Hot Springs, NC

Rebecca Woody
Long Cane Middle School
LaGrange GA
2015 TTEC Cohort

I thoroughly enjoyed the trip to Hot Springs, NC. I plan to take another trip there in the near future. The only downside was not having some of our original crew with us. I really enjoyed the support we received from the support group. Thank you. This has been a great experience and has inspired me to do quite a bit a thinking about my project. Thanks to Tom Sewell and others, Brittany Grace and I have enough money to take a group of students to the Len Foote Hike Inn. I am taking a group in May. I also compiled a booklet and I am going to start working with my group of 20 at-risk youth starting in January to prepare them for working in our school, our community, and preparing them for their hike to the Len Foote Hike Inn. I have attached the booklet also. Jeff, my husband, gave me a wonderful suggestion for our clubs name, "Unplugged!"​

Sampling Experiments in the Berkshires

Cait Ward

Berkshire School

Environmental Science

November 20, 2015

2015 TTEC Cohort

It has proved to be a beautiful fall in the Berkshires, and we have taken full advantage of the weather in Environmental Science.  To kick start the year off, students completed a “21 question” exercise, in which they were asked to formulate a list of questions based on the surrounding ecosystem.  After teasing apart those questions which were testable, students were grouped based on interest and worked together to develop an experiment.  They have since been hard at work collecting data! 

As it turns out, these experiments will serve as great platforms for many of our lesson units.  Not only will this provide students the opportunity to share their studies and results with their classmates, but it will also draw further connections between the material and place that we are in. 

A sampling of experiments that we will use as platforms this year...

Roman, Jack and Johnny are working to determine how tree diversity changes as they head farther into the woods.  This group will be experts in tree identification by the end of their project, and they will be teaching their classmates how to identify trees as part of our introduction into the ATC plant phenology program.

 

Genesis, Chris and Luke have set up salamander boards (artfully crafted by our own Mr. Dalton!) along three transects with different soil moisture levels.  We will model this method of study at the Kellogg Conservation Center in the spring to study an isolated population of Jefferson Salamanders.

Quentin, Charlie and Jeremy are surveying the diversity and abundance of moss based on light availability.  Moss are both pioneer species and bioindicators of pollution, and data will be used to determine the health of our Berkshire ecosystem.  We will use their project as a cornerstone of our pollution unit.

Simi and Berit have collected soil samples in locations both on and around campus to compare the nutrient levels.  In particular, they are looking to compare differences in nitrogen, phosphorus and pH to determine how fertilizer applied on campus compares to the natural nutrient levels within the woods.  The results of this project will help enhance our unit on biogeochemical cycles, which we are currently in the midst of.

Matt, Jay and Charlie, known on campus as the “sali-hunters,” have spent their lab time searching for salamanders.  Their goal is to create a diversity index of the salamanders on the Berkshire campus.  Today the group found three Northern two-lined salamanders!

Experiencing the Trail

Caitlin Ward

Berkshire School

Sheffield, MA

2015 TTEC Cohort

Classes start up on Tuesday, and in celebration of the last few days of summer, two friends and I headed out onto the AT for a day hike.  We walked out my back door, jumped on a side trail, and were soon on the AT.  Our ultimate goal was a swim in Guilder Pond, one of the treasured landmarks on the top of our mountain ridge.

During our journey, we passed one thru-hiker and a couple our for a labor day weekend trip.  As we walked, I found myself thinking about one of the issues we discussed during the summer workshop: access for all, while protecting the integrity of the trail.  The power in the solitude of the trail has always been the most remarkable part about it for me.  Offering an escape from the boarding school bubble, if only a stones throw away. A world where silence takes on a different meaning.  A shared experience who those you pass both know and feel.  My four short hours on the trail allowed me to reset, feel re inspired, and prepared to tackle the school year that is quickly approaching.

Yes, I want my students to learn and know, but more importantly, I want them to feel.  Looking ahead to this year, building this connection stands as an overarching goal.

Exponential Growth

Cody Ewert

Middlesex Elementary

Carlisle PA

2015 TTEC Cohort

Since, our work in May, 2015, the Middlesex Environmental Trail has been featured in our cabinet level district newsletter sent by the Cumberland Valley School District Superintendent, Dr. Frederick Withum and Assistant Superintendent of Elementary, Dr. Patty Hillery.  We are also now an official site listed with the AT Seasons program for phenology monitoring of red oaks on our trail.  Additionally, we have two boy scouts seeking their Eagle Scout merit through projects they are doing along the nature trail, re-establishing environmental education informational signage, proportionate state markers for the AT along the length of our trail, and a milkweed patch with informational signage for monarch butterflies.  A formal proposal has been sent to the school district to use a space specifically for a pollinator garden of native plants.  Our PTO has supported our efforts in the outdoor classroom by purchasing a composite deck-box to store lesson resources, as well as 3 8ft composite picnic tables to provide additional workspace for students.  We are

awaiting a date from district administration to formally present this work at a school-board meeting later this year.  21 interested 3^rd, 4^th, and 5^th graders have also committed to participation in the Middlesex Elementary Environmental Service Learning Club after school.  As though the above isn’t enough, we have our own website to house lesson resources and information for interested readers about topics related to the importance and benefits of children in nature, Project-Based Service Learning, Leave No Trace, AT Seasons, and the history of our trail.  Whoa! This just got serious! J

At this point in time, funding and service project ideas have become more relevant parts of the conversation.  We have encountered an individual within the community that has decided that he is willing to donate to the Middlesex Environmental Trail and support both short and long-term projects.  We have applied for and received a grant through The Eagle Foundation, a PTO led organization within our district that raises money in order to provide educational enrichment opportunities and clubs to students in the district.  We are also currently in the process of applying for a Lowe’s grant to help fund the pollinator garden project. 

With all of these successes, we have also been able to experience some of the “red-tape” challenges associated with an improvement plan of this magnitude in a large school district.  Last April, we were approved to move forward with all of the plans that have been previously shared by the Assistant Director of Facilities and Grounds.  You may already be able to see where this is going.  6 months later, members of the same department realized something big was happening over at Middlesex Elementary, and decided that it was worth a trip over to observe the activities.  Out of all of the planned activities, one component has not yet been shared.  Unfortunately, it is because I need to now figure out where to relocate it and how best to use it, if at all. 

This is a picture of our 3 stage compost bin built from recycled materials.  It was one of our goals to allow students to participate in the soil cycle as well as waste reduction by collecting specified food scraps after lunch and add it to Stage 1 of the bin.  As part of the club, students would learn about the science and benefits of composting, returning the created soil to apple trees that would provide them with food to bring back into the cafeteria. 

At this point in time, our district has stated that all food scraps must leave any district cafeteria in a trash bag due to sanitary and liability reasons. 

As much as I would like to continue this discussion with the members of this department, I feel as though it is in the best interest of our plans moving forward to be gracious and thankful for all of our approved opportunities. J

It is quite possible that students at some point will wonder why something is not in place at our school, and maybe that question will lead to an eventful service learning project! Unshaken pride, motivation, and determination are constantly driving the goals of the Middlesex Environmental Trail and its current stewards.  

Reflecting on the TTEC Program

Megan Capuano

South Middleton School District

W. G. Rice Elementary

Boiling Springs, PA

2015 TTEC Cohort

There is much to reflect on as I’m working on the curriculum for the TTEC program and looking through the feedback forms from the summer session. I can feel the love!

The feedback made me smile, chuckle, think, and definitely feel inspired. I want to stretch beyond status quo as a teacher, I want more students to see the trail and experience the outdoors. I want the students to have different ways to approach learning and I want them to learn, grow, and move forward.

Over the summer I had the privilege to take some boys on the trail with my Ready To Climb (RTC) program. We spent time both in the classroom and on the trail. Some of the boys didn’t know what the Appalachian Trail (AT) was before RTC, some had been in the woods while their dad’s hunted, only one had hiked a bit of the AT before, and all of them were recommended for the program based on their academic, behavior, or social needs. It was a great summer filled with hiking, laughter, encouragement, kids being pushed beyond their comfort zone, group projects, presentations, and learning new things for all of us.

By the time I attended the summer session of TTEC, Ready To Climb had been in progress. During TTEC Dr. Marshall Welch talked about service learning. He broke it down into the “what” are we doing, “so what” happens now, why should we care, and the “now what” are we going to do to change the behavior. The boys had been learning about changes to the world due to humans and animals. During the hikes we took time to look at the changes to the landscape and to the actual trail. The boys would watch me collect trash that I would find along the trail and I made sure they had bags in their packs to put any of their trash from snacks and lunch. We did the “Trash Timeline” Leave No Trace activity and the students matched material items to the length of time it would take to decompose. We were educating the boys about what happens to the world when humans drop garbage and why it was necessary to learn about it.

After the summer TTEC session I expanded the next few lessons to incorporate a deeper service learning component. We had been teaching the “what” and the “so what” but not the “now what”. The next hike we had planned was at Pine Grove Furnace in July. It is a very busy part of the trail during that time of year. Many thru hikers are arriving and the park has two swimming areas plus an alternative hike to Pole Steeple which is a popular spot for people to visit. Pine Grove is a park for campers, day trippers, and many local summer camps of all ages K-12 spend the day. Many students have never been to the country or in the woods. The day my paraprofessional and I did the pre-hike we noticed a lot of garbage. Back at the school during the class before the students’ hike we had a “Trash Talk”. I reviewed what we had learned about humans and landscape, talked about what happens to trash, and why we needed to do something about the garbage – the “now what”. The day of the hike each boy received a grocery bag to collect trash. At the end of the hike we talked about what they did and why they did it.

As a special surprise, I had one of Pennsylvania’s Dairy Princesses greet the boys at the bus. She gave them muscle milk, cheese, and pretzels while explaining the benefits of exercise and good nutrition. She talked to them about their bags of trash and they talked trash. She congratulated them on their service to the world and talked about her volunteer work and why it was important.

It was a great summer on the trail and working with Ready To Climb and attending TTEC. The summer session of TTEC was just as inspiring as the spring, filled with more useful information and definitely more camaraderie. It gave us an opportunity to collaborate with other educators and encourage us on individual journeys which brings new ideas for our students.

Pictures: The boys with their bags of trash and with the Dairy Princess Morgan Brymesser

The Power of Community

Cody Ewert

Middlesex Elementary, 

Carlisle PA

2015 TTEC Cohort

In May, 2015, I found myself sitting in the Shenandoah National Park (a place that I have dreamed to spend time as a hiker, without the need to hang my hammock there for fear of the higher than normal frequency of black bears).  I felt completely vulnerable, taking an educational and professional risk by signing up for the TTEC program.  Were my colleagues back at school going to view this as a joke?  Would I be taken seriously for seeking ways to combine my passion for the outdoors with my passion for educating our youth?  Would I be able to offer anything to my TTEC colleagues that would be of any relevance to them after our time of collaboration?  Would they be able to help me clear my foggy mind and help to unravel the mess of knots that were my ideas and aspirations for getting my students, somehow, outdoors in their learning experience when with me in 5^th grade?  I was completely unsure of what would become, but was excited to take a risk.  So, I put faith in the power of community.

I had embarked on a journey of discovery and empowerment.  I was unaware at the time of future responsibilities and unexpected treasures.  I was at the mercy of our agenda during that spring workshop at the Smithsonian Mason School of Conservation in Virginia.  This green facility was absolutely inspiring!  Walking from our classroom to my bedroom and then again to the dining facility, I was trying to take it all in.  I wanted to soak up this experience to get as much out of it as possible.  I noticed how the weeds were left in the flower beds and the plants were native and naturally planted.  The construction of different aspects of the buildings got me thinking about things like rain barrels and native gardens at our school. 

I was familiar with the Leave No Trace concept through awareness of hiking responsibility, but I came to understand they actually had their act together with lessons and activities for children to learn the ideas behind conservation.  I had no idea that these ideas were already organized and planned.  They just need a medium for presenting them to the future ambassadors of our environment.    This weekend, I also first met Karen Lutz and Marian Orlovsky.  Karen and Marian work for the AT Conservancy out of the office in Boiling Springs, PA, about 4 miles from my school.  What!? Karen runs the mid-regional section of the AT?!  Marian also graduated from Cumberland Valley School District, where I currently work?  This is a small world…what a fantastic resource they could be!  I felt more than lucky at this point.  The dominos just kept falling into place. 

After this weekend of renewed inspiration, instruction, collaborative inspiration, and community support, Tyler Pierce and I returned to Middlesex Elementary ready to make a difference and enact change.  We invited our school community to come out on a Saturday before Memorial Day to “fix-up” our Nature Trail on the school property.  Our 600 yard trail was established in 2000-2001, but was not regularly used or maintained by anyone.  It was overrun with poison ivy and impassible in spots.  In 2006-2007, an Eagle Scout worked to line it with mulch and complete a bridge system for the stream bed in several spots.  After the initial upkeep, the trail was once again in disarray.  Tyler and I decided it was time to make a formal outdoor classroom and provide our teachers with resources to help them seek opportunities for bringing students outside for instruction. 

On this Saturday in May, we had over 50 tons of crusher stone and 15 cubic yards of mulch donated by our local township composting facility.  The Boy Scouts of America local troop, teachers, students ranging from Kindergarten to 8^th grade, grandparents, parents, school-board members, and district administrators all came to help!  We were able to line in our trail with stone, clear and mulch a 900 sq. ft. outdoor classroom with seating for over 100 kids, feed all of our volunteers pizza and clean up the mess in about 12 hours from start to finish. 

            The overwhelming pride I felt and recognition of the power of community served as a moment in my teaching career that I will constantly strive to repeat. 

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” —Mahatma Gandhi

This is our completed educational space for students.

Step #1, plus an overview of my project

Jill Fornadley

Harpers Ferry Middle School (WV)

2015 TTEC Cohort

September 25, 2015

My first step will be taking my 8^th grade classes to Lower Town, Harpers Ferry in order to silently observe it on their own. After about ten minutes of roaming through town silently together, I will give them time to keep journals of things that they see, hear, touch, taste, and smell. I will also have them draw the favorite thing they saw that day. Inevitably, their lists will be different from the others. The point to drive home here will be, “even though we are exposed to the same things, we bring different experiences to them, and so take away different messages”. This doesn’t make anyone wrong, just different.

I wasn’t able to take this hike with the students before the last TTEC meeting, as we have to align our hikes with the National Park Service, and the earliest date up for grabs was November 6. I decided that I would only take my Honors 8^th graders through all the steps of this project for several reasons: 1) I have a really good group this year, who are easy to manage and all seem interested and 2) I have them for a longer period than most, so that will be helpful too.

The second step will be taking the students on a John Brown themed hike in January, guided by an NPS park ranger. I will begin my Civil War lessons about a week before, so that it is fresh in their minds, and so that they can see where this all actually happened. The point of this is to instill an appreciation for the history that most of them know about, but few fully understand.

Finally, towards the end of the year, after a school year’s worth of familiarization with the trail by way of the reward system that is tied to the map, and sporadic video clips and/or stories read in class, I will take them on an actual hike on the A.T., as well as a visit to the A.T.C. Headquarters. Once this has been completed, I will revisit the question of why they should be proud of their town/state. Maybe not this year, but eventually I would like them to create postcards to be sold at the A.T.C. Headquarters, in order to make money for the school. 

TTEC Training

DONNA EVANS 
Homeschoolers, Sterling, VA

2015 TTEC Cohort

During the TTEC summer workshop in Shepherdstown, WV, we took a side trip to Harpers Ferry, the current mid-point of the Appalachian Trail.  Although we approached the AT from the ATC (Appalachian Trail Conservancy), passing the Stephen P. Mather Training Center and walking down some steep steps to touch the trail, we did not actually go walking on it.  This Blog post is to encourage you to come back and take that short trail down into historic Harpers Ferry  and also to share with you a few sights through photos of what you would see if you hiked this short little section of the AT.

I got so excited after the first TTEC training that my family and I explored the AT trail in Harpers Ferry in order to learn more and that is how I can share this with you. 

PLANT LIFE: After you walk down the steep stairs onto the trail – just outside and not far from the Mather Building – you’ll see mullein, garlic mustard, hackberry, maple and tulip poplar trees, to name a few of the plants there.

A SHACK: You’ll see an old abandoned building that looks like a shack.  Can anyone from the area tell me what it is?

A SIGN: You’ll see a sign that points to the Appalachian Training Conference, which presented a learning point for me that the ATC used to be called by that name but in 2005, the C in ATC was changed from Conference to Conservancy. 

A ROCK WITH A VIEW: You’ll See Jefferson Rock.  Thomas Jefferson wrote in his Notes on the State of Virginia that the scene from Jefferson Rock was “worth a voyage across the Atlantic.”  Right from the Jefferson’s Rock monument which is right on the Appalachian Trail, you see a view of the confluence of the Shenandoah and Potomac Rivers.  It is pretty – an amazing part of the AT.

A TRAIN: Amtrak goes through the local Harpers Ferry Train Station as well as the MARC commuter train that services Washington DC And Baltimore, MD. You can see the train coming over a bridge and pulling in to an historic building train station built in the late 1800s.

LOCATION OF JOHN BROWN’S RAID: You will see a building in downtown historic Harpers Ferry showing the place where abolitionist John Brown tried to start an armed slave revolt in 1859.  He attempted to seize the arsenal at Harpers Ferry but was defeated by US Marines led by Col. Robert E. Lee.

HISTORIC DOWNTOWN HARPERS FERRY:  You could wander through the historic part of Harpers Ferry.  There are historic buildings and museums on the main street and a cool gift shop/bookstore featuring lots of titles about the Civil War.

COOL APPALACHIAN TRAIL SIGNS:  There is a sign showing how Harpers Ferry is the mid-point of the Appalachian Trail, with 1165 miles left to Maine and 1013 miles to Georgia and signs to send you on your way in either direction.

So, I hope you enjoy these few pictures and narratives and that you will have the opportunity to enjoy this part of the trail.  Happy trails to you!

Atlantic Salmon in Schools Program

Rose Raymond

Library Tech

Granite St. School

Millinocket, ME

2015 TTEC Cohort

Atlantic salmon stages of development

 Granite St. School has participated in an Atlantic salmon in schools program since 2010. This environmental program allows Atlantic salmon eggs to hatch as students watch them in their stages of development, shown.  Just before February vacation volunteers deliver 200 salmon eggs to a fish tank where the temperature is just above freezing. Over the course of many months the salmon begin their transformation through the different stages of development.  Once they develop into Fry, a stage where the yolk sac has completely absorbed into the body, we only have a few days in order to get them into the river.  It is now the month of May and at this point the tank temperature should be 50 F very close to the river temperature, where they will make their home.

On the day of the field trip to the East Branch of the Penobscot River students are shown how to siphon the salmon up with tubing from the aquarium into a bucket.  We note the importance of matching the river temperature with the temperature of the bucket water and assign a student to this task when we get to the river.  This is a great time to do a pocket activity with the rest of the students.

Students always ask once they’re released, what’s going to happen to them?  The fry will remain in the area where the students release them for a couple of years, where they will feed on black fly, mosquito, stonefly and the caddisfly.  As the salmon parr continue to grow through their second winter they undergo the biological changes of smoltification, a process that takes place in certain gill cells and kidneys of the fish, allowing it to live in either fresh or salt water.  These two year old salmon, now called “smolts”, imprint on the particular chemical “fingerprint” of their home stream.  They actually learn the unique smell of their home river which allows them to recognize and return to it two years later when they return.  The survivors of the salmon students stocked in 2016 will instinctively migrate downstream to the ocean in 2018.  They’ll enter the sea, and migrate northeastward to Greenland, where there’s lots of food.  They’ll eat shrimp which gives them their salmon flesh color.  At four or five years old, 2018, they’ll once again begin a migration back to their home stream in Maine where they stocked them. Unlike Pacific salmon, which all die after spawning, Atlantic salmon returns to spawn several times if they get really lucky in avoiding predators.

What grade will you be in 2019, when the salmon come back?  A fun topic of discussion for students to realize the length of this life cycle!

This program goes beyond classroom borders to involve the local community in resource management.  It gets students into the outdoor classroom and teaches them stewardship in protecting natural resources.

WARNING. . . Insect repellent is toxic to the fry.  To be safe, no one on the field trip can bring or use insect repellent!

Once the container and stream temperature are matched, students will transfer the fry into the river giving the number of fry to the student in charge of the count.  The data is totaled for a completion of the permit.

Introducing Project to Students

Jill Fornadley

Harpers Ferry Middle School (WV)

2015 TTEC Cohort

September 15, 2015

Despite lofty expectations in terms of what is to be taught in 8^th grade WV History classes, I decided to attempt to inject my TTEC project right into the middle of it all. In a nutshell, my project is introducing students to the concept of prejudice by way of pointing out a type that they are all exposed to: the reaction they often get when they tell people that they’re from West Virginia. I would like to build an appreciation of their state and their location in Harpers Ferry as a point of pride, so that they can educate would-be bullies about the finer points of their hometown. I will also (obviously) extend this to other cultures and peoples who are maligned for their religion, skin tone, birthplace etc. I will foray this into my Civics unit when talking about bias, prejudice, discrimination, and stereotypes.

I began the year discussing the different regions of the state, the surrounding states, as well as landforms and waterways. I also took a day and a half of class in order to introduce the Appalachian Trail (history, location, distance, culture, proximity to us in Harpers Ferry etc) to the students. Most of them had heard of it, but it seemed as though few realized how close it was to them.

I discussed all of the aforementioned topics with them, and then I had them create pictures of themselves as hikers, complete with trail names that they gave themselves (I know it was supposed to be given out by classmates, but as my kids are middle schoolers, I was afraid someone would use it as a chance to offend another). Using the map of the A.T. that we were given this summer, I plan on using it as a means of rewarding good behavior (ie: 100’s on tests or quizzes, straight A’s for a marking period, reaching their reading goal, perfect attendance etc). I wasn’t sure how they were going to take it, especially since my SmartBoard was down and I had to do the presentation without pictures, but they got really into it. Several asked me a few days later if they were going to learn more about the A.T. 

Reflections on the TTEC Experiences

Jessica Leach
Stearns High School
Millinocket, ME
2015 TTEC Cohort

September 28

When this journey started I had no idea what I was getting myself into. All I knew was that I loved hiking and being outside. This program has brought that to me and so much more. In May of this year Rose and I heading to the White Mountains in NH. We were not even sure what we were doing. After the intensive first workshop we had lots of ideas with lots more questions. 

At that point our plan was to try and get kids on the  AT at our closes spot. Hurd pond lean-to. This process would involved lots of volunteers, bus drivers, monies and lots more. We thought we would maybe start a map of the trail and when you read so many books you walked so many miles. The challenge being the class or group that finishes first gets a field trip with a hike on the AT.  It all sounded so great and exciting but really hard to make happen.

West Virginia was in our sites and we could not believe we were heading there for a week long workshop. I have been teaching for 14 years and one half day workshop is usually enough. The classes were great and the time we spent there was full of learning and ideas. Our group of 7 from NE was becoming closer and I was really enjoying that. 

During that week Rose and I had decided that we are going to start doing work on our local walking path with incentives to get on the trail. We were going to remove an invasive species from the path while also giving the students the knowledge of plants and their habitats. It was a great idea and a good transition from our original project. This one seemed a bit more realistic. We would get speakers to come in and talk about phonology and plants, backpacking, leave no trace and many more things. Our grant list was getting bigger with the help of Evan our vista. The idea was coming together. The walking path was the great idea with speakers, grants, 4th graders and much more. 

One week from our final workshop and I receive a text message from Rose. She wants to change our project to White Nose Bat Syndrome. I say sure, lets do it.  Our final workshop is in Vermont. It takes us 6 hours to get to Delia's house, 2AM we arrive, with a full day on Friday.  

I was excited and ready for our workshop. We all trickled into the library that our workshop was held in Quechee, Vermont. All our friends and partners in this journey are here for the last time also. Rose and I talked and discussed our options for the final proposal. We got our power point together and presented. WNS it is, putting up bat boxes and monitoring them with the 4th grade. We just needed the final part of tying in the AT.  Hikes, speakers and grant money to get us on the AT is our goal. Helping bats and relating all the science about bats to the kids is going to be enjoyable because they will have the opportunity to see real life science in action.

We left Vermont at 2:30 with a tear in our eyes for a few reasons. We can not be  TTEC's anymore, just an Alumni. We will not get to be together as a group again in a workshop. These people have become our close friends and colleagues. They have taught me so much and how to think out of the box.

All our instructors have been amazing and insightful. I hope that one day I can be as wonderful a teacher and inspiring to many as these people have that facilitated this project.