plants will give you to have at least one success); broad
objective of this activity is to increase some old friends to look for in any state leaf plantain; pepper grass; burdock;
peoples’ awareness and interest in of the country you travel to. This could hawk weed; daisies (How many kinds?
everyday plants. Try to get several kids, be a scavenger hunt, with a sample of Look closely); common mullein; teasel;
adults, or better yet, families interested each of two or three plants given to each chicory; mustard (How many kinds?)
in sharing their discoveries. If it turns team.
out that few, if any, people can tell
you even six common “volunteer • Does any animal use them for food? I wish someone had started me on
such an adventure of discovery before
plants,” the kids and adults can form a • Were they once cultivated?
the age of five or even fifteen. It didn’t
neighborhood teach-in task force. Why
• Who plants these plants? happen until I was 23 years old. And it
would you want to do this? You will not
miss what you do not see, and often you • Where do they come from? could well not have happened at all if
my several thousand graduate students
will not see until someone starts you on
are a fair sample. (Try this with your kids
the road to discovering the important
or students.)
ecology and fascinating processes that
are going on around you. Does it really
matter? You bet it does. This is not a
frivolous activity. You can neither enjoy
nor protect an environment that you
haven’t made friends with.

IT'S A SMALL WORLD
By Tom Stock, NYSOEA life member
Babylon, NY , [email protected]
Here is an example of an open-ended lesson, and the goal is and begin processing and debriefing. Let each participant
to increase connection to the natural world. show and tell. Ask questions about how their objects are simi-
lar and different. Point out that there are no wrong answers;
Big things can overshadow the small ones sometimes. But each of us has our own idea of we consider beautiful.
almost all food chains start with the energy of small life and
move toward larger life—look at growth from seeds, for in- Now it’s time to connect the dots. Using the four words:
stance. ALIVE, RELEVANT, RELATED and INTELLIGENT, continue the
conversation. Which objects fit one or more of these words?
As outdoor educators and naturalists, we know the value of How could one object be related to another?
hands-on, boots-on-the-ground experiences; there are lots
of opportunities to observe and discover in the outdoors. Follow up activities might include sketching, writing, or using
While you are out there, why not challenge your students to the objects to create a food web. A colony of moss is an ideal
look for, discover, and explore the beauty of small things? follow up piece of what we’re talking about. Moss by its nature
is small. It has primitive roots and stem. Its leaves photosyn-
What follows is a suggestion for a way to expedite the “small is thesize. It can withstand droughts and thrives in winter. With a
beautiful” concept. It started with a small book entitled Small is magnifying glass, the class can observe a single plant. Its role
Beautiful by E.F. Shoemarker in England. He focused on large in nature is to contribute to soil formation AND as a source of
corporations and the economic spinoffs, but this essay adapts beauty on a trail walk, among other things. Moss certainly fits
the concept to nature. the “small is beautiful” for me.
The leader introduces the activity by example. “I found an

acorn. I think this acorn is beautiful because of its shape, its
color, and what it can become – a big oak tree.” The group is A final question: what makes us feel small? Elicit suggestions
led to a “study area” where each participant is safe and can be and get a bit philosophical. Why feel small? Why is it good to
seen by the adult leaders. Ask this question: “Where would you feel small in the midst of huge? Clouds, starry sky, ocean, tall
look for something small?” Elicit their ideas – trees, shrubs, forest trees, open farm land to gain a perspective – we are
soil, plants, insects, feathers, pebbles, branches, etc. Set a time engaged in a small world and large at the same time…
limit and turn them loose: “Find something that you like that
you think is small and beautiful.”
Give each a piece of paper towel to use to hold their finding. Besides thinking more deeply about themselves and perhaps
Putting their findings in the paper towel is a way of show- being encouraged to be more observant, this activity has cre-
ing that their objects are precious. Give encouragement and ated an opportunity for your students to have intimate contact
praise. Fifteen minutes might work. Then call the group back with the outdoors, something all of us need to experience
frequently.

LISTENING TO THE OUTDOORS
and to Each Other
Writing and Photos by Jessica R. Kratz
VP Communications and Technology
[email protected]
Listen
(from the Merriam Webster Dictionary)
verb
lis·ten | \ ˈli-sᵊn \ listened; listening\ ˈlis-niŋ , ˈli-sᵊn-iŋ \
intransitive verb
1 to pay attention to sound// listen to music
2 to hear something with thoughtful attention : give consideration// listen to a plea
3 to be alert to catch an expected sound// listen for his step
As winter changes to spring, our sound scape changes can look and listen twice as much as we speak. This usually
considerably. The rhythmic tapping of woodpeckers and keeps a class trip or scout program quieter so we can all
footsteps crunching through ice and snow is soon replaced observe more wildlife. When we have more time to work with
with quieter footsteps, songbirds warbling, and tree frogs our program participants, such as with a recurring program
trilling. In many ways, things get louder and busier as we series, afterschool program, or camp, we may have them
enter spring, and it becomes a bit more difficult to hone in on create listening maps or return to a sit spot to notice the
a particular sound - or a conversation. rhythms, routines, and interactions of the site’s inhabitants.
As Outdoor Educators, we tend to be very good at cultivating But sometimes we could also use reminders in how to apply
listening among our program participants. When leading a these techniques and principles to conversations among
nature hike, some of us mention in our program introduction colleagues and our daily lives. We cultivate listening in the
that we have two eyes, two ears, and only one mouth so we outdoors in order to promote curiosity, cultivate empathy,
34 Photos (Top To Bottom): A Trail Clearing Clearpool, Annual Conference 2019 swag Pathways Spring 2019
Sugaring House
and provide a space for reflection. We can consciously Though our hike was short due to the melting ice/snow, we
do these things in other conversations as well. Just as the had a great conversation about our most recent respective
seasons outside change, our seasons of life change as well, high school reunions. We also each had our own unique
and priorities and perspectives may change. As a newer experience. Donna was interested in the fungi and pointed
member of NYSOEA, I wanted to learn as much as I could that out the reflection of the blue sky and a rainbow of light that
I could apply to my current and future positions. As a more appeared on a patch of ice. Bob recounted how he came out
seasoned Board member, I still aim for professional growth, earlier in the morning and saw the moon through a clearing
but am more interested in community and camaraderie and on the trail. Hillela enjoyed the warming sun and described a
in supporting the objectives of access, equity, and inclusion. pair of crampons that would have been ideal for the occasion.
Outdoors is for everyone, and to help move from tag line to I stopped at some winter green(ery): mountain laurel, patches
reality, I want to do a better job of listening to everyone I can. of moss, and listened to the chickadees.
At the end of Winter Weekend, I had the opportunity to go on Sometimes we create openings in conversations. Sometimes,
a hike with Bob and Hillela Ward, two long-time members smaller, more subtle gestures are a way to communicate being
from Brooklyn, who I have never spoken to at any length in welcomed. Hiking sticks make the trails more welcoming.
any of the previous conferences or NYSOEA events I have Free pronoun pins at the registration table convey respect and
attended, and Donna Piluso from the Bronx, who I met at the affirmation.
campfire at the last conference in Greenkill. Bob mentioned
that he enjoys reading PATHWAYS, but the publication can Nature never stands still. Our understandings continue to
be a challenging read for people with color blindness - and evolve. Create opportunities for conversations to continue.
can be made easier to read. When working with the designer Continue to reflect. Always make a concerted effort to listen.
on the 2019 conference save the date/booklet cover, I sent
References
Jansen materials on accessible font, and he kept that in mind
in designing the booklet and the “I’m all In: Head, Thorax, and Listen. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/listen
Abdomen” sticker, yet I did not realize that there is more to Accessed 19 February 2019.
be done towards making PATHWAYS more accessible. I am Sit Spots. https://www.wildernessawareness.org/node/261
thankful for the feedback, and the space that was created in Accessed 19 February 2019.
our schedule and in the conversation to allow the dialogue to Why Making People Feel Heard Is Empowering. https://
flow. I also learned from this conversation that creating space leaderonomics.com/personal/making-people-feel-heard
in conversations is very important for engaging people with Accessed 19 February 2019.
hearing loss, and now I have another tool to use at my own
dinner table when talking to my father.

SEARCH FOR EAGLES
Dr. S. Marie Kuhnen Memorial Field Trip
Sunday, February 3, 2019
Writing and Photos by Jack Padalino
In the fifty years I’ve been leading these searches for eagles, Recreation Area and Upper Delaware Scenic River from
this search was the one with the most Eagles observed. The PEEC to the Bushkill Access and concluding at the
number of eagles observed, eighty-five, may be attributed headwaters of the Lackawaxen River.
to the arctic vortex which froze much of the open waters
north of us. Eagles may have moved further south in search As president emeritus of PEEC and the Brandwein Institute,
of food, mainly fish, in the open water of the Delaware and a partner with the National Park Service, I led the search that
Lackawaxen Rivers. yielded thirty-three species of birds including eighty-five
bald eagles (BE), thirteen red-tailed hawks, a red-shouldered
The third 2018-2019 Dr. S. Marie Kuhnen Memorial Field hawk, and a common raven. The first raptor of the day was a
Trip, Search for Eagles, took place in the Delaware Valley, red-tailed (RT) hawk. Although the Bushkill Access was closed,
on Sunday, February 3, 2019 from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm The we were still able to add a black-capped chickadee. Returning
temperature at the start was twenty-one degrees and at the to Route 209 and traveling north, we spotted a second RT
finish forty-six degrees. It was a clear sunny to cloudy day perched near mile marker 7. A third RT was perched east of
that began with watching feeder birds, including hairy, 209 about a half mile north of Briscoe Mountain Road where
pileated, and downy woodpeckers, dark-eyed junco, and we added a song sparrow. We added 3 wild turkeys at the
blue jays, among others. Seven participants logged one Dingmans Campground.
hundred forty eight miles in the Delaware Water Gap National

A rest stop at the Pennsylvania welcome center brought a
Cooper’s hawk and another RT.
A new search location is located at the Port Jervis Cemetery at

Laurel Ridge which provides a great view of the rivers at Tri-
States Rock where after three tries, I finally discovered the BE
nest. No BEs were present.
We continued to the Mongaup Falls Observation Blind by

way of Old Plank Road. A juvenile BE was perched at the
open water, then flew upriver. Slowly crossing the bridge
and passing the Observation Blind, we found no BEs upriver.
Across from the blind, an Adult BE was perched and was
viewed through a spotting scope. A juvenile BE was further
downstream, and while we were at the blind, an adult BE
soared above. From Plank Road, we saw two BEs at the nest
high on the ridge.
Crossing the dam at the Rio Reservoir, we searched

downstream without success. We moved on to the Delaware
and traveled upriver. An adult BE was spotted high in a
white pine east of the road. No eagles at Shohola nest or in
the vicinity of the Minisink Observation Blind. A common
raven was flying downriver at the Highland River Access.
We traveled north of the Roebling Bridge on the New York
side of the river and enjoyed the spectacular ice formations,
including a frozen-over waterfall. A juvenile BE was standing
on the ice at the confluence of the Lackawaxen and the
Delaware Rivers.
Two BEs seen from the Zane Gray parking area were perched
in New York. We enjoyed the BEs through the spotting scope.
By the time we reached the Lackawaxen, eleven BEs had
been seen. Within the next two hours we were to see a record
seventy-four additional BEs.
No eagles were spotted at the Dingmans Ferry Access,
however, we added a red-breasted nuthatch at the toll booth Our first two BEs were perched near Hotel Road then took
feeders. I saw five BEs earlier this week flying above the ridge flight. Next were two perched juvenile BEs and an adult
in the vicinity of the Dingmans Cemetery. They were not BE flying down river. Our seventeenth BE was a perched
there this morning. I have also been seeing BEs this week at juvenile with a distinct black mask. Three BEs were at
the mile marker 17 nest. We watched one perched on the edge Evangelder Road with an additional two, a perched adult and
of the nest, and a few moments later, another BE flew into the juvenile flying upriver. Next, we saw an adult BE in flight who
nest and disappeared. then perched high on the ridge. It was on this ridge a few
years ago that I spotted eleven BEs perched in the same tree.
10:00 am at the Callahan House we were joined by additional This is probably where the birds come to roost. BEs twenty-
participants. four through thirty-three were actively flying, or perched low
above the water, and in one instance, an adult BE made a pass
There were no eagles at the Metz Road nest, nor were they at at black ducks on the water who scattered.
Milford Beach or along River Road. We located a BE nest near
the NPS Pierce House through a spotting scope, but no BEs Three BEs were perched near Swing Bridge. We spotted an
were seen. However, we listened to BE chatter in the distance. additional fifteen BEs upriver from Swing Bridge. The next
fifteen BEs found us at Appert Road. They were an assortment
We found a perched red-tailed hawk behind Staples and were of adults and juveniles, though most were juveniles.
able to observe the bird through the spotting scope. This was
our tenth RT of the day. We continued to the Best Western; no Upriver from Appert Road, we witnessed a remarkable event.
luck other than fifty rock pigeons. Within ten yards of each other on the river bank, eleven BEs

were standing on the ground at the water’s edge. Some
entered the water and pulled fish from it, while others
displaced the birds on the captured fish. We watched this
flurry of activity for ten minutes before moving on. Further
along the river we saw a similar event; eagles on the
shoreline at the water’s edge feeding and displacing each
other. We watched as an adult BE flew from its perch and
extended its talons as it plunged into the water. It didn’t
catch a fish. The eighty-fifth BE was an adult flying upriver.
That was seventy-four BEs along the Lackawaxen.

The field trip concluded at 4:00 pm
Birds seen on the

February 3, 2019 Search for Eagles
Canada Goose
Black Duck
Mallard
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Wild Turkey
Black Vulture
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Blue Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Tufted Titmouse
Black-capped Chickadee
White-breasted Nuthatch
Red-breasted Nuthatch
European Starling
Tree Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-throated Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Meet the
New Eastern Region Director
Anna Harrod
Anna Harrod is the education coordinator for Public
and Youth Programs at the Mohonk Preserve. She was
inspired at a young age to pursue the environmental
sciences when she attended the DEC camps as a camper
and then a volunteer. Earning her BS in Environmental
Studies and Geology from St. Lawrence University (with
a minor in theater!) she began her outdoor education
career as an intern at the San Mateo Outdoor School in
La Honda, CA. She returned to New York and worked
season at several outdoor schools including the
Ashokan Center and the Taconic Outdoor Education
Center before moving into her role at the Mohonk
Preserve. She now runs the Preserve’s summer camps,
public programs, and the adventurous teen Junior
Ranger program. When not teaching people how to use
a compass or identify aquatic invertebrates, Anna can
be found running, hiking, and biking throughout the
Hudson Valley and Catskills.
NYSOEA Board of Directors PATHWAYS

President – Eric Powers Chief Editor
VP Administration – Kathryn Phipps Amanda Dauman
VP Communications & Technology – Jessica Kratz Issue Editors
VP Human Resources – Rebecca Houser Jill Eisenstein
VP of Programs – Megan Hoffman Jessica Kratz
Secretary – Sunny Corrao
Graphic Designer
Treasurer – Elizabeth Van Acker
Matthew Fraher
Office - Connie Parmiter
Content Editors
Regional Directors Jill Eisenstein

Frank Knight
Eastern – Anna Harrod Connie Parmiter
Metro – Karen Alsen & Jonathan Billig
Northern – Mollie Dean & Tracy Thomas Communications & Technology Committee
Western – Shannon Lyaski & Mary Ronan Jill Eisenstein
Central – Josh Teeter Members at Large
Sarah Conley
2019 Conference Chairs
Margaret Maruschak
River DiLeo Carol Guerreri Rogers
Hannah Long Shannon Lyaski
Marlena Vera Schockner Robin Tubolino

PATHWAYS Spring 2019

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PATHWAYS Spring 2019

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

PATHWAYS Spring 2019

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

PATHWAYS

Official Publication of the New York State Outdoor Education Association

Cover Photo courtesy of Kristen Rosenburg

2 Pathways Spring 2019

Pathways Spring 2019 Flower Illustrations via www.freepik.com 3

4 Dandelion patch photo by Amanda Dauman Pathways Spring 2019

Pathways Spring 2019 5

Written by Jill Eisenstein

Mary works as an Environmental Educator, NYSDEC at Reinstein Woods

Pathways Spring 2019 7

Pathways Spring 2019 9

Dr. Victor Reinstein Woods

Pathways Spring 2019 11

12 Pathways Spring 2019

Learning to cross-country ski

Pathways Spring 2019 13

14 Allegany State Park photo credit Flickr.com Pathways Spring 2019

Pathways Spring 2019 Niagara Falls photo courtesy of Creative Commons 15

Corrections to Winter Issue of PATHWAYS

Pathways Spring 2019 17

18 Pathways Spring 2019

Mark Your Calendars!

Pathways Spring 2019 19

- Environmental Teach-In Advertisement, New York Times, January 18, 1970

Writing and Photos by Fred Stoss

20 View of Lewey Lake, NY Pathways Spring 2019

For a truly great historical overview of Earth Day: The

Pathways Spring 2019 21

See Earth Day: Past, Present, and Future for a history of

Earth Day 1.0 Coinciding with McConnell’s grassroots

Several events stimulated a greater concern for the quality of

• the Great Lakes were dead -- choked by what seemed to

Burn on, big river, burn on

22 Pathways Spring 2019

Pathways Spring 2019 23

Maintaining a globally rare habitat of "outstanding biological

24 Pathways Spring 2019

FrogWatchUSA: Quick Facts

As the gateway to the Pine Bush, the Discovery Center is a state-of-the-

are widely considered to be indicators of the health of the

26 Pathways Spring 2019

Pathways Spring 2019 27

28 Pathways Spring 2019

Pathways Spring 2019 29

30 Pathways Spring 2019

Written By Helen Ross Russell

32 Pathways Spring 2019

The leader introduces the activity by example. “I found an

Pathways Spring 2019 33

Pathways Spring 2019 35

36 Pathways Spring 2019

A new search location is located at the Port Jervis Cemetery at

We continued to the Mongaup Falls Observation Blind by

Crossing the dam at the Rio Reservoir, we searched

Pathways Spring 2019 37

That was seventy-four BEs along the Lackawaxen.

Birds seen on the

38 Pathways Spring 2019

NYSOEA Board of Directors PATHWAYS

Regional Directors Jill Eisenstein