PATHWAYS

Official Publication of the New York State Outdoor Education Association

www.nysoea.org 60 7. 591 . 64 2 2 Summer 2017
photo by: Kristi Sullivan
 NYSOEA Executive Board
President Eric Powers
VP Administration Elizabeth Young
VP Communication Jessica Kratz
VP Human Resources Kathryn Brill
VP Program Jolene Thompson
VP Program-Elect Megan Hoffman
Secretary Sunny Corrao
Treasurer Elizabeth Van Acker
Office - Darleen Lieber
Regional Directors
Eastern Rebecca Shultz
Metro Jonathan Billig
Northern Brian DeGroat
Western Shannon Morley
Central Josh Teeter
In this Issue
From DEC Camps to the Master Naturalist Program to the City
Nature Challenge; from the wildflowers that enrich summer
landscapes, to the bees that pollinate them and to bee iden-
tifiers, Summer 2017 Pathways is abuzz with articles from
across New York State. Written by naturalist/educators in their
various career stages, these articles challenge us to look closer
at our own pasts, reflect on the present, and consider future
opportunities. This summer, look closely at wildflowers to
really see their pollinators. Upload to iNaturalist digital photos
of your observations. Reflect on your experiences and prepare
to share your NYSOEA story. The outdoors is for EVERYONE,
especially YOU!
Table of Contents
3 Presidents Message
4 Editors Corner

6 Solid Roots
2017 Conference Chair
10 Hooked on Nature
John Stowell
13 A Wonderful Gift

14 The New York Master Naturalist Volunteer Program

Pathways
18 Mastodon Gardens and Squash Bees
Issue Editors
Jill Eisenstein 20 John Burroughs: Father of American Wildflower Guides
Jessica Kratz
24 What is Your Story?
Graphic Designer
Matthew Fraher 25 Conference 1968: First NYSOEA Memories

26 Milestones: Wayne Trimm

Content Editors
Jill Eisenstein
Frank Knight
Darleen Lieber

Webmaster
Phil Berkowitz

Communications & Technology Committee

Tim Stanley, Interim Chair

Members at Large
Sarah Conley
Margaret Maruschak
Carol Guerreri Rogers
Katie Finch
Shannon Morley

2 Pathways Summer 2017

 Presidents Message
Coming together around a campfire is one of the most
natural things to do. Im continually amazed at how the
flames bring us together. All of us in outdoor education
bring people together much like the fire, and our passion
lights the flame in others. We are the translators of the
natural world, speaking for the seasons, the changes, the
ebb and flow of nature.
And if you have it in your pocket, please donate to our
wonderful organization. Our NYSOEA Annual Appeal is still
going. If you can donate a few dollars, it will help to light the
flame in countless others. Go to our website nysoea.org and
click on Donate.
Happy summer!

We have just celebrated the summer solstice, our longest

day of the year. While each day gets shorter now until
mid-winter, we will still go through the solar gain with
warmer days, and then gradually cooler into autumn.
And then it will be time for our 2017 annual conference at
Green Chimneys Clearpool Campus in Putnam County
(Metro Region).

But before that happens, take a moment to slow down.

Take time now to enjoy those around you. Take stock of
the wonderful accomplishments over the school year.
And take roll call of your loved ones around you. Take this
moment as an outdoor educator and as a human being to
be grateful for all that we have.

Eric Powers
President, NYSOEA
president@nysoea.org

Pathways Summer 2017 3

 white-breasted nuthatch (Sitta carolinensis)

New Ways of Looking at the Familiar

Writing by Pathways Editor Jessica Kratz
vp_communications@nysoea.org
Photos courtesy of Jessica Kratz and Frank Knight

Admittedly, I am a creature of habit. I tend to interpret the
same locations-- and often, the same species sightingson
most of the hikes I lead. Even Facebook Memories reminds
me of my consistent cadence, posting fiddleheads in mid-
April and celebrating the bloom of black-eyed susans in
mid-July. Granted, I do garner some excitement from spotting
my favorite flora and fauna, and it is multiplied by seeing
them through the eyes of program participants, particularly
children. But sometimes there is a longing for new findings.
Lifting up logs, I expect to find sowbugs, millipedes,
earthworms, or other decomposers. I do not expect to find
anything fundamentally new, but I remember that this is
possible. Fifteen years ago, hiding in leaf litter, roughly 25
miles from the Greenbelt Nature Center, scientists announced
that they discovered a new species in the woods of Central
Park: Nannarrup hoffmani, or Hoffmans dwarf centipede,
an 82-legged marvel. As a newly-minted NYC Urban Park
Ranger back in 2002, this discovery prompted me to learn
more about the rich and complex systems on the forest floor.
The following year, in commemoration of the Parks 150th
anniversary, Central Park held a BioBlitz, and during the 24-
hour cataloging of biodiversity, I was with a group that heard
the first bullfrog, Rana catesbiana, in the park since 1982.
A decade later, a new frog species would actually be
discovered on Staten Island. Jeremy Feinberg, a doctoral
student at Rutgers University, positively identified the new
species. He found specimens in the Meadowlands and the
Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, and
Putnam and Orange Counties in New York, and were also
collected in central Connecticut. Catherine E. Newman,
an evolutionary biologist, who compared the DNA of the
new species to that of the Northern and Southern leopard
frogs, confirmed that it is genetically distinct. The Atlantic
Coast leopard frog (Rana kauffeldi) is a cryptic species that
looks nearly identical to the Southern leopard frog (Rana
sphenocephala). It croaks in a single burst of chuck, whereas
the Southern leopard frog calls in a staccato chuck, chuck,
chuck, chuck, chuck. In the mid-1930s, Carl Kauffeld, former
Curator of Reptiles of the Staten Island Zoo, speculated there
was a third leopard frog species on Staten Island but did not
have the access to the research tools now available. Feinberg
named the species, which has been hiding in plain sight for
decades, in Kauffelds honor. In 2012, I had the chance to hear
Feinberg speak at a Frog Night at the Staten Island Museum,
and in 2014, my colleague, Beth Nicholls, took me to a marshy
breeding site during the limited early spring monitoring
window to hear the call of Rana kauffeldi.

4 Pathways Summer 2017


common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
Though it does not involve a new species, a recent experience
has put a bit more magic into my nature observations. The
Greenbelt Nature Center had the opportunity to be a host
site for the City Nature Challenge 2017. What started as an
initiative in 2016 between Los Angeles and San Francisco for
residents and visitors to explore nature all around them and
document the species they find in schoolyards, backyards,
and parks, the City Nature Challenge expanded to 16 cities
for 2017. In time for National Citizen Science Day (April 15)
and Earth Day (April 22), the challenge took place from April
14-April 18. The host organization for NYC was Macaulay
Honors College, City University of New York.
Sebastian Mafla, a graduate student in Environmental Science
at the College of Staten Island, explained the initiative and
helped me record observations on iNaturalist app. I was able
to upload photographs I had taken (or were sent to me) of
the flora and fauna around the nature center, as well as take
photos in the iNaturalist app of new observations. For the first
time, I took a photo of a nuthatch, later verified by two peer
naturalists as a white-breasted nuthatch, Sitta carolinensis,
in flight. Also, being able to follow the City Nature Challenge
2017 project in real-time from my smartphone provided
a transparency and excitement that I probably could not
common greenshield lichen (Flavoparmelia caperata)
Pathways Summer 2017
Sebastian Mafla tabling for the City Nature Challenge
2017 at the Greenbelt Nature Center
imagine during the 2003 Central Park BioBlitz. My competitive
side loves that naturalists are ranked by the number of
observations and number of species, which motivated me to
post more to improve my rank. All of a sudden, the common
garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) and common greenshield
lichen (Flavoparmelia caperata) did not seem so common to
me, and were quickly uploaded.
In the seasons ahead, I urge you to use the observation tools
of your choosing and take a closer look along your familiar
trails and natural areas. You may be surprised at what has
been hiding in plain sight. Perhaps the City Nature Challenge
will come to a city near you in 2018, or you will find another
participatory project to sustain your passion.
References
Baggaley, K. New Frog Species Found in NYC. http://www.businessinsider.com/
atlantic-coast-leopard-frog-found-in-nyc-2014-10 Accessed 16 April 2017.
Burghart, T. Naturalists Catalog Central Park Wildlife. http://www.myplainview.
com/news/article/Naturalists-Catalog-Central-Park-Wildlife-8989173.php
Accessed 16 April 2017.
City Nature Challenge- Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. https://nhm.org/
nature/citizen-science/city-nature-challenge-2017. Accessed 16 April 2017.
Foderano, L. W. A New Species in New York Was Croaking in Plain Sight.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/14/nyregion/new-leopard-frog-species-is-
discovered-in-nyc.html
Accessed 16 April 2017.
Macaulay Honors College at CUNY. 2003 Central Park BioBlitz Summary Data.
https://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/bioblitz/data/2003-central-park-bioblitz-
summary-data/
Accessed 16 April 2017.
Netburn, D. New Species of Frog Found in New York City- first time since 1882.
http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-new-york-city-frog-
20141029-story.html
Accessed 16 April 2017.
Nicholls, B; Manne, L. L; Veit, R. R. 2017. Changes in Distribution and Abundance
of Anuran Species of Staten Island, NY, Over the Last Century. Northeastern
Naturalist; Steuben24.1: 65-81.
Stewart, B. A New Kind of New Yorker, One with 82 Legs. http://www.nytimes.
com/2002/07/24/nyregion/a-new-kind-of-new-yorker-one-with-82-legs.html
Accessed 16 April 2017.
5
 Solid Roots
About fifty years ago, a few educators realized that outdoor
experiences had been gradually eroding from our NYS
educational system. Not only students but the entire
culture would suffer if something did not change!

The roots of our organization are the educators that got it

started and the ones that continue to nourish its growth.
Like a tree, NYSOEA can only grow as large and healthy as
its roots grow deep and wide. For nearly 50 years, our roots
have kept us anchored in the richness of the outdoors and
helped us stay strong. We continue to draw inspiration
from this commitment, tenacity, and vision.

In light of the upcoming 50th anniversary, we have

decided to reprint a few articles from NYSOEAs very own
publication dating back to March of 1969-- once known
as the The Outdoor Communicator and later renamed
Pathways to Outdoor Communication-- to help us learn
from, appreciate, and continue to be strengthened by our
solid roots as we continue to grow.

6
 History of Flowers:
Soldiers Woundwort to Quaker Rouge
Written by Anne Cloutier
Walk into history class bearing a delicate white flower head
of Queen Annes Lace and ask your students which queen
this common roadside plant was named for: was it Anne of
Brittany, Queen of France? Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII?
Or perhaps James IIs daughter, Anne of England? Each wore
the finest lace of her day, sometimes including the flowers
and leaves of Queen Annes Lace. Whether or not the correct
answer is found, an absorbing lesson in ethnobotany and
social history will result. Queen Annes Lace, Daucus carota,
or Wild Carrot, is one of the many plants whose name tells a
story and provides an intriguing teachable moment suitable
for the classroom, a field trip, or an afternoon walk with
friends.
People have for centuries endowed plants with a vivid
assortment of colloquial names. Such epithets as Soldiers
Woundwort, White Mans Foot, or Quaker Rouge indicate
qualities which people have discovered in their silent
Pathways Summer 2017
companions, qualities which they have used ingeniously for
eons.
In some cases, the interdependence between wild plants and
humans has determined the course of history. A diminutive,
creeping plant called Trailing Arbutus, Epigea repens, is
responsible for bolstering the morale of the weary Pilgrims
after their first hard winter in the New World. It was the first
spring blossom they found, and so it became a symbol of
hope and courage. They dubbed it Mayflower, as poet John
Greenleaf Whittier describes:
Yet God be praised, the Pilgrim said,
who saw the blossoms peer
Above the brown leaves dry and dead
Behold our Mayflower here
7
Today the Trailing Arbutus, with its evergreen leaves and small
fragrant white blossoms, is the state flower of Massachusetts.
Less than one hundred years after the arrival of the first
colonists, a different woodland plant was to have impact
on the taming of the frontier. The demand for Ginseng, a
powerful medicinal herb of the Orient, sent trappers and
farmers deep into the forests of eastern North America, and
resulted in a profitable trade between China and the New
World.
In 1713, a Jesuit priest working in China wrote of the curative
qualities of Ginseng, Panax ginseng, root, a whitish, parsnip-
like tuber often suggesting the shape of the human body. It
contains the medicinally active ingredient panaquilon, and is
said to strengthen and revitalize the body, rebuild tissue, ease
pain, help prevent senility and high blood pressure, maintain
sexual potency, and even restore color to graying hair.
An Iroquois missionary, Father Joseph Lafitau, read of the
herb of eternal life and shortly thereafter discovered Panax
quinquefolium, the North American counterpart to the
Oriental Ginseng, growing in the rich forests of Canada.
Within a few years, trading companies were established,
sang diggers, Daniel Boone among them, were scouring
the woods from Maine to Georgia, and Ginseng root became
second only to fur as an important trade item. The lucrative
trade peaked in the 1860s, when more than 600,000 pounds
of dried Ginseng roots per year were exported to China. were made from the Witch Hazel wood.
As the availability of Ginseng decreased in the late 1800s,
entrepreneurs attempted to grow it commercially, but few
profited from their endeavors. Nonetheless, shen sang, or
man-root, contributed1 to the early economy of this country.
American history becomes a more colorful study when the
wildflowers of field and forest are considered. Plant names
relay the fact and folklore by which the early settlers lived.
1. Present-day wildflower walk leaders recognize participants bent on digging protected native ginseng after the walk, and pass it by unidentified, simply to preclude
the stealing of a protected plant.
8 Pathways Summer 2017
Joe-Pye Weed is the curious name given to a roadside plant
with a massive cluster of fuzzy purplish flowers atop a five
foot tall stem. An Indian herb doctor named Joe-Pye was said
to have used this medicinal plant to cure typhus fever in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Joe-Pye Weed belongs to the genus Eupatorium, which has
an interesting legend dating back to 132 B.C. In the kingdom
of Pontus, there reigned the great king Mithridates Eupator,
one of the most dangerous foes of the Roman Empire. After
26 years of fighting, the Roman army finally conquered
Pontus. Mithridates Eupator, feeling dishonored, attempted
suicide by poisoning. The poison had no effect however,
because the king had long been taking a concoction made of
almost 70 plants- an effective poison antidote. More recently,
Eupatorium has been used as a Native American remedy for
snake bite poisoning.
The origin of the name Witch Hazel, Hamamelis virginiana,
comes from at least four different sources. Superstitious folk
equated the rattling sound of seeds bursting from ripe pods
with the clandestine activity of witches. Another mysterious
practice of using the forked Witch Hazel branches as divining
rods to locate underground water and precious ores has
earned the small tree the name Water Witch. Still another,
perhaps more plausible explanation for the naming of Witch
Hazel, is the fact that the oval, wavy-toothed leaves resemble
those of the wych-elm, and that old-time chests, or wyches,
Common Plantain, Plantago major, a broad leaved plant with
a green flower spike, also has as many stories as it has names.
White-Mans Foot tells the tale of European encroachment
upon Native American soil. The seeds of this hardy alien were
brought to the New World on settlers clothing and livestocks
hooves: it sprouted and thrived wherever the white people
went.
Fireweed was another name given to Plantago major. Plantain
leaves dry more slowly that most plants, so it became a
moisture indicator for farmers who needed to know when
their hay was dry enough to put into the barn. If water could
be squeezed from a Plantain leaf, then most likely the hay was
still green, and chances of spontaneous combustion were
greater. The simple Plantain, then, may have saved many
settlers barns from going up in smoke.
Wildflowers have also found their places in playrooms,
medicine closets, parlors and feminine toilets. Clever names
like Quaker Rouge, Torch Flower, Devils Plaything and
Nosebleed indicate the early Americans imaginative and
resourceful use of common plants. Quaker girls, who were
forbidden to wear make-up, found a natural substitute in
Common Mullein, Verbascum thapsus. Its soft, wooly leaves,
when rubbed on the cheeks, produced a natural rosy glow,
and so became known as Quaker Rouge.
Mulleins tall flower stalk, sporting no more than eight bright
yellow flowers at a time, has earned it the name Torch Flower.
It has been used for centuries as a processional torch; the
dried flower spike, when dipped in melted suet (animal fat),
burns bright and long. Superstition tells of Torch Flower
lighting the dark woods during witches secret ceremonies.
Yarrow, Achillea millefolium, has a row of colloquial names:
Nosebleed, Soldiers Woundwort, Devils Plaything, Old Mans
Pepper, Milfoil, and Thousand-seal, to name a few. Even its
scientific name, Achillea, is steeped in mythological legend.
It is said that Achilles, the greatest Greek warrior of the Trojan
War, used Yarrow leaves to stop the bleeding of his soldiers
wounds (hence the name Soldiers Woundwort).
More recently, Yarrows finely dissected leaves have been
associated with other bleeding problems. When rolled up and
placed in a bleeding nose, the astringent, or styptic quality,
of the leaves helps to arrest the flow of blood. Conversely, a
twist of the coarse leaves opens blood vessels in the nose;
this was done in attempts to bleed out or alleviate migraine
headaches.
In addition to these medicinal uses, Yarrows rough leaves
have provided tingling sensations to children who scrape
them against their faces- consequently, the term Devils
Nettle. A bit of romantic magic could also be found in
Yarrow, or Devils Plaything: the image of a future spouse
was believed to appear if an ounce of Yarrow was wrapped in
flannel and kept under ones pillow, and the proper words said
before going to bed. This is but a sampling of the ingenious
uses that have been found for the tenacious Yarrow.
Teasels name comes from its functional flower head, which
is packed with long, hooked thorns. Pioneers used the dried
heads to comb wool for spinning and to raise or tease the
surface (nap) on newly woven cloth. This process made
Pathways Summer 2017
the wool softer and increased the surface area so that more
warm air could be trapped within the fabric. Teasel, Dipsacus
sylvestris, was brought from Europe for the weaving industry,
and has since gone wild, preferring damp, woodland margins.
Pokeweed, Phytelacca americana, figured symbolically in
the 1844 presidential election when James Polk and his
followers each wore a foot-long poke leaf as their emblem.
The powdered berries of Spicebush, Lindera benzoin, an
aromatic shrub, were used during the Revolutionary War as a
substitute for allspice. During the Civil War, its leaves became
a substitute for tea when that staple became scarce.
Blue Vervain, Verbena hastata, was the horba sacra of the
ancients, thought to influence eyesight, stimulate affection
and break the power of witches. It was gathered and sold
for centuries by herbal seekers known as simplers. One of
vervains common names is Simplers Joy, referring to the
money these gatherers received.
But a delicate debate prevails over the naming of the beautiful
Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis. The Columbine flower
displays five long, curved spurs reminiscent of doves perched
around a dish; hence the name Columbine, from Columbia,
which is Latin for dove. Other botanical students maintain
that these elegant spurs look more like a birds talons or claws,
and prefer the Latin genus name Aquilegia, which is from
aquila, the eagle.
The botanical name game can be a life-long hobby. It
reveals fascinating facts in many realms, from history to
home economics, and from medicine to mythology. The
colorful roadsides represent a harvest of ideas to explore, and
an amazing knowledge to be gained of our ancestors, and
ultimately, ourselves.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Abraitys, V. Wayside Simples and Grateful Herbs., Columbia
Publishing Co., NJ, 1980.
Busch, P. Wildflowers and the Stories Behind Their Names. Charles
Scribners, 1977.
Dana, Mrs. Wm. S. How to Know the Wildflowers. Charles Scribners
Sons, NY, 1894.
Grieve, Mrs. M. A Modern Herbal, Vols. I & II., Harcourt, Brace, and
Co., 1931.
Hohn, R. Curiosities of the Plant Kingdom, Universe Books, NY, 1980.
Perkins, Wm. D. Chestnuts, Galls, and Dandelion Wine-Useful Wild
Plants of the Boston Harbor Islands, The Plant Press, Mass, 1982.
Peterson, R.T. & McKenny, M. A Field Guide to Wildflowers.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1968.
Petrides, G. A Field Guide to Trees and Shrubs. Houghton Mifflin Co.,
Boston, 1958.
Shosteck, Robert. Flowers and Plants: An International Lexicon with
Biographical Notes. Quadrangle, The New York Times Book Co., NY,
1974.
Thesen, K. Country Remedies, Harper and Row, 1979.
9
 Hooked on Nature
Writing by Adam Stewart

Adam is an Environmental Education Assistant with the Bu- A young Adam Stewart getting hooked on fishing.
reau of Environmental Education at NYSDEC. He oversees the Image courtesy of Adam Stewart.
Capital District Campership Diversity Program based in Al-
bany. Here, he shares his experiences as a former campership
program participant, as a DEC camper, camp counselor, and
finally, as coordinator of the program.

Hooked on Nature Brother Yusuf called it when he snapped

the first picture of me struggling to figure out how a fishing
pole worked. I am product of his system leave no child inside,
through which he lovingly worked with urban youth in the
city of Albany to give them an outdoor experience they would
never forget. All the people he touched with his love for the
outdoors changed the course of their lives including myself.

I remember the first time Brother Yusuf and I went fishing. I

was about nine years old and this was my first time. We head-
ed out to Pack Forest Lake in Warrensburg. I set up my pole
and started casting. I probably cast about 40 times over the
course of 15 minutes. I looked over and saw BeeYu (thats what
we called Brother Yusuf) casting and catching fish. I got frus-
trated, threw my pole down and said, I hate fishing. BeeYu
turned and said, Patience is a virtue. There is a reason why
this is called fishing and not catching.

And so it began. As an Enviro-mentor, as Brother Yusuf

coined it, he brought programs and projects to the commu-
nity to familiarize us [urban youth] with outdoor activities
that benefited our lives. Nature was our classroom and nature

10 Photos courtesy of Rebecca Houser and Sherry Mackey Pathways Summer 2017

Brother Yusuf teaching snowshoeing.
Image courtesy of DEC Archives.
taught us intangible skills. We were not confined by the uni-
form monotony of conventional school work and we loved
learning this way. Brother Yusuf combined nature, education
and life skills in a way that helped our group of urban youth
grow into urban leaders.
Many of the activities I was involved in were Camping 101
based activities. My connection to nature expanded as the
unknown became the familiar. All the 101 activities -- like bird
watching, hiking and pitching tents -- enhanced my outdoor
experience and love. I was able to adapt, overcome my fears,
and find peace.
Our first trip, we went to the Adirondacks and I will never for-
get how it made me feel. The vivacious green scenery land-
scaped every inch of my view; fresh air and mountain aromas
coursed through my nostrils; it was paradise. I was able to
climb trees, run, trip and fall, and just be Adam. My connec-
tion with nature grew into a love for the outdoors. This
was a three- day-weekend trip and we came back ex-
hausted. The ed-venture was designed to shape us
into environmental stewards and accept leadership roles
more actively. As I got older, whenever I was invited to
leave to confines of the urban area, I was always excited,
excited to learn more! My ed-venturous spirit took hold
of my being. Once I overcame my fears, I was hooked.
And the next step was DEC camp.
My first day at camp soon filled the empty pages
of my camp journal. I was overjoyed. I experienced so
many things and most of the letters that I sent home
were plants, leaves, and flowers to show my mother.
Camp was so action-packed with adventures, games
and learning activities that before I knew it camp was
OVER. The week was done. All the friends I made and
experiences I had were now memories that ran down
Pathways Summer 2017
my face as I said good bye and departed in the big white DEC
van.
After the three-hour ride home, I rushed to my room and sat
in darkness. My mother came and as she was wiping the tears
from my eyes, she gave me a great idea. I suddenly had an
urge to share the lessons I learned at camp with my parents
and siblings. So I put on many layers of clothing, created a
stage and performed The Lorax in front of my siblings, par-
ents, and stuffed animals. I was young at the time and I did
not understand the impact camp had on me until I got older.
My views on nature and conservation evolved. I gained skills
and knowledge to grow as an environmental steward and
adapt to the concrete jungle in which I lived. I found that na-
ture was all around me, not just hundreds of miles away. As
I got older, I started taking on more leadership responsibili-
ties to bring ed-venture to a younger generation. But as the
years passed, I was aging out of the camp system. I had gone
to Pack Forest twice, already knew half of their programming,
and was ready to move on to go back to Albany where there
was no camp for me. In the returnee week at Pack Forest,
as we were saying good-byes and everyone was receiving
awards, I was not granted a general award. Instead, I was giv-
en the opportunity to come back as a volunteer. I was chosen
because I was embodiment of Camp Magic. Now looking
back, I think counselors used you are the embodiment camp
magic as a tool to get volunteers to wash dishes, but it was
still fun. I was back at camp again and camp empowered me.
The counselors saw leadership potential, work ethic, and el-
bow grease.
Coming back as a volunteer was indeed magical. I learned the
value of service, which helped me get into the environmen-
tal science program at University of Albany where I started
expanding my environmental science skills and background.
I was officially HOOKED. Love of nature, outdoor recreation
and science had created a new enviro-mentor. I started
11
broadening my horizons and knowledge by sailing on the
Hudson River Clearwater sloop and was a part-time mentor
for the new generation of kids with Brother Yusuf. Many other
activities, projects and programs widened my resume, and I
became a camp counselor for 2014 DEC summer camps. I was
happy to come back where it all had started. I remembered
being a camper so vividly and believe it is why my life has
been successful thus far.
As a camper, I developed a love for nature. As a volunteer, I
was humbled by service and responsibilities. As a counselor,
I spread that same camp magic far and wide, hoping it would
grasp another childs heart as it did mine. I was able to do the
most important thing of all: give back. After that summer sea-
son was over, I went back to my job at Planet Fitness hoping
that the next year I could continue as a camp counselor.
Unfortunately, tragic news struck me and the Albany com-
munity in December 2014 as we were informed that Brother
Yusuf Burgess passed away. I was devastated and alone. But
BeeYu had understood me and had seen me grow. He had
helped me for years, molding me into an enviro-mentor that
could continue his legacy and mission. So thats what I did. I
continued what he started because his fire sparked mine. To
honor his legacy and memory, I was hired to be an adminis-
trative staff offering children from various organizations the
same experience I had as a kid -- with hopes that it will help
them find their love of nature, too.
And thankfully, his dreams and accomplishments did not end.
Many people, including myself, are helping fulfill his dream by
training more youth leaders to uplift their communities and
create change. As more urban youth become leaders in their
community, they become role models for younger genera-
tions and this opens a path to success. Many organizations
acknowledge his commitment to urban youth and the DEC
12
camps program; they honor him by donating funds to sup-
port urban youth development and allowing urban youth to
attend camp under his name.
DEC and many partner organizations such as NYSOEA,
sportsmen education clubs, and generous donors, sponsor
youth to go to camp and experience this camp magic. Many
diverse youth from our urban areas find their niche and grow
into stewards in the community. Many of my friends today
live healthy, active lifestyles because of the generosity of the
partnerships between Brother Yusuf, the DEC, and sponsors.
Many of them are employed as environmentalists, police of-
ficers, aspiring doctors and so on. The sponsors gave us the
opportunities to be able to succeed. The message is powerful:
do what you love and love what you do. Because Brother Yu-
suf sure did.
As for me a graduate, environmental scientist/steward and
Enviro-mentor I continue his work here at the DEC doing
pre- and post-camp activities that I was once a part of when I
was a young child in hopes that the passion of success and his
legacy is passed on. These activities create a sense of purpose
that can help shape the lives of these urban youth. As they
grow older, even the slightest experience with the outdoors
can benefit them in a positive way.
At times, we do not see the impact on peoples lives imme-
diately. We may never see it, but being constantly exposed to
outdoors, through whatever means, can reshape our youth. It
takes time, but investing in our youth is important. Our camps
have been operating and serving our youth for many years,
shaping them into skillful leaders in our community. Brother
Yusuf, DEC staff, various organizations, and I yearn to create
diverse learning opportunities for youth because they are the
next generation and they need to learn to love nature before
they are asked to heal it.
Pathways Summer 2017
 Book Club Participants meet the author at Vassar College, February 2017. From left: Adele Birkenes, Jane Rausch, Marlena Vera-Schockner,
Robin Wall Kimmerer, Kate Brill, Jonathan Billig, Megan Hoffman. Photo courtesy of Jane Rausch
A Wonderful Gift:
NYSOEA Members Read & Grow Together through the Colder Months
Writing by MaryLynne Malone
At the 2016 annual conference, there was a suggestion to start
a Winter Weekend Book Club. Utilizing the NYSOEA Facebook
page, messaging, e-mail and video conferencing, this club
was a great way to stay connected to members on a personal
level much more often.
Our first book selection was Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous
Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teaching of Plants
by Robin Wall Kimmerer. What a wonderful beginning and a
great adventure. The club met monthly at various locations
in the Eastern/Metro area, nearly always coinciding with
the occurrence of a decent snowfall. The page goals were
set by our moderator, Jonathan Billig, who has a wonderful
way of expression and compassion. Jonathan allowed free
expression while giving great insight and wonderful lead
questions to the group. If you were fortunate enough to attend
in person, there were scrumptious homemade treats made by
Jane Rausch.
Kimmerers book explores the recognition of gifts, small
and large, and how humans tend to overlook these gifts as
they muddle through lifes everyday events. The text struck
a chord as it was based in New York State in the Central and
Northern regions. Anyone who routinely travels the state
would recognize some of the locations she wrote about. The
content of this book allowed members to connect on levels
Pathways Summer 2017
that might not be the norm for interpersonal communication
and gave each of us insight to the others, something I regard
as a gift that was completely unexpected. Kimmerer adds a
twist to what is typical in scientific thinking and gets readers
to evaluate things that they thought to be truths based on
scientific fact in an in-depth, personal way.
Typically, Winter Weekend is an Eastern/Metro event,
although members from other regions have attended.
NYSOEA is actually an association without borders, and
the nature of the club allowed for those in other regions to
participate in the book club as much or as little as they saw fit.
The culminating gathering was at Winter Weekend in a cozy,
well-lit room with a warm, welcoming fire and a wonderful
sweet treat. There were people who had been to every in-
person meeting and those who read on their own and
wanted to share their experience with others. A few days
after Winter Weekend, Kimmerer was scheduled to speak
at nearby Vassar College. Several book club members were
able to attend- nothing short of a perfect ending to that book.
NYSOEA has always been an arena for sharing and I, for one,
am glad the NYSOEA book club will be continuing after a
short hiatus. I encourage any of our literary friends to join
in the coming months.
13
 These naturalists were intrigued by the diversity of dragonflies and damselflies they discovered in this wetland during a June workshop in central New York.
The New York Master Naturalist Volunteer Program:
Making a Difference for People and the Environment
Article and photos by Kristi Sullivan, Director, New York Master Naturalist Program
Keep close to Natures heart and break clear away, once in
awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods.
Wash your spirit clean. John Muir
The New York Master Naturalist Program is an exciting,
science-based training and volunteer program that
allows adults to learn about our natural environment
and todays important conservation issues. Participants
become enthusiastic, passionate natural resource stewards,
empowered to monitor environmental change, participate
in on-the-ground conservation projects, and educate and
encourage others in their communities.
The program, which is based out of Cornells Department
of Natural Resources, has both education and volunteer
elements. At the beginning, all participants attend a 3-day
immersion training with a mix of indoor lectures and
outdoor activities. Focus areas include tree identification,
bird natural history and migration, amphibians and reptiles,
14
stream ecology, invasive species, native insects, mushroom
identification, mammals, and more. Highlighted throughout
the course are important conservation issues and challenges
related to these and many other organisms.
Over 250 volunteers from across the state are currently
actively engaged in the Master Naturalist Program. Every
participant has the opportunity to pursue volunteer work
within a broad range of interests. Some volunteers, passionate
about one specific topic, focus exclusively on developing
expertise in that arena. Others enjoy a variety of volunteer
opportunities. Likewise, some volunteers build a strong
partnership with just one agency or local organization, while
others volunteer with multiple groups. Periodically, Master
Naturalists from around the state come together for a special
volunteer weekend focused on a particular conservation
issue and working together toward a solution. Two events
focused on climate change and impacts of recent hurricanes
on coastal ecosystems. Following Hurricane Sandy, a group
visited Fire Island National Seashore to help restore and
Pathways Summer 2017
 Master naturalist trainees learn about goldenrod gall flies during the
required training weekend at Cornells Arnot Forest.
monitor the beaches. Working alongside Fire Island Seashores
National Park Service scientists, volunteers used GPS to map
and monitor shoreline breaches from hurricane waters and to
inventory the areas recovering vegetation. The weekend also
included some marine restoration, as volunteers helped plant
eelgrass in collaboration with Cornell Cooperative Extension
of Suffolk Countys Marine Meadows program.
After Hurricanes Irene and Lee, volunteers engaged in
another meaningful, climate-focused project to improve
climate change awareness and community response. They
visited several sites in the Catskill Creek Watershed, witnessing
the devastation brought about by those hurricanes. Among
many observations, volunteers learned that some common
Volunteers sampled streams in the Hudson Valley, and identified
aquatic invertebrates in the samples to determine water quality
Pathways Summer 2017
During a group volunteer weekend, Master Naturalists from across the
state came together to participate in a stream bank restoration project.
mistakes, such as placing boulders and stones along the
stream banks, can lead to channelization, increased water
velocity, and potential erosion downstream. Local educators
demonstrated the benefits of stabilizing stream banks instead
by planting trees and shrubs and maintaining undeveloped
floodplains to slow stream flow and protect downstream
communities. Joining forces with the Department of
Environmental Conservations Trees for Tributaries Program
and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Columbia and Greene
Counties, participants worked together in the Catskill Creek
Watershed and helped maintain recent streamside plantings.
Last year alone, Master Naturalist volunteers reported 1,400
hours of volunteer time and completed 1,072 hours of con-
Participants engage in a variety of volunteer activities, such as assessing
the impacts of deer browsing on native forest vegetation.
15
tinuing education. Volunteers partnered with over 50 agencies
and organizations to steward forests, monitor and manage
invasive species, contribute to bird-related citizen science
projects, monitor bat populations, conduct raptor migration
counts, conserve habitat for the Karner blue butterfly, monitor
forests for browsing impacts by deer, measure water qual-
ity, promote gardening with native species, write articles for
newsletters, create self-guided trails, lead educational hikes,
and much more. Their commitment helps increase the ca-
pacity of many organizations to address important issues, but
it also has personal benefits to them.

It is a fact that the fast pace of modern life, long hours, and
the instant-response electronic era can leave people feeling
over-worked and drained. Spending time outdoors can seem
This snapping turtle hatchling steals the show during an amphibian
like an unaffordable luxury and people often spend less time
and reptile identification class for Master Naturalists
enjoying nature and connecting with their environment.
However, spending time outdoors can have immeasurable
benefits to health and well-being. As an example, exposure
to forests can boost our immune systems. Spending time
outdoors also reduces stress, lowers blood pressure, improves
mood, reduces fatigue, and improves focus. Some Master
Naturalist volunteers have shared personal stories about these
benefits since beginning the program saying things like:
focusing on finding volunteer opportunities this year was a
welcome distraction from real life and added so much joy to
this year for me.; Its been quite a trip and Ive enjoyed every
second of it the whole process of going through the Master
Naturalist program has reawakened my childhood dream of
being a naturalist.; I have enjoyed beyond belief seeking out
new volunteer opportunities and taking classes and meeting
so many new people. Striving to become a Master Naturalist
has opened new wonderful doors for me; and Its all been
so much fun and so rewarding. The life I am now leading due
to the Master Naturalist program has become a dream come
true for me.

If you would like to become a Master Naturalist volunteer and

share in these experiences, please visit the website at
http://blogs.cornell.edu/cerp/master-naturalist-program/,
find us on Facebook, or contact Kristi Sullivan, Director, at
kls20@cornell.edu.

Master naturalists learned how to document the return of beach vegetation

to the dunes following Hurricane Sandy at Fire Island National Seashore

16 Pathways Summer 2017

 WATERSHED MOMENTS
Connecting to Our Natural World
October 26-29, 2017
Green Chimneys Clearpool Campus
2017
New York State
Outdoor Education Association
ANNUAL
CONFERENCE
Keynote Speaker
Mark Morey:: A Connected Leader

Workshop Program Strands

The Water That Connects Us
Nature Tech
The Outdoors is for Everyone
Classroom Connections
Ecosystem Explorations

EEAC members register at NYSOEA member rate

Register here: nysoea.org/conference/
Register by September 15 and receive a reduced rate!

Dynamic workshops, keynote speaker, and networking opportunities.

Make a take-home craft or lead a crafting activity of your own at our
Sunday morning Make and Take Fair.

Green Chimneys Clearpool Campus

is located in Carmel, New York NYSOEA is collaborating with
an hour north of NYC. EEAC-NYC to boost participation
in the Metro region.
Shuttle pickups available from
Metro North station in Southeast
Pathways Summer 2017 17
Rideshare options available.

Mastodon Gardens and Squash Bees
Writing and Photos by Tim Stanley, Founder Native Beeology, www.nativebeeology.com
Take a closer look at a 30,000 year natural history between
yellow squash flowers and a particular pollinator.
Take a look deep into any yellow squash flower near you and
there is a good chance the striped abdomens of squash bees
(Peponapis pruinosa) will be pointing skyward, with heads
buried and long tongues extended, they partake from the
squashes nectar wells. These fuzzy yellow honey bee-sized
insects have formed a time tested relationship with plants
from the squash (Cucurbita) genus. Squash flowers invite
other bees, such as bumble bees and honey bees, to join in the
feast of nectar and pollen but squash bees are floral specialists
of Cucurbita plants and uniquely adapted to effectively
pollinate their flowers. There are 13 species of squash bees
with one species, Peponapis pruinosa, native to the eastern
United States.
The unique relationship between bee and squash dates back
30,000 years when mastodons, elephant-like creatures,
roamed the continent. A new study has revealed Cucurbita
18
Squash Bee in Pumpkin Flower
seeds in their dung. It turns out these large herbivores
not only transported and fertilized the seeds but created
the necessary disturbed habitat for them to grow. In these
mastodon gardens bees were important pollinators and the
Peponapis spp. in particular favored the large sticky pollen
produced by squash flowers. Shortly after the arrival of
humans 12,000 years ago the mastodons went extinct. The
North American squash rapidly disappeared from most of its
range, with many species going extinct. Only the squash in
Mexico remained where Native Americans discovered the
bitter gourds were well suited for use as containers. The plant
had discovered a new partner to ensure it survival and once
again was thriving in human gardens. The squash once again
began to expand its range and so did at least one species of
the squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa.
Native Americans domesticated other wild plants including
a wild grass known as Balsas teosinte the ancestor of Zea
Mays and the legume known as beans, Phaseolus vulgarism
L.. Corn, bean, and squash, known as the three sisters, are a
Pathways Summer 2017
 Mastodon Skull At NYS Museum Albany

classic example of companion planting in early agriculture.

The three sisters had a long journey through time and
distance from their homeland in Mexico to reach the land of
the Lenape and Iroquois in the American Northeast. Passing
from hand to hand and tribe to tribe the three sisters began
their territorial expansion but they did not all reach present
day New York at the same time or together. It took time for
the plants to acclimate and adapt to various climates that
varied greatly from the desert southwest. Not surprising,
squash was the first of the three sisters to arrive (return) to
New York around 6,000 BC as the bitter version of its modern
incarnation. Corn (Zea Mays) arrived about 270 BC, the main
type of corn we know today. Lastly, bean arrived, as a type of
Squash Bee in Pumpkin Flower
lima bean or butter bean in 1300 AD, just prior to Europeans
arrival. It is reasonable to believe Peponapis pruinosa was busy
at work pollinating squash flowers on the arrival of each sister.

As floral specialists, squash bees made an evolutionary choice References:

to depend on one genus of plants; such risky propositions
Logan Kistler, Lee A. Newsom, Timothy M. Ryan, Andrew C. Clark, Bruce D. Smith
in nature seldom have happy endings. The squash plants and George H. Perry. (2015) Gourds and squashes (Cucurbita spp.) adapted
dependence on the mastodon nearly led to a triple extinction. to megafaunal extinction and ecological anachronism through domestication.
In the absence of the mastodon gardens, squash developed Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 112. no. 49. 15107-15112.
http://www.pnas.org/content/112/49/15107
a new and successful partnership with humans. In human
gardens, squash quickly diversified into the tender summer Pritchard, Evan. Indigenous Thoughts on the History of Agriculture in the
squashes: yellow crookneck and zucchini and the hardy Hudson Valley. A paper submitted June 13th 2014. Farm Hub Retreat, Mohonk
Center. pp. 1-10.
winter squashes: butternut, acorn, and the unmistakable
pumpkin. The Cucurbitaceae (gourd) family has solidified its
perpetual existence in time and history and along that journey
it brought along its very own pollinator, the squash bee.

Pathways Summer 2017 19

 John Burroughs in his late thirties.
Photo by Clyde Fisher

John Burroughs: Father of American Wildflower Guides

by Frank Knight, frankknight@earthlink.net

Editors Note: Literary naturalist John Burroughs (JB) is widely
acknowledged as the Father of the American Nature Essay. A
less well-known fact is that JB also inspired popular American
wildflower guides soon emulated by field guide authors for
most groups of plants and animals. These many guides from
several publishers far exceed all of Burroughs 23 volumes of
essays.
Son of a dairy farmer, John Burroughs (1837-1921) attended a
one-room school in rural Roxbury, Delaware Co., New York.
A voracious reader, young Burroughs real teacher was books
purchased with any money earned. Attending a teacher
training institute became a compelling goal, so at age 17, JB
found a teaching position in a nearby county, the first of nine
school master positions he held between 1854 and 1863. Fifty
dollars earned from teaching paid for a term of study at the
Hedding Literary Academy and another at the Cooperstown
Seminary the total of his formal education.
Natural history was not on the curriculum of these
institutions. Ironically, JBs lack of formal science training
likely spurred his success as the foremost naturalist of his
time. In the 19th century, natural science was lifelessly taught
from texts, prompting Louis Agassiz famous quote, Study
nature, not books. At age 26, while teaching near West Point,
JB rekindled his childhood passions for observing nature. On
spring woods walks with a natural philosophy professor, a
campus walk with visiting lecturer, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and
a visit with friends to the Adirondacks, JB began to confidently
think of himself as a naturalist. Giving up teaching, JB moved
to the nations capital in 1863 to start writing.
In Washington, JB met and befriended Walt Whitman, who
was there to comfort Civil War wounded. Whitman suggested
the title Wake-Robin for Burroughs first volume of essays.
Taking a position in a vault of the U.S. Treasury, JB began
writing the more than 400 essays published in 23 volumes by

20 Pathways Summer 2017

Houghton Mifflin from 1871 until after his death in 1921. These Frances book inspired many other popular guides over the
essays on plants, animals, farm life, and later, literary criticism years (see Chronology below) that would have more and better
and philosophy, often first appeared in popular periodicals. color plates as printing techniques became less expensive.
Burroughs left D.C. in 1872 to build a home for his wife Ursula [The writers 1900 edition of Danas guide has 158 full-page
beside the Hudson River at West Park near Poughkeepsie. By illustrations, 48 in full color.] Despite subsequent competition,
1885, he was a full-time table grape farmer and writer; his fame How to Know the Wild Flowers: A Guide to the Names,
was growing with each new volume. Haunts, and Habits of our Common Wild Flowers (1893) would
remain in print into the 21st century.
Trying to identify new plant finds in woods and fields, JB In 1896, the widow Frances married Prof. James Russell
was frustrated with the sparsely illustrated, very technical Parsons, Jr., educator, politician, and finally Counsel General
botany manuals then available. He proposed a starkly to Mexico under Pres. Theodore Roosevelt. James financial
simpler alternative: problems early in their marriage inspired Frances Theodora
Parsons to write How to Know the Ferns (1899), another
One of these days some one will give us a hand-book of
great success. James was tragically killed in a trolley/carriage
our wild flowers, by the aid of which we shall all be able to
crash in Mexico City in 1905. Again widowed, Frances would
name those we gather in our walks without the trouble of
not write more until her privately published autobiography,
analyzing them. In this book we shall have a list of all our
Perchance Some Day, barely mentioning her two famous
flowers arranged according to color, as white flowers, blue
guides, appeared after her death at age 90.
flowers, yellow flowers, pink flowers, etc., with place of
growth and time of blooming.
Mary Elizabeth Parsons

Mary Elizabeth Parsons (1859-1947) no kin of Frances
Mrs. William Starr
Theodora moved to California in 1883 and was well-
Dana New York
tutored in botany by Alice Eastwood, Curator of Botany
socialite Frances
at the California Academy of Sciences. Parsons The Wild
Theodora Parsons
Flowers of California: Their Names, Haunts and Habits was
(ne Smith)
first published, four years after its inspirer, in 1897. [My 1914
(1861-1952), read
edition includes the preface to the never-published 1906
Burroughs plea in
edition, whose plates were destroyed by the San Francisco
an 1887 essay
Earthquake.] Her scholarship is evident with an extensive
Among the Wild
introduction, including helpful keys.
Flowers in Century
Burroughs periodical essays and books were widely read
magazine1; and
in the West, and Mary Elizabeth used a JB quote in her
would grant his wish
introduction:
with How to Know
the Wild Flowers, Most young people find botany a dull study. So it is, as
Scribners (1893). taught from the text-books in the schools; but study it
yourself in the fields and woods, and you will find it a
Educated at a girls
source of perennial delight.
finishing school, 23
year-old Frances Ms. Parsons credited Mrs. Dana and not JB for inspiring her
married Navy book and also thanked the Southern and Northern Pacific
Commander William Railroads for reduced travel rates to explore then highway-
Starr Dana in 1884. sparse California with her illustrator, Margaret Warriner Buck,
Frances Theodora Parsons in the field from
the frontispiece of How to Know the Ferns Dana perished in a whose pen-and-inks were drawn from life.
(1899) http://cassandraconsiders.blogspot. flu epidemic while
com/2010_9_01archive.html
posted in Paris Field guides have immeasurably contributed to our outdoor
in 1890. Clothed in mourning black with restricted social awareness and appreciation for most taxa of plants and
contacts, Frances was enticed by her friend Marion Satterlee animals. Twenty-first century digital guides with user-
to join her on country walks, reawakening Frances childhood demanded high-resolution photo illustrations will continue
wildflower interests. This inspired Frances first book which honoring Burroughs 130-year-old plea to find in organisms
used, as was then the custom, her husbands name. With no afield a source of perennial delight without the trouble of
formal botany training, but with great organizational skills, analyzing them.
her field guide was a big success, helped by Marion Satterlees
excellent pen-and-ink drawings.

1 Burroughs essay Among the Wild Flowers would later be among his collected
essays published in Vol. 9: Riverby [1894]

Pathways Summer 2017 21

A Selected Chronology of Wildflower Guides
Dana, Mrs. William Starr. 1893. How to Know the Wild Flowers: A Guide to the
Names, Haunts, and Habits of our Common Wild Flowers. Charles Scribners
Sons, NY.

Parsons, Mary Elizabeth. 1897, 1902, 1906, 1912. The Wild Flowers of California.
H.S. Crocker and Cunningham; Curtis & Welch, San Francisco [later by the CA
Institute of Science.]

Blanchan, Neltje. 1900. Wild Flowers Worth Knowing, Doubleday, Page & Co., NY.
[Ms. Blanchan was Mrs. Frank Nelson Doubleday.]

Mathews, F. Schuyler. 1902-1955. A Field Book of American Wildflowers, Putnam,

NY. [This writers childhood favorite]

Peterson, Roger Tory and Mckenna, Margaret. 1968-1998. A Field Guide to

Wildflowers: Northeastern and North-Central North America. Peterson Field
Guides. Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston.

Newcomb, Lawrence. 1977, 1989. Newcombs Wildflower Guide. Little, Brown &
Co., Boston.

Bibliography (Books in Chronology not repeated here)

Abdoun, Hany, Archives Volunteer. 1977. Mary Elizabeth Parsons (Hawver).

Biographical Sketch. California Academy of Science Archives, San Francisco.
Barrus, Clara. 1925, 1968. The Life and Letters of John Burroughs (2 vol.) Russell
and Russell, NY.

Burroughs, John. 1887, 1894. Among the Wild Flowers. Vol. 9, Riverby.
Houghton Mifflin Co., NY.

Kanze, Edward. 1993. The World of John Burroughs. Harry N. Abrams, Publ., NY.

Parsons, Frances Theodora. 1952. Perchance Some Day. Autobiography privately

published and archived at Houghton Library, Harvard.

Perkins, William D. 1995. Indexes to the Collected Works of John Burroughs,

(Bergon, Frank & Knight, Frank, Editors). The John Burroughs Association, Inc., NY.

Cover: First popular wildflower guide

Courtesy: Cassandra Considers blogspot, Sept. 2010

22 Pathways Summer 2017

 Northern Woodlands Conference
October 20 - 22, 2017
Hulbert Outdoor Center, Fairlee, Vermont
A Special Offer for NYSOEA members
Dont miss the Northern Woodlands Conference, a celebration of the natural history of our region and of
the interactions between people and place. Featuring prominent authors and naturalists and set in an
inspiring lakeside environment, this event is for readers, writers, artists, teachers, and anyone else who
loves the woods.

NYSOEA members qualify for a 15% discount on the registration fee.

Use customer code NYSOEAMEMBER at checkout.

This years program contains a fun mashup of topics, reflecting the

breadth of content covered in Northern Woodlands magazine.
David George Haskell will deliver a keynote address based on his book, The Songs of Trees, and a workshop
on contemplative practices in ecology and creative writing education.
Julie Zickefoose will give a plenary presentation about her most recent publication, Baby Birds: An Artist
Looks Into the Nest.
Thomas Seeley will lead a workshop on bee hunting and give Sunday mornings plenary session on how
honey bees choose a forest home.
Sessions Include: Protecting Maines Underwater Seaweed Forest, Nature Journaling, Forests and Climate Change:
What Do We Know?, New Tools for Plant Identification, and many more!

View the full schedule and register here: http://northernwoodlands.org/writersconference

Lodge overnight in rustic cabins, attend as a commuter, or come Saturday only. Delicious family-style meals are
included. Professional development hours will be awarded. Registration Deadline: October 16, 2017.

Sponsored by The Trust for Public Land and the Bailey Charitable Foundation, this event is organized by The Center
for Northern Woodlands Education, the nonprofit that publishes Northern Woodlands magazine.

Questions can be directed to the conference coordinator Emily Rowe, Emily@northernwoodlands.org / 802-439-6292

Pathways Summer 2017 23

 What is your story?
By MaryLynne Malone, Past President
Chair, Awards and Diversity Committees

NYSOEAs Legacy Committee is engaged in several projects
leading up to and in celebration of the Associations as well as the personal choices you make every day as an
50th Anniversary. We need you to contribute to our Story
Core. Why is it a Story Core? Well, we want to get down
to the core of it: what we do, what we have accomplished,
where we came from, how we got here, our future and, most
importantly, who we are.
We want to know your NYSOEA story. We want to experience
your first conference, meet someone who influenced you,
mentored you, showed you a new skill, and invited you to
enjoy the outdoors in their neck of the woods. When we tell
our stories we share a legacy, we shape a foundation and we
build toward a future.
How can you help? Send us your story in the form of photos,
an audio clip, a video, or any other form of expression you
choose. What inspired you to be an Outdoor Educator, or
why did you join a committee. Who in the association still
inspires? Does/has (networking within) the Association help
you with your professional career and the programs you offer
individual, parent, citizen and steward of our planet? How has
the Association helped what you have learned, how you live
and given you the opportunity to pay it forward?
Get started! Whether you are young or on the older side,
new to the Association or been around for ages our story
may start out small but when put all together we will have
something powerful and truly extraordinary to share.
Please email your story to legacy@nysoea.org
Editors Note: Submissions of all forms (poetry, prose, mixed
media, digital images, and video) will be accepted and may
be incorporated in upcoming issues of Pathways and/or
may be used for the 50th anniversary celebration at the 2018
Conference. Submissions of any length are welcome, but to
be considered for upcoming issues of Pathways, please keep
submissions under 800 words.

24 Pathways Summer 2017

 Conference 1968: First NYSOEA Memories
by Frank Knight, frankknight@earthlink.net
When I attended the first organizing NYSOEA conference at
SUNY Cortland in 1968, I had been a professional naturalist
for about five years after graduating with a B.S. Biology
degree from Cornells College of Agriculture and Life
Sciences. I was the Director (and sole employee) of the 12-
acre Weinberg Nature Center, municipally- owned by the
Village of Scarsdale in Westchester Co. The Village justified
paying a housing-provided staff naturalist by making
me their Wildlife Control Officer. Ive fond memories of
learning suburban human nature while rescuing skunks
from window wells, and opossums and milk snakes from
basements.
I heard about the nascent Association through the
Westchester Co. Naturalists, an informal group including
those from the Greenburg Nature Center and Ward Pound
Ridge Reservation among others. I remember meeting at
the conference many enthusiastic teachers, nature center
folks, and those from academe all listening to first President-
Elect George Fuge, who almost broad-shoulderedly filled the
auditorium stage. George explained that the NYS Biology
Teachers Assoc. had recently gone belly up, creating a
need for a professional organization for teacher trainees,
educators, nature center people, and outdoor agencies all
committed to the long-established type of outdoor learning
championed by the likes of SUNY Cortlands Raquette Lake
and New Paltzs Ashokan Center. The first 1970 Earth Day
was two years in the future, but there was already much
concern and heated national debate on Outdoor and
Environmental Educations definitions. I remember sitting
in on this debates scoping sessions at an Association of
Interpretive Naturalists (AIN) meeting, as well as NYSOEAs.
Pathways Summer 2017
Most important was the compelling argument that NYS public
and private education, both formal and informal, would
be enriched by a strong Outdoor Education organization
dealing with not only natural science, but more especially,
all the multidisciplinary curricular learning aspects most
appropriately done outdoors. Thus, our early and enduring
slogan: Do It Outdoors.
Fifty-year-old memories are often most vivid outside
conferences and meetings. In December 1969, I rode with two
4-wheel drive-equipped Westchester public school teachers,
among the outdoor ed philosophys strongest advocates, to a
winter board meeting at Raquette Lake where I found myself
the first Outdoor Communicator editor, an honor conferred
likely so everyone could keep a closer eye on this science guy.
On the way home our high wheeler made the Blizzard of 1969
almost fun. By the time we reached southern Westchester
ours was the only vehicle on the road. I opted to leave my gear
at their house and walk the 5 miles to Scarsdale where I hoped
to hitch a ride to the other side of town with a police officer;
we would have made it were it not for someone asleep middle
of the road in his car. After my exhausting 2 a.m. waist-deep
hike down the Centers 100-yard driveway, my wife dropped
a snow shovel out the window so I could clear the outwardly-
opening storm door. By then I was more than convinced that
outdoor education would thrive.
NYSOEA Charter member Frank Knight moved from private
nature centers to DECs Stony Kill, and eventually to Albany
as Project WILD state coordinator where he generated photos
and text for publications and kiosks. Frank was very active
with the American Nature Study Society (ANSS), founded in
1908, and the John Burroughs Association (JBA), 1922. Frank
was Pathways editor for several years until his 2012 move to
WA with wife Janet to be near their kids and grandkids.
25
 Milestones:
The Passing of Wayne Trimm
Wayne Trimm, our regions John James Audubon, died on June 2, 2017, in
Hoosick Falls, at age 94. Through his beautiful paintings of birds and animals,
Wayne brought the outdoors indoors. Using his paintings as a starting point,
he was able to explain how all things on planet Earth are interrelated and
interdependent. Wayne was a staff artist for DECs NYS Conservationist for many
years. During his 75-year career as an artist-scientist, he taught young and old
about the environment and about the ecosystems upon which all life depends.
Best of all, he inspired many people to go outside and see nature for themselves.

Wayne served as Editor of The Outdoor Communicator for several years and
was honored by the New York State Outdoor Education Association with the Art
and Literary Award in 1975, and in 1984, was awarded the organizations highest
honor, the Harlan Gold Metcalf Award.

Wayne is survived by his wife, Melodee James and children and grandchildren.

Those who wish might go for a walk among the flowers, and send a donation in
Waynes memory to Friends of Five Rivers, 56 Game Farm Rd., Delmar, NY 12054

Editors Note: Obituary was edited for Pathways. The full obituary appeared in
the Albany Times Union and the Bennington Banner. To view the guest book
and leave a comment, visit the Mahar Funeral Home registry: http://www.legacy.
com/funeral-homes/Mahar-Funeral-Home/fh-27340/?affiliateId=1329

26 Pathways Summer 2017

 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.

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.

Advertising in Pathways
PATHWAYS 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: pathways@nysoea.org
Fax: (607) 753-5982

Mail: Darleen M. Lieber

Ref: Pathways Advertisement / Article
SUNY Cortland RPLS Dept.
PO Box 2000, Cortland, Y 13045

Pathways Summer 2017 27