Pathways Summer 2015

www.nysoea.org • 607.591.6422 • photo by Michael Fraher

PathwaysOfficial Publication of the New York State Outdoor Education Association • Summer 2015

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2 Pathways Summer 20152

Timothy J. StanleyPresident, [email protected]

Summer is Permission to Play!Summer conjures up images of children playing in the outdoors, free from the confines of the classroom. At the end of a school year, summer once seemed to stretch into the future like an endless parade of carefree days. How quickly in adulthood they seem to pass. Summer is a time when all children are granted permission to play: constructing sand castles on the beach, riding bicycles, picking blueberries, watching fireworks, catching fireflies, exploring a city park, building a fort, drawing chalk animals on the sidewalk, playing in a babbling mountain brook ...and the list goes on and on. What are your childhood summer memories?

The value of play can’t be overstated, and according to the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights, play is the right of every child. Alarmingly, today’s children spend 90% of their time indoors*, increasingly becoming disconnected from the natural world... and their health and mental well-being is suffering. Pediatricians know play, and outdoor play is essential to development and contributes to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional well-being of children. I suggest the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights add one word to their statement: outdoor play is a right of every child.

In today’s world, “play” is very often associated with computers, or even structured sports, but when children step outside they are clueless! They have forgotten how to REALLY play! Even “outdoor education,” a playful and interdisciplinary subject, tends to follow a structured curriculum, striving to meet educational standards imposed by government. But unstructured outdoor play is a process of learning that encourages children to explore the natural world and cultivate their imagination; it can lead to essential skills such as creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. Outdoor play enriches our lives and perhaps even gives a deeper meaning to life.

In the spirit of our profession, I invite all educators, administrators and bureaucrats to forget about standardized testing, No Child Left Behind, and Common Core standards for a while; open your doors, step outside, and give yourself permission to play. Perhaps the imagination will stir and a new paradigm can emerge. What we discover may transform our views of education in America. It’s time to go outside and play!

* “Changes in American Children’s Time”, 1997-2003 – International Journal of Time Use Research.

President’s Message


Written by Jessica Kratz [email protected]

Digital Detox:Lessons Learned from Screen-Free Week

Editor’s Corner

“In order to seek one’s own direction, one must simplify the mechanics of ordinary, everyday life.” -Plato

After hours of mindless scrolling through social media dashboards, half-heartedly reading posts, checking status updates, and waiting for “likes,” I came across a post about Screen-Free Week, May 4-10, 2015. Feeling a need to clear my head, I embraced this suggestion. While I admit that “This is what environmental educators should be doing!” and “This would make a great Pathways article,” were significant afterthoughts, I participated for personal reasons.

I have been screen-free before, as I belong to a generation who had technology truly “grow up” with us. Previous screen-free segments of my life were borne of an opportunity to go off the grid while monitoring terns on Great Gull Island in 2001, and again during a trip canoeing the Green River in 2007. However, this was the first time since smartphones, supervisory responsibilities, and newsletter editing entered my life that I chose a digital detox.

Though there are many tips and tools available from the Screen-Free Week website (www.screenfree.org), I decided to define my own rules:

• no TV• no checking or updating social media• replace emails and Internet searching/social

media scrolling with 30-60 minutes of reading and journaling

• no phone photography

To start the process, I put a disclaimer on my Facebook page stating I would be taking part in this experiment. This resulted in some interesting conversations. One colleague informed me that he had stopped taking photos out in the field and on vacation so he could be more fully present in each experience; another told me that she found extra time

in her day when she gave up Facebook for Lent. Though nobody opted to go screen-free with me, (screen-free support group, anyone?) I did spur a colleague to make an effort to read more, while checking his social media accounts just once per day.

Surprisingly, I found the “no pictures” guideline had the most profound impact. Without a trigger-happy photo finger, I paid greater attention to sensory details, relying on memory and subsequent journaling. This was the first revelation of my screen-free week, as I embarked on a long hike and found myself repeating my “I spy” list for recording afterward. I took more detailed field notes, instead of relying on photos to identify a particular species, and was freed from the near-manic impulse to immediately share the experience digitally. I happily found my attention span increased, as I devoted myself entirely to my interactions with the natural world, no longer concerned with responding to or seeking digital distraction, external validation, and fleeting attention.

The first evening, I accepted a colleague’s offer to help prepare for upcoming horseshoe crab monitoring sessions. I was rewarded with a windy walk along the beach, a beautiful sunset over Great Kills Harbor, and seeing a cormorant, 2 oystercatchers, and an osprey nest atop a navigation buoy. That sure beat staying home and watching sitcoms or scrolling through my news feed!

Most evenings throughout the week, I stayed home reading The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth by M. Scott Peck, M.D. He outlined the four steps to discipline as: Delaying gratification, Accepting responsibility, Dedication to truth, and Balancing. By journaling an experience and then waiting (like I waited for distribution of this publication) to share poignant moments, such as a wood thrush splashing playfully in the terrace fountain behind our nature center, I

http://www.screenfree.org


am finding far more joy than I did when seeking the instant gratification of snapping a photo of flora/fauna/moment, and straightaway posting it to a social media platform.

On the fourth night, otherwise known as Throwback Thursday [#TBT] I began thinking about FOMO [Fear of Missing Out]. While I honestly felt by this point I had broken the social media habit, I did miss this aspect, the once-weekly opportunity to share an image/reflection of the past and see those of others. But a bigger question came to mind: Do we miss more by not being truly present in our own experiences, by detailing and dedicating ourselves to really know what is going on in the lives of those closest to us, and in our environment? Granted, we share snippets of ourselves through photos and hashtags, but are we ever really present with anyone or anything when we “interact” on the internet?

On Friday, I had the opportunity to take a brisk walk at Great Kills Park with another colleague. After seeing only red-winged blackbirds, sparrows, and swallows, she said, “Wouldn’t it be great if we saw a wading or shorebird?” Moments thereafter, an egret flew overhead. What is amazing in this process of “disconnecting” is the subsequent reconnection with the surrounding world. Witnessing the boomerang effect of attracting that which one puts out into

the universe, I realized the power of intention. While an initial goal of going screen-free was increasing my attention span, I began to notice an increase in my intention span-- energy focused on the outcome one wishes to manifest.

This Memorial Day weekend, I took a close look at the notes from Screen-Free week. While I have allowed myself back on social media, I post less, and am more deliberate in image and content selection. I continue to cut back on television, read more (offline!), and write in a journal. During subsequent hikes, I have refrained from taking photos, and considered it a blessing when my phone battery died the other day, rendering me unable to record a Canada goose hissing at me, protecting her three fuzzy yellow-and-black chicks as I attempted to cross a footbridge.

Resolutions are often reserved for the winter holiday season, but perhaps there is some benefit to setting goals and intentions in shorter intervals. To that vein, Screen-Free week has served to remind me of what my younger self already knew, and recently rediscovered, tucked away inside a chapbook of poems. So I will repeat my summer resolution from 2001, part of a poem I wrote as a 21 year-old AmeriCorps member and graduate student:

This summer I plan to walk around barefootSo there are no barriers between myself and the earth

And I will squish the mud between my toesRemembering that I came from this earth

And I will become earth yet again

May you spend your summer (and subsequent seasons) with simplicity, purpose, intention, and joy, and bear witness to these tenets through your work in Outdoor Education.

Map of my screen-free adventure (it just did not seem right to illustrate this piece with photos)


Organization for Outdoor EducatorsWritten by Maren V. Morsch

With only a half-decade in the field, I am basing this observation on a limited set of data. However, I have become aware of what seems to be a less than desirable trend in areas inhabited by the creative and free-thinking minds who find EE and OE to be their calling. Often — these spaces are…shall we say, more creative and free-formed in their organization than those of our suit-and-tie corporate counterparts.

Now, I am by no means a neat freak. Just ask my mom. She’ll tell you. Better yet, look in my car. That’s a surefire sign that I am NOT a Type A personality. However, when it comes to shared workspaces and the sheer volume of items it takes to run a year-round interpretive operation… I tend to err on the side of tidiness, order, and organization. This is a self-serving tendency—when running from one program to the next, a quick transition from one program to another is essential… especially if I am trying to squeeze in a bathroom break or a snack. If one is running a few minutes behind schedule, the knowledge that all the items needed for a program are together in a bin or a box is reassuring, comforting, and enhances operational efficiency. With adequate organization, there is less wasted time searching for lost or misplaced items, less money spent buying unnecessarily redundant supplies, and more time available to focus on critical mission objectives.

Sign above office door in the High Rock Park Environmental Education Center

With these things in mind, I feel there are a few major tenets that could serve to guide Nature Centers, interpretive centers, and field education stations to help maintain efficient and adequately organized workspaces.

1. Use what you have, and have what you need. In an age of ever-shrinking budgets and increased operational costs, there is often a tendency to hold on to things well past their prime, or hang on to supplies from long ago, in the hopes that they will someday be useful again. While I certainly relate to the planet-friendliness of not throwing things away…sometimes that program-specific equipment for that big piece of equipment we no longer have will be happier in a home that utilizes them. Calls to fellow EE outfits, posts in trade journals, Facebook and social media shout-outs, and of course, the standbys of Goodwill and Craigslist can be useful in re-homing items that are no longer serving an operational need. These same outlets could also be utilized when locating equipment.

2. Go through everything you have in-house regularly—at least once a year. Preferably quarterly, but pretty much everyone has at least one “lull” in their calendar year that coincides with the rhythms of nature to provide a much-needed break from action-packed days of unending visitation, trips, programs, and classes.


Capitalize on that time to go through what you have. It may even save you money in the long run, as you may even have things that you didn’t know were available because they’ve been buried, hidden or otherwise forgotten! Also, while the task of slogging through endless bins/shelves/piles doesn’t really fall under anyone’s idea of a good time, when done regularly and with vigor, it really can be considered an investment in your operation.

3. Ask for help! Everyone uses the equipment and supplies, so don’t be afraid to ask for help in creating order out of everyone’s shared chaos. Plus, many hands make light work. And if everyone participates, you don’t run the risk of accidently ix-naying something that someone else needs or uses, just because YOU don’t need or use it.

4. But, be a little ruthless. Haven’t used the astronomy lab in the last 6 years, and no plans to use it for the foreseeable future? Loan it out to someone who needs it, or better yet, rehome with an underserved youth program or to a program that needs an equipment upgrade. For smaller items, the “rule of the closet” applies. Haven’t needed/used/touched it in more than two years? It can probably go.

And sometimes, we hold onto things out of sentimental reasons rather than operational ones. Love that leaky pair of waders because that’s where you caught your first (insert water species here)? That’s all well and good—but not for the guy who doesn’t know they’re your lucky leaky waders and uses them after you. When holding onto items becomes a safety hazard, it’s time that they be retired. If an item or object means that much to you, ask to decommission or otherwise compensate the organization for their cast-off so you can keep it in your personal collection while staying above the letter of the law. And let’s not forget…overcrowding, overstuffing, and over-saving can create life safety and fire hazard conditions, too.

5. Make it fun. Make it a competition, mix some music into the process, or do a big organization job into smaller sections/rooms with incentives or rewards after each section is completed. With the whole team working together or in friendly competition against one another (see item 3), the team may not even begrudge the annual (see item 2) cleanup commitment.

Tidy, happy tidings to you and your operation! When you see the results… it might even convince you to try to keep things that way!

Fabricated shelves and labeled bins help maintain order in a storage shed at the Greenbelt Nature Center

Safety gear is much easier to find in cheerful, colorful storage bins (the backup toilet paper becomes easier to find as well)


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The Motivation to MowOf all the seasonal tasks that need “doing” on Red Hill, the one I detest the most is mowing. During the early season, our lawn demands a cutting cycle that requires attention every 3 to 4 days. As the summer progresses, a lack of rainfall creates a crunchy, brown ground cover which blooms everywhere but our acreage. For us, the drought resistant weeds that pass for grass need only a heavy dew to keep growing. From this point on, a lull of about 5 days occur between mowings. This will occur until the first killing frost appears in early October. With almost half a year required for lawn maintenance, motivation is needed to get behind the mower this frequently. Thankfully our landscape provides various incentives throughout the growing season.

Early in the season, our lawn becomes a carpet of yellow. While many people despise dandelions, the sunshine at my feet makes this time outdoors all the brighter. Within a few days these weeds will bloom to white, releasing their seeds in the lightest of winds. At this time I’ll most likely find a vulture feather or two since they perch on our barn’s peak, soaking in all of spring’s early sunshine. Mowing out towards the pond I’m treated to flowering apple trees; the oldest one on the property establishing itself again as the showiest tree in the neighborhood.

By the time June rolls around the lilacs are in full blossom, swaying rhythmically in the breeze. Bookended by forsythia, the blocks of yellow and purple present a splash of color no one can miss. Looking downward you’d be hard pressed to miss the small flashes of red, exposing the hiding place of wild strawberries as they grow amongst the clover. By now our blueberries are beginning to burst forth with new growth, only adding to my anticipation for this year’s crop. Mowing out to the pond I witness numerous sunfish finning over their nests, keeping silt off the eggs nestled in gravel depressions. Small bass, last year’s young most likely, hold up in the weeds that offer a safe refuge from larger predators.

As summer progresses the raspberry bushes add a touch of purple and black to their surroundings. Slated for pies, jam and other desserts, the berries grow into plump juicy treats, making it difficult not to eat them on the spot as I pass with the mower. My route continues past my wife’s garden where a multi-colored array of vegetables grows. Beans, tomatoes, pumpkins, lettuce, potatoes and more; each will eventually find its way to our dinner table or freezer for the winter months ahead. Looking into the garden my inattention rewards me with the smell of fresh mint as I cut over some wild plants growing outside the fence.


The aroma awakens me to the realization that occasionally allowing your mind to wander has its benefits.

The onset of September doesn’t minimize the need to mow but it does coincide with cooler days and nights, which allows for some personal freedom between cuttings. The advantage to this extended timeframe is nature’s changes are more noticeable when you don’t see them every other day. While subtle at first, the maples, ash and other trees creep slowly forward to their autumnal glory. Soon enough I’ll be mowing under arbors of gold, orange, purple and crimson. A surer sign that the season of mowing will soon be behind me cannot be found anywhere. By the time

October rolls around these cheerful harbingers of fall will begin their downward spiral, drifting softly to their final resting place. Without warning we’ll wake up one morning to feathered fingers of white caressing each of these fragile leaf skeletons. The frost-shrouded ground announces that it’s time, ready the mower for winter’s rest! While I’m happy the lawn cutting is over for another year, but silently I’ll miss all I’ve been fortunate to witness over the past months. Without it, there’d be no motivation to mow.

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


Event NoticeNorthern Woodlands Writers & Readers ConferenceOctober 16 – 18, 2015

Enjoy a weekend at Hulbert Outdoor Center on beautiful Lake Morey in Fairlee, Vermont, while engaging with well-known writers, editors, and educators. In addition to workshops and talks, there will be panel discussions, nature walks, and fun extras such as an open mic night, syrup tasting, and s’mores around the fire.

This conference will explore how writers, artists, and educators express the rich forest heritage of the Northeast: both the natural history of our region and the interactions of people and place. The event is organized by The Center for Northern Woodlands Education (“Northern Woodlands”), the nonprofit that publishes Northern Woodlands magazine, and the Aloha Foundation’s Hulbert Outdoor Center. It is sponsored by The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit

Northern Woodlands Writers & Readers Conference 2015Contact Emily Rowe, [email protected]

well known in the area for its critical role facilitating major conservation efforts, including the Brushwood Community Forest, the Randolph Community Forest, and the 13 Mile Forest in Errol.

This year’s conference includes a number of prominent speakers from New England and New York, including bestselling natural history author Bernd Heinrich, illustrator David Macaulay, conservationist and author Peter Forbes, bear authority Ben Kilham, children’s book illustrator Robin Brickman, and place-based education leader David Sobel.

Overnight (shared cabin) lodging and day rates are available, and all meals are provided. Teacher professional development certificates will be distributed. Enrollment is limited. Complete workshop descriptions, presenter biographies, and registration information can be found here: http://northernwoodlands.org/writersconference - or email Emily Rowe: [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]


“To create a society that truly loves and reveres the natural world, we must offer its citizens life-changing experiences in nature.”

–Joseph Bharat Cornell

Cornell’s highly-anticipated work, released for the 35th anniversary of Sharing Nature with Children, is a wonderful addition to any classroom, nature center, or school library. A brief introduction by Richard Louv celebrates the essence and imperative of this book and of Cornell’s extensive previous body of work. Tamarack Song frames Cornell’s work in its historical context, showing how Cornell responded to Rachel Carson’s call to arms to bring children “under the influence” of nature, yet how the sobering accounts of Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods and Bill McKibben’s The End of Nature, demonstrate the need for his further reaching, age-inclusive volume.

Informed and enriched by nearly four decades of sharing his approach to nature education worldwide, Sharing Nature® is structured according to the Flow Learning process, which Cornell has been using since the 1980s. To facilitate ease of use and reference, each step is assigned an animal symbol.

Seasonal Book Review

Sharing Nautre: Nature Awareness Activities for All AgesBy Joseph CornellPaperback: 216 pages (8.5”x5.5”)ISBN: 978-1-56589-287-3 (paperback)ISBN: 978-1-56589-554-6 (epub)Publisher: Crystal Clarity Publishers, Nevada City, CA. Publication date: June 2015www.sharingnature.com

This book is available from various online retailers as a paperback and is also available as a eBook.

Reviewed by Jessica R. Kratz [email protected]

Activities included in Stage One, “Awaken Enthusiasm,” are indicated by an otter (characteristics: playfulness and alertness). Stage Two, “Focus Attention,” whose quality is receptivity, is marked with a crow (alert observer). Stage Three, “Offer Direct Experience,” is represented by a bear, as bears are known for curiosity and introspection. Stage Four, “Share Inspiration,” is symbolized by a dolphin, as dolphins are considered to be gregarious, altruistic, and cooperative. Whereas the original volume contained black and white photographs and pen-and-ink illustrations, the pages of Sharing Nature® are generously illustrated with colorful inspirational scenery demonstrating the use of the activities in the field.

While the look, feel, and functionality of the book is distinctly modern, Cornell has shown great restraint in keeping the volume timeless. The vast majority of the journey can be completed using the paperback, the limited supplies [i.e., blindfolds, pencils/paper] indicated in the lower right hand corner of each activity, and of course, the great outdoors. In that vein, Cornell has chosen to include only a tasteful handful of online resources where it would directly

http://www.sharingnature.com



Advertising in PathwaysPATHWAYS welcomes advertisements which will be of interest to the membership of NYSOEA. If you have a product, service, equipment, resource, program, etc. that you would like to share with our membership via an advertisement, we can receive it through any of the following ways.

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

Mail: Darleen M. LieberRef: Pathways Advertisement / ArticleSUNY Cortland RPLS Dept.PO Box 2000, Cortland, NY 13045

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

(ISSN 1077-5100) PATHWAYS is published four times a year by the New York State Outdoor Education Association and is emailed to NYSOEA members. Opinions expressed by contributors are theirs solely and not necessarily those of the Editorial Board of PATHWAYS or of NYSOEA. Advertisements included in pathways should not be interpreted as endorsement of the product(s) by NYSOEA.

Invitation for Articles and News.The PATHWAYS team is always eager to hear from members and publish the articles that they have authored or news or event announcements that they would like to share with fellow members. We invite you to send your submission for our next issue. Simply send us the text with any supporting material -- pictures, newspaper clippings, and more. We can receive it in any of the ways listed below.

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

Regional DirectorsEastern - Kate BrillMetro - Sunny CorraoNorthern - Brian DeGroatWestern - Kimberly AdriaansenCentral - Josh Teeter

2015 NYSOEA ConferenceKate BrillSusan HerethRebecca Houser2015 Conference Co-Chairs

PathwaysIssue EditorsJill EisensteinJessica Kratz

Graphic DesignerMatthew Fraher

Content Editors Jill EisensteinFrank KnightDarleen LieberMaren Morsch

Online Content/Marketing ManagerJonathan Duda

Contributing Past EditorsFrank Knight Snapper Petta

Reviewed by Jessica R. Kratz [email protected]

enhance the activity, such as printable handouts, clue cards, quotation cards, and MP3 files of his inspirational songs. These can be found at www.sharenature.org. Additionally, Cornell provides a list of games in alphabetical order and a “Find the Best Game” appendix, which is very useful for an on-the-go camp counselor looking for a rainy day activity, a facilitator looking for something geared towards adults, or a parent looking for an educational experience for young children.

I had the opportunity to review this book in early summer, as camp was about to start and I was planning homeschool lessons for the following school year. Though I am primarily an administrator by profession, reading through the activities brought me back to when I started out in the EE field in the early 2000s an Urban Park Ranger. I instantly gravitated towards the “Bat and Moth” activity [p. 70] for my homeschoolers, and a few days after immersing myself in Sharing Nature, I decided to write a Vertical Poem [p.144] about FrogWatch, a monthly citizen science night hike series a colleague and I run from early spring-August.

Sharing Nature® is instantly inspiring. It is the perfect primer for pre-service teachers, parents, and nascent naturalists, and the perfect refresher course for experienced educators and administrators. Immerse yourself in a copy for a few hours- then head outdoors renewed and ready to facilitate memorable moments and instill joy in all with whom you share this journey.


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P A I DCortland, NYPermit No. 14

New York State Outdoor Education Associationc/o Department of Recreation, Parks and Leisure StudiesP.O. Box 2000SUNY CortlandCortland, New York 13045

NYSOEA is a professional organization that promotes interdisciplinary life-long learning in, for, and about the outdoors and seeks to inspire appreciation of the environment by all people.

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Pathways Summer 2015