Pathways Fall 2008

8/8/2019 Pathways Fall 2008

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Fall 2008

The official publication of theThe official publication of theNew York State Outdoor Education AssociationNew York State Outdoor Education Association

Is Getting Outdoors Getting ? by Fred Stoss

Children and adults are spending more time sitting in front of computer terminals, television sets,

and just about anywhere with their hand-held communication devices -- except the outdoors. Atleast this is what a group of researchers report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sci-ences.

"Declining nature participation has crucial implications for current conservation efforts," wrote co-authors Oliver R. W. Pergams and Patricia A. Zaradic of the online edition of Proceedings of theNational Academy of Sciences. "We think it probable that any major decline in the value placedon natural areas and experiences will greatly reduce the value people place on biodiversity con-servation."

Continued on page 11

New York City studentsengaged in workshops provided by the U.S.

Army Corps of Engineers.

Story on page 8.

Autism Ramblings from Red Hill

Elementary Educators Workshop


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Page 2New York State Outdoor Education Association New York State Outdoor Education Association New York State Outdoor Education Association New York State Outdoor Education Association

NYSOEAExecutive Board

PresidentMary Anna Russo

President ElectMaryLynne Malone

VP AdministrationMaritza Cuevas

VP CommunicationJonathan Duda

VP Human ResourcesBrian Joyner

VP ProgramLaura Carey

SecretaryMeaghan Boice-Green

TreasurerSharon Kennelty-Cohen

Office Darleen Lieber

Regional DirectorsTim Stanley - EasternJeff Gottlieb - MetroJack Swan - Northern

Kristen Rosenburg - Western

Carol Stokes-Cawley, Central

2008 ConferenceCommittee Chairs

Laura CareyJohn Stowell

(ISSN 1077-5100) is published fourtimes a year by the New York StateOutdoor Education Association and

is mailed to NYSOEA members.Opinions expressed by contributorsare theirs solely and not necessarilythose of the Editorial Board of pathways or of NYSOEA.Adver t i sements inc luded inpathways should not be interpretedas endorsement of the product(s) byNYSOEA.

Advertising in pathways pathways pathways pathways pathways welcomes advertisementswhich will be of interest to themembership of NYSOEA. If youhave a product, service, equipment,resource, program, etc. that youwould like to share with ourmembership via an advertisement,please contact:

Jonathan Duda at: (845)657-8333

Materials Submissions

Anyone interested in contributingto pathways is encouraged tosubmit material to:

The Ashokan Centerc/o Jonathan Duda

477 Beaverkill RoadOlivebridge, NY

or E-mail:[email protected]

Materials should be typed.Please include a short biographi-cal section about the author of the article. References cited inthe article should be listed at theend of the article, APA style.

pathways pathways pathways pathways

Civil War Quests: Viewing U.S.History through a Local Lens

Civil War Quests offer students and teachers the opportunity tolearn from the place they live. Students study cemeteries, adopt sol-diers, and use primary & secondary sources to connect with historypersonally. Students practice being historians; their culminatingproduct serves as a recreational tool; extending learning to thebroader community. The curriculum is available on line at: http:// www.vitalcommunities.org/ValleyQuest/cwquest/ Valley Quest isavailable to lead 2-hour -->2-day training workshops.

"Steve Glazer and Valley Quest have done for the humanities whathigh quality science museums have done for science. His hands-onapproach brings new interest and connects teachers and children to

their communities in concrete and meaningful ways.- James Doneski, New Hampshire Humanities Council


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Page 3 pathways pathways pathways pathways

You say goodbye and I say hello well, I couldnt help the reference. I am so proud andprivileged to be serving as your new president and look forward to hearing from you with anyof your questions or concerns. Because NYSOEA is the Affiliate helping to plan the 2010 NorthAmerican Association for Environmental Educators conference being held in Buffalo, Ive gottena chance to see how other State organizations work. We are truly special here in New

York. We are one of the oldest groups and although we operate as volunteers we still rankpretty high across the board. I am hoping that we can become even stronger and more recog-nized. I hope that we continue to develop teacher training and EE Certification making Out-door Environmental Education even more significant in our schools and around towns. Takethis opportunity to ask yourself, Could I do something to make NYSOEA better? Stronger? If youve answered yes, please e-mail me at [email protected], or if you prefer you mayreach me by telephone in the evening at 845-351-2967 to let me know what you can do.

-MaryLynne M

Messages fromthe Presidents

Good-bye, farewell, auf weidershen, adieu..so sang the VonTrapp children as they left thestage and their homeland in the classic movie THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

I thought of all the ways I might bid farewell to the members of NYSOEA as I complete my yearsas president. But after all this time it is not easy to say good-bye so I wont. I will say what isimplied in all of the above words and so many I have not included. They simply meanbe welltill we have a chance to get together again. Im looking forward to the possibilities; the regionalmeetings, the conferences; the newsletters and the prideful moments when I read about you in thenews or online and can say, Hey, I know that person through NYSOEA.

Thank you for making NYSOEA such a strong organization and thank you for the quality of the jobs you do everyday to set high standards for outdoor education of which we can all be proud.As Ive said before, it has been an honor and a privilege.

Till we meet again.


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Historic Louisbourg, located in Cape Breton,Canada sits on the site of the original French set-tlement. Founded in 1713, the community was akey piece in Frances strategy and struggle to es-tablish a stronghold in North America. Whilethe town was captured by Great Britain in 1745,it was returned to France through the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle only to be lost again, perma-nently this time, to the English in 1758. Todaysreconstructed village is concentrated around thehistoric harbor and wharf area, covering aboutone quarter of the original town area; the re-maining 75% is still underground awaiting futureexcavation and discovery.

For four days this past July the fog lifted onthis coastal town and as in Brigadoon, the habi-tants came back to life for the entire world towitness. Cod fisherman, shop keepers, Kingsguards, common villagers, petty thieves andmore all walked through the veil of time to ex-perience life as it was in 1744. In my persona asa commoner I observed the Troupes de la Ma-rine guarding the Dauphin Gate, shared tradi-tional meals with them in their barracks overbottles of wine and fought alongside them as a

member of the towns milice when the hated Anglais made an appearance.

During the evening hours I drifted along mist-shrouded streets, winding my way to the tavernto share stories, songs and a few libations withthe camaraderie of friends. Period fireworksblazed across the night sky over the manyneighborhoods within Louisbourg, accompaniedby laughter and the joyous sounds of the French

language. While I didnt understand much of what was being said, the musical lilt in the voicestold me everyone was enjoying the eveningsentertainment.

As a citizen of our 21st century society, my

journey to Louisbourg allowed me to live asclosely as possible the life of someone who livedover 250 years ago in a typical Acadian village.

While our daily lifes experiences may sometimes

seem mundane, theyre put into a new perspec-tive when compared to what these people livedeach and every day. Are you hungry? Then besure your wood is split, the fire lit, water drawn,raw materials prepared and ready, and then fi-nally you cook everything; followed by cleaningup and getting ready to do it all over again forthe next meal.

(Continued on next page)

Louisbourg by Snapper Petta


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Theres still time to register!

(continued) Theres no take out a phone callaway. What today takes 30 minutes to cook, eat andclean up after, once took half a day to complete. Al-though many of us realize this, its the actual livingof it that hits home during these events. By engagingin these simple tasks, we truly understand what livingwithout luxuries means. Through this we gain a newappreciation for how fortunate we are living in to-days world. And once again, the value of outdooreducation experiences comes to the fore.

Until next time, may all of your ramblings lead you tonew and exciting places


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The third week in July found a group of en-thusiastic teachers at the Mid-Hudson Elemen-tary Educators Ecology Workshop at SharpeReservation in Dutchess County. This stimulat-ing week was co-sponsored by the NYS DEC,the Fresh Air Funds Sharpe Reservation, andNYSOEA.

We arrived at Sharpe in the Hudson High-lands just east of Beacon on a beautiful Mondayafternoon. After being greeted by DEC educa-tor Fred von Mechow, we were introduced tosome fun ice breaker activities, and were thengiven a tour of our Camp Mariah by Sharpe Di-rector Tim Stanley. That evening we made

journals and went on a twilight owl prowl.

Next morning we rose early for a bird walk,and we were welcomed to the sunny new dayby some noteworthy sightings. At one point

the normal birdsong suddenly stopped and Fredguessed there might be a hawk nearby. Thirtyseconds later, as if on cue, a coopers hawk flew20 feet overhead. Seeing fledgling tufted titmiceand a catbird feeding raspberries to its youngwere other special treats.

Later we were joined by Rich Parisio of DECs Stony Kill Farm, who led a geology walkon our way to a nearby pond. There weclosely examined an abundant assortment of aquatic life using a dissecting scope. We actedout the part of plants and animals in a pond to

see how a pond ecosystem food web mightwork.

That afternoon was spent at the HudsonRiver with DEC staffers Laurie Fila and RebeccaJohnson from the Hudson River Estuarine Re-search Reserve. Teachers donned waders andused a seine net at Plum Point. Among themany estuary specimens we caught were a pairof tiny needlefish, On a canoe trip from theHudson to Moodna Creek, we were delightedto see an eagles nest with two eaglets testingtheir wings. Other impressive birds were thegreat blue heron and belted kingfisher. Wewere pleased to discover stone flies, indicatinggood water quality in this heavily populatedarea. That evening, we participated in Rich Pa-risios River of Words poetry workshop, aninspirational end to the days activity.

DEC Educator Laura Carey spent the daywith the group on Wednesday, enlightening uson The Four Es of Energy: environment, oureconomy, efficiency and education. Severalcreative lessons were shared and the experi-ments performed were unique and interesting.They can immediately be put to use with ourstudents when we return to our classrooms inthe fall. A tote filled with posters, manuals, anda wealth of energy information was received byall attendees. After dinner, we enjoyed sharinga variety of childrens books with nature themesand their ties to several curriculum areas.

Continued on next page


Photo by Patrick Linseywhile leading the HudsonRiver Artists Toura preconference workshop inNovember 2007

Mid-Hudson Elementary Educators Workshopa Big Success!

- By Kelly Erlwein

* Visit www.NYSOEA.org* Look for the purple box on the left

type your email address into the spaceprovided.

P R O M O Y O U R E V E N T S J O B A N N O U N C

E M E N TS GRANT INFO


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Back outdoors the next morning we partici-pated in a schoolyard ecology lesson with New

York City DEC educator Betsy Ukeritis. Atten-dees were all eager to learn more, and many ex-pressed interest in attending workshops for Pro-

ject Learning Tree, Project Wild, and Project Wet. That afternoon we hiked through thewoods for a forest ecology workshop ending ata magnificent vernal pond.

Then using sweep nets we sampled the sur-prising diversity of insect life in a field ecologylesson. During all the activities, we busilyscrawled in our journals so as not to forget any

of these great ideas to share with our students.

That evening we hiked to Pawnee Overlookwhere we could clearly see a number of moun-tain ranges in two states. A supply of wild blue-berries along the trail provided a twilight snack.

Serendipitously, we saw four barred owls onour way back down the mountain. These majes-tic animals provided a perfect end to our eve-ning. On our way back, we visited the Fresh AirFarm, with its impressive vegetable gardens andvariety of farm animals.

Next morning on the camps Sensory Trailwe were blindfolded and relied upon our othersenses and the help of a rope to find our wayamong rocks and trees. The week ended with areview of the highlights, with teachers sharinghow they plan to apply all we had experienced.The week was highly motivating; participating

teachers plan on keeping in touch and hopefullyattending NYSOEAs October conference at LakePlacid. The week spent in nature was both in-spiring and enlightening, and the new schoolyear will be met with zest and a renewed appre-ciation for our environment!


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A young student from New York PublicSchool 43, stands on the Rockaway Beachboardwalk and gently pokes a seemingly life-less yellow mound lying on the bottom of awater tank, Whats this? she asks.

It's a yellow sea sponge -- like the cartooncharacter, SpongeBob SquarePants, but unlike

Bob this sponge doesnt have eyes, legs, armsor a brain, explains Lisa Baron, a project man-ager with the U.S. Army Corps of EngineersHarbor Programs Branch.

The girl was stunned as were her classmatessurrounding her. It seems the students didntmake a connection between the popular car-toon character and the marine life that live inthe waters right behind their school on Rock-away Beach, a peninsula on the south shore of Queens.

This was the aim of the Rockaway Water-front Alliance (RWA) that asked the Corps tovisit the students. "The Corps projects haveprotected the Rockaway shoreline and water-

ways for some time, but the local communityand youth have never had the opportunity tofind out how necessary this work is to keepingtheir waterways open, said RWA DirectorJeanne DuPont. A team of Corps biologistsand engineers held several workshops for stu-dents along the boardwalk right behind theirschool.

Dredging WorkshopDouglas Leite, project manager of the

Corps New York District informed the stu-dents about the dredging work performed off their shore and how its beneficial to theircommunity. Over the years, Rockaway Beachhas eroded due to a number of reasons includ-ing severe storms. To help replenish the shore-line, the Corps dredges the East RockawayInlet and replaces sand onto the beach. Wedredge sand from the East Rockaway Inlet andplace it onto the beach to increase its size andreduce flood risk and coastal erosion. This alsoprovides a recreation area for the commu-nity, Leite said.

Sea Life Workshop Baron told the students that during dredg-

ing operations, the Corps does all it can toprotect marine life in its natural habitat. TheCorps uses deflectors to prevent sea turtlesfrom getting caught in a dredge. Dredgingwork is done when sensitive species are notpresent. Baron showed live specimens of Rock-away marine life for the students to hold andtouch including slime-covered moon snails,hermit and mole crabs, sea horses, mud snails,sea anemones, sea stars, and the yellow seasponge.

Students Soak Up Army Corps Workshops: with a little help from SpongeBob

By JoAnne Castagna, Ed.D.


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Baron said the students were fascinatedwith the marine life and asked many questions.They were intrigued to learn that male seahorses play Mr. Mom and give birth to theirbabies; that sea stars regenerate lost arms andpull their stomachs outside of their body tofeed. Some of the sea critters gave real lifedemonstrations for the students: a sea anem-one shot out its stinging cell at a baby sea star

and attempted to eat it while students staredin wide-eyed amazement.

Piping Plover Workshop Robert Smith, project biologist with the

Corps New York District had collected thecritters from the East Rockaway Inlet. Hetalked to students along the beach aboutthreatened and endangered species and howthe Corps is taking measures to protect them.

One of these is the Piping Plover, a shore-bird threatened due to beach erosion. Smithcreated a mock Piping Plover egg hunt for thestudents so they could see what Piping Plovereggs and nests look like. During their hunt, hetold the students that by building up thebeaches with sand, the Corps creating a habitatfor the birds to nest and care for their young.He also said that the Corps schedules the sandplacement outside the nesting season.

During Smiths workshop, a horseshoe crabslowly crept from the shore towards the stu-dents. Smith saw this as an opportunity to tellthe students that horseshoe crabs are ancientcreatures predating the dinosaurs dating backover 500 million years. The Corps workshopscreated such a buzz among the students thattheir schools principal asked the Corps teamto visit a class of second graders.

Dupont said, The Corps visit was ex-tremely informative for the students. Theirworkshops also support RWA efforts by en-couraging public access to the waterfrontthrough education with local youth. Baronsaid, To know that the Corps' outreach mayinspire the students to become future scientists

or merely improve their environmental aware-ness is rewarding.

Dr. JoAnne Castagna is a Technical Writer-Editor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers,

New York District. She can be reached at [email protected]


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No doubt about it, autism rates have skyrock-eted in the U.S. and beyond in recent years. Ac-cording to the Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, the disease affects one in every 150children born today in the U.S., up from one in500 as recently as just 10 years ago. Its becomethe fastest-growing developmental disability more prevalent than childhood cancer, juvenile

diabetes and pediatric AIDS combinedand itcontinues to grow at a rate of 10 to 17 percentper year.

While researchers think there is a genetic com-ponent to autism, they also believe environ-mental factors are playing a role in its recent in-crease. Environmental mercury and other heavymetal exposure, contaminated water, pesticides, agreater reliance on antibioticsand even exten-sive television viewing by very young children may be factors in mounting autism rates. Re-searchers at the American Academy of Pediatricsand other institutes have also identified flame re-tardants as possible culprits.

Vaccines containing the mercury preservativethimerosal (now mostly removed from the mar-ket) have long been blamed for causing autism,but scientific links are inconclusive. In lieu of asmoking gun, a more complex picture of autismsenvironmental causes is now emerging.

Some researchers are focusing on the role of

food in a young childs development. Many autis-tic children suffer from digestive diseases or havegenetic dispositions rendering them unable tonaturally rid their bodies of toxins. As such, expo-sure to heavy metals, pesticides, contaminatedwater and even processed food could have a dev-astating cumulative effect, some researchers think.

According to Brian MacFabe, a researcher at theUniversity of Western Ontario who has studiedautism triggers in rats, simple changes such as re-moving wheat and dairy from the diet could po-tentially bring about improvements.

Groups such as the nonprofit Healthy ChildHealthy World say its about time researchers arelooking at environmental factors. Whatever trig-

gered this current autism epidemic...autistic kidsclearly need extra protection from further envi-ronmental assault, the group writes on its blog.They advise parents to be vigilant about the in-dustrial cleaners used in school buildings and thepesticides sprayed on playing fields, where kidsspend 25 to 30 hours per week. They and othergroups are also looking at the role of untestedchemicals in common cleaning products: phtha-lates, glycol ethers and other known toxins.

Others wonder if a collective nature deficitdisorder among children plays a factor in risingautism rates. Outdoor exposure has long beenassociated with healthier cognitive functioning inchildren, with reduction in Attention Deficit Dis-order symptoms and greater emotional capacity.But new findings suggest it could impact autism,too. Last year, Cornell University researchersfound higher rates of autism in counties wheremore households subscribed to cable and childrenunder the age of three regularly watched TV. The

Amish, with almost no exposure to TV, have littleevidence of autism, notes the study.

CONTACTS : CDC Autism Information Center,www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism ; Healthy ChildHealthy World, www.healthychild.org .

EarthTalk TM from the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: Whats going on with all the cases of autism cropping up and no one seems to

know why? It stands to reason it must be something (or some things) environmental, yet everystudy allegedly turns up no conclusion? What are the possible causes? -- Jessica W., Austin, TX

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk , c/o E/The EnvironmentalMagazine , P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/ thisweek/ , or e-mail: [email protected] . Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/


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From the late 1930s to the late 1980s, the U.S.saw a steady growth in per capita visits to theU.S. National Parks. However, beginning in thelate 1980s there has been a steady drop in thenumber of park visits that these researchers at-tribute to a fundamental shift away from natureto other more sedentary pursuits.

Pergams and Zaradic began to study involve-ment of Americans in four traditional outdooractivities:

(i) visitation to various types of public lands inthe U.S. and National Parks in Japan andSpain,

(ii) number of various types of U.S. game li-censes issued,

(iii) indicators of time spent camping, and(iv) indicators of time spent backpacking or

hiking.

Their research was published in the article,"Evidence for a fundamental and pervasive shiftaway from nature-based recreation," in the Pro-ceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States (vol. 105, iss. 7, pgs. 2295-2300, February 2008.)*

The Next Generation of Outdoor Participants,in a new Outdoor Industry Foundation (OIF)

report, provides insight into changing participa-tion trends in outdoor recreation. It examinesactivities of the next generation of outdoor en-thusiasts, and is based on an on-line survey cap-turing responses from over 60,000 Americansages six and older and covers 114 different activi-ties and is the largest survey of its type examin-ing participation in sports and outdoor activi-ties.**

OIF also hosts Programs to Help Youth Get Ac-

tive, a searchable database including national,regional and local outreach programs working tolocate various resources for getting children out-doors and active through a wide variety of ac-tivities, programs, and projects. There is a nicefeature for identifying sources of funding in thisdatabase. ***

Additional publications, such as, Active OutdoorRecreation Economy Report, Active OutdoorRecreation Economy Report, State-by-State, andthe Active Outdoor Recreation ParticipationStudy reports for 2003, 2004, and 2005 arefound at:http://www.outdoorfoundation.org/research.index.html.Fred is an Associate Librarian at the University at Buf-

falo

* Full-text at: www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/105/7/2295 (8 April 2008) See: www.nature.org/tncscience/misc/art23800.html?src=old for a commentary on these findings by the Nature conservancy with additional resources linked to the article.

** The full-text of this report is at http://www.outdoorfoundation.org/pdf/ResearchNextGeneration.pdf.*** See: http://www.outdoorfoundation.org/programsearch.php.

Continuted from Page 1

Get your organization listed on www.NYSOEA.org * Free advertising * Get more traffic to your website

One of many benefits as a NYSOEA affiliate member! Send the following to Jonathan Duda([email protected]):

Affiliate organizations name An image of your logo Your website address


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Established in 1968, the New York State Outdoor Education Association is the leadingprofessional group supporting outdoor education, environmental education, and inter-pretive services in New York State. Our membership includes classroom teachers, envi-ronmental educators, college professors, naturalists, interpreters, youth leaders, adminis-

trators, students, parents, and others interested in the outdoors.

Our Goals

We promote public awareness of the value of outdoor and envi-ronmental education and interpretation.

We foster a lifelong appreciation and sense of stewardship forthe environment.

We help classroom teachers and youth leaders use the outdoorsto enrich their curricula and programs.

We assist our members in expanding their knowledge and skillsin using the environment for responsible educational purposes.

We act as a unified voice supporting the fields of environmentaleducation, outdoor education, interpretation, and outdoor rec-reation

New York State Outdoor Education Association c/o Dept. of Recreation & Leisure StudiesP.O. Box 2000SUNY CortlandCortland, New York 13045

Non-ProfitU.S. POSTAGE

P A I DCortland, NYPermit No. 14

New York State Outdoor Education Association

OUR MISSION NYSOEA is a professional organization

that promotes interdisciplinary life-long learning in, for, and about the

outdoors

Documents

Pathways Fall 2008