After completing the Earth and Environmental Science workshops for both Middle and High School Teachers and for Elementary Teachers (two different workshops) in June,
PFI offered two new workshops in July. These new workshops, both emphasizing forest themes, were Forest Ecology and Goods in the Woods. Both were popular with our participants, completely filled with waiting lists. In fact, both actually overfilled, but because we had several commuters, we were able to accommodate the extras.
Forest Ecology, offered during the week of July 8-15, had 28 participants. This workshop was designed a little differently from our others. Rather than an intensive series of student activities, we focused on examining different forest habitats with the same tools and techniques and collecting data. Our participants can take back the information that they collected and learned, and apply it to a study of their own local forest habitats. Since the southern Appalachians contain the highest diversity of habitat types, we had the opportunity to explore many different ecosystems. On Sunday evening and Monday, we packed in most of the informational presentations. PFI’s own Dr. Jennifer Frick-Ruppert provided “Interconnections in Forests” and “Ecology of Forests.” Dr. Greg Hoyt of North Carolina State University’s (NCSU) Extension Service provided “Soil and Soil Conservation.” Josh Kelly of the Southern Appalachian Forest Coalition described “Endangered Plants on Outcrops and Balds,” and later in the week, “Ancient Forests of the Blue Ridge,” and “Appalachian Cove Forests.” Monday was also spent in learning how to use the equipment to collect data on temperature, wind speed, moisture, light levels, pH, elevation, soil composition, and vegetation.
The rest of the week of Forest Ecology was spent in the field. Tuesday the entire day was spent in high elevation forests, examining a granite outcrop, spruce/fir forest, grassy bald, northern hardwood forest, and a wet rock face, all of which were between 4000 and 6000 feet. Wednesday we traveled to Joyce Kilmer National Monument, an unlogged forest with unbelievably huge trees and an impressive herbaceous layer. While the entire drive back and forth was conducted in a driving downpour, not one raindrop fell during the time we were hiking or having lunch! Wednesday evening we worked with the Pisgah Center for Wildlife Education to produce a mini-workshop on Bat Ecology, for which participants received additional credits. We caught 13 bats in a mist net, two of which were Eastern Pipistrelles and the others Little Brown Bats. We learned to distinguish juveniles from adults, males from females, and nursing females, then measured and weighted the bats before releasing them. Thursday was spent at the Cradle of Forestry, in rich cove forests and mountain bog habitats. Friday we concluded with a tour of Holmes Educational State Forest’s managed forest types and then summarized the data we collected. It was an exhausting, but enjoyable, workshop.
Goods in the Woods, our only 3-day workshop, ran during the week of July 24-27, with 27 participants. We had several good activities for students, including papermaking, woodland botanical liniment preparation, and Biltmore stick preparation and use. There were four different informational presentations. These included “Non-timber Forest Products” by Amy Hamilton from Dr. Jeanine Davis’ NCSU Extension laboratory, “Edible and Medicinal Plants of the Southern Appalachians” by Ila Hatter, sponsored jointly with the Transylvania County Library, “Mushrooms and Fungi” by William Starrett of Mississippi State University, and “Silviculture and Wood Utilization” by Dr. Robert Bardon of NCSU Extension Service. We also got out into Pisgah National Forest with Mr. Starrett on a foray for mushrooms, and to local gardens at Silvermont with Dr. Frick-Ruppert for edible and medicinal plants.
Our summer assistants were a wonderful addition to our staff and received many favorable comments from our participants. Austin Brodfuhrer and Ryan Fiffick will remain at Brevard College for another year and continue to assist as PFI interns during the academic year. Devin Gentry and Hayley Lawrimore, both of whom graduated, are making plans for their careers. Ralphene Rathbone returns to her position as an instructor at Brevard College. Doris Pressley resumes her role as a bus driver for Transylvania County. We look forward to the return of some of these staff next summer, but will be hard pressed to assemble a team as hard working as this one! Kevin Fischer, who directed these summer staff, also coordinated the many details involved in producing excellent workshops. Thanks to the entire PFI team for a successful summer workshop season.
Pacific Forest Institute
Our second 2007 Workshop for teachers was held July 15-20 with the opening of the session at William Jessup University (WJU) in Rocklin, CA. We were pleased to have ERC Executive Director John Hunter attend five of those days.
We enrolled 21 teachers into the workshop. There was a different mix of attendees this year with as many male as female and five representing high schools.
Following our orientation and dinner the group met for a welcome by Dr. Kay Llovio, WJU Associate Dean of Educational Effectiveness, PFI Project Director Bill Dennison and an over-view of the week ahead from Program Coordinator Mark McReynolds. As usual, PFI Executive Secretary Mary McFarland was available to provide for staff and teacher/student needs throughout the 5-day workshop.
Attendees were given a pre-test on general forestry that will be compared to a post-test provided at the end of the session to determine how well PFI is able to teach the facts about forestry, land ownership and general authority of various county, state and federal agencies.
John Hunter provided a summary of ERC’s coordinating work with PFI and the other two Institutes.
Because of the late hour, an abbreviated version of the Forest Service movie “The Greatest Good” was shown.
Monday was our first full day of classes, during which presenters from CA Fish and Game (Bobbie Winn), Project Learning Tree (Kay Antunez), CA Forest Products Commission (Lisa Perry) presented Project Wild and WILD Aquatic, Fire Education and an array of facts about strict CA Forest Practice Rules, land ownership and general forestry issues.
WJU Biology teacher, Karen McReynolds provided a tour of the University Pond where various specimens were collected and then viewed under the classroom microscopes.
An evening session provided opportunity for teachers to begin development of their curriculum, or learn basics about GPS and GIS systems from Mark and Karen McReyolds.
Tuesday morning, the students/teachers, loaded into four vans, prepared to spend the next four nights in the beautiful, semi-remote camp at Hidden Lakes.
The day was very full of new activity. We visited a Sierra Pacific Industries, Inc. (SPI) logging operation just north of Truckee, to observe mechanical logging (feller-bunchers), tree length skidding of the logs and “cut-to-length” equipment that removed the limbs and cut the tree to precision lengths, all in one operation. The logging company also arranged a special demonstration of a couple of large trees being felled with a chain saw. This is still an important part of some logging operations and requires very skilled individuals. There is decreasing demand for “Timber Fallers” as the federal restrictions prohibit the harvest of larger trees in the national forests. .
This logging operation was a selective harvest with primarily thinning of the trees from the under-story. The management plan was to reduce the fire hazard and improve the the growth of the larger trees for a later harvest.
The SPI forester also discussed the company’s use of other silivicultural practices including clear-cutting. He recognized some public opposition based primarily on the aesthetics. However, this silvicultural tool can not be used without the approval of the California Forest Practices Inspectors and includes the consideration of leaving trees within the riparian zones and where appropriate, small stands within the clear-cut area are also left for wildlife purposes.
Because of the extensive SPI timberland holdings, the company goal is to treat all of their private lands, as soon as practical to minimize the catastrophic fires that have been plaguing national forest lands over the past 15 years. It was indicated that thinned forests and plantations provide an “anchor point” from which fire crews can begin fire suppression operations.
Clear-cutting is used as a forest management practice on lands that were not well managed over the past 25-50 years. The result was that too often the remaining trees are genetically defective and/or suppressed. The removal of these struggling trees and planting of new superior seedlings will provide a better young stand in a shorter period. In the short-and long-term there are many benefits to the wildlife, watershed production and wood product yield.
A sack lunch was planned for the Big Bend Visitor Center, however our schedule required that we teachers and had a sack lunch at Big Bend Visitor Center.
We met Tahoe National Forest Supervisor Steve Eubanks at Yuba Gap. Steve once again, as he did last year provided the background on this large, devastating Yuba Gap fire:
a) How the fire was ignited—by campers, who were located and never prosecuted.
b) The salvage of the dead trees and planting of seedlings by the private land owners immediately following the fire.
c) The lawsuit by an individual who alleged that a woodpecker species would be harmed if the dead trees on public land were permitted to be removed. The end-result was that the Forest Service prevailed in the lawsuit, however the process consumed so much time, that the dead trees were of no value for lumber, or chips and are no left to rot. The trees are still standing, but will disintegrate, fall among the brush that has become prolific and the area is destined to burn again within the next 10-20 years in this heavy ground fuel, where it is unsafe to send fire crews. Thus, the land is essentially out of production for most uses (recreation, wood products, some wildlife species) and has a reduced watershed value for the next 100 years.
That afternoon, we settled into our 6,200 ft. elevation Hidden Lakes camp, where there were opportunities to swim, hike, or rest. The camp is situated above one of the larger lakes and surrounded by large granite rock formations and high elevation conifers. That evening we were treated to “star-gazing” by two of the teachers with astronomical expertise that had brought high-powered telescopes. In addition there were opportunities for campfire stories and singing.
Wednesday, Neal Lemerise from Sierra College, once again provided three hours of tree identification (dendrology) and practical forestry (siliviculture).
There were two presentations in the afternoon.
SPI Biologist Kevin Roberts provided a review of the CA Forest Practice Rules and SPI extra precautions to preserve wildlife during all phases of their forest management on private lands.
Next, Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch representatives Dale Sanders and Penny Sarvis provided a presentation about their opposition to the SPI clear-cutting practices in Placer County. They displayed photographs of the clear-cutting patches on private land. They indicated that Ebbetts Pass Forest Watch was not necessarily opposed to all clear-cutting, but mostly against the extensive use of this silvicultural practice in their area. However, brochures were distributed to the teachers that indicated opposition to all clear-cutting on the basis that it is damaging to wildlife, streams, that it is aesthetically unpleasant and that wildfires are more difficult to suppress in plantations.
Teachers were very interested in hearing both sides of this clear-cutting controversy, were able to witness the practice “on-the-ground” and hear the pros and cons from professional public and private foresters, experienced firefighters and an “environmental group. Based on that, the teachers were able to ask questions and form their own opinions.
That night, we took our Sundown Group photo and had another chance to “Star-Gaze.”
Thursday was another beautiful day that provided an opportunity to hear a Fire Ecology and Management presentation by CalFire representative Scott Witt. He verified the need to manage our forests if we are to have any opportunity to minimize the destruction from wild fires and stressed the danger to both fire personnel and home owners under the current, highly inflammable e forest conditions.
After lunch there was an Ecosystems Management presentation by California State University at Sacramento professor Jamie Kneitel, who demonstrated the reasons to consider the entire ecosystem during land management planning.
Following another great dinner the attendees completed a Scranton Evaluation and did their post-forestry exam. Each were handed certificates of completion and their $50 deposit for the free PFI workshop.
The evening was complete with Folk, Blue Grass and Celtic music by “Within Reach”.
The next morning we had breakfast and all of the vans loaded by 7:30 a.m. in time to meet our scheduled tour of a SPI high tech/state-of-the-art sawmill in Lincoln, CA; just a few miles from WJU. SPI representative Mark Luster and mill managers escorted the group through all phases of the mill and answered questions. None of the teachers had previously visited a sawmill and were amazed at the coordination, expertise and production of this highly mechanized facility.
In summary, PFI Workshop participants were provided an on-the-ground experiences of the complexity of forest management practices. They heard presentations and attended short-field trips to learn about the various tree species, wildlife management, the devastation of wild fires and the care given by trained, Professional Foresters to assure that California forests are sustainable on private lands.
They also learned that the harvest of trees from public lands has been reduced by 90% over the past 15 years and the resulting over-stocking in those forests is resulting in more frequent and larger wild fires than in earlier years. This is compounded by the effective campaign to stop all fires 25 to 50 years ago, when light ground fires would have been manageable.
During the sawmill tour attendees learned of the efficient use of the entire tree, including the bark, needles and limbs for generation of electricity.
They were told that the demand for wood products is high in California. However, because of costly restrictions on removal of trees on private land and the curtailment of most timber sales from public land due to lawsuits, more and more of the States lumber is being imported.
The PFI workshop ended at noon on the WJU campus where staff and attendees enjoyed the hugs and handshakes from new friends and agreement that this had been a very educational and successful time for all.
Keystone College Environmental Education Institute
“When we look up at a star-filled sky on a clear and dark night we are looking back in time. We are seeing planets as they existed only minutes ago, stars as they were a few years ago to thousands of years ago. In the case of galaxies, we see them as they existed millions and billions of years ago, when dinosaurs still roamed the earth.”
This is the course description for KceeI’s Astronomy course which was held the week of June17th-22nd. This course was for teachers of grades 7-12 and was the first time it was offered through the institute. Judging by the comments received in the evaluations, it was a true success. A total of 24 teachers attended this course. Of whom, 13 obtained CPE credit through the NEIU-19, 1 obtained Wilkes University Graduate Education Credit, and 10 received Act 48 Hours. There was a percent increase of 29% in average test scores from pre to post tests.
The focus of this course included an understanding of the changing sky, both diurnally and seasonally, to facilitate an awareness of the connection to the larger universe in a more direct way. Updates in the changing solar system, beyond Pluto’s “demotion”, were also covered.
Observing at the Thomas G. Cupillari Observatory occurred on two separate evenings and a field trip to the planetarium at the Scranton Intermediate School was taken. Other key topics included: taking the temperature of a star; determining the chemical composition of stars; our Sun as a star; types of telescopes and which one is right for you; practicing astronomy with binoculars; and size and scope of the solar system. In addition to theory, participants were given “hands-on” experiences and suggestions for activities to enrich the classes they teach.
John Kosek, a teacher from the Riverside School District, was the keynote speaker. He has always had a great love of astronomy. In 1974 John stared an adult evening astronomy program at Riverside. That was only the beginning…in 1976 he applied for funding for the construction of an observatory at the school which finally opened in October 1978. Since that time he has been the director of the observatory and advisor for the school astronomy club. John has taught many teacher-training courses on astronomy over the years and is also active in the NASA Endeavor Program, which connects middle school directly to NASA scientists through teleconferences. The title of his presentation was Astronomy: Doctoral Dissertation or Movie of the Week?
Tom Cupillari, Keystone College professor and recent retiree, was responsible for the development of the schedule along with his staff from the observatory JoAnn and Joe Kamichitis and John Sabia. KceeI is extremely grateful for all of the hard work that was put into the development of this course.
The success of this course is probably best appreciated through some of the comments received in the evaluations:
“This course is truly out of this world.”
“I found my week at KceeI to be extremely educational as well as a personally enriching experience – I had a great time.”
“Just when you thought KceeI couldn’t get any better…then came the Astronomy course!”
“Make it your goal to take at least one of these courses – we ALL learn by doing!”
“The information provided at this course was as deep and vast as space itself.”
“The Astronomy course provided me with a wealth of hands-on experiences and practical applications. This will enable me to share my knowledge and experience with my students. Thank you!”
Stay tuned to the next newsletter for information about KceeI’s Forests and Society course
Just a reminder…
- To view the continuous water quality monitoring sites , click on the following link: http://www.waterontheweb.org/data/index.html
- If you would like to view the Northeast, check out the live “Streaming Camera” at www.atlas.keystone.edu/video.htm
KceeI’s website is located at www.KceeI.keystone.edu
The ERC Broadband team has just submitted a grant request to the Golden LEAF Foundation to expand a medical network in the region. By growing its regional network coverage, ERC Broadband is continually improving its ability to serve the technical community, and as a result, we are part of many group's and individual's efforts to bring increased economic opportunity and wealth to the Western Carolinas.
When the North Carolina Technology Association visited the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (www.pari.edu) for the NSF-sponsored R.O.B.O.T.S. symposium, ERC Broadband was also there to offer its support. Hunter Goosmann, ERCB's General Manager, participated in this day-long event and supports this program as an e-Mentor.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Chief Information Officer (CIO), Joseph F. Klimavicz, visited the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville recently and toured ERC Broadband as well. As a strong and active partner with NCDC, ERC Broadband is continually investigating ways to improve its communications infrastructure and expand its support of this important national program. (see attached photo) 
For more information on ERC Broadband, please visit the website at: www.ercbroadband.org.
ERC NEWSLETTER – AAM REPORTS
08-07-07
Western North Carolina
The four Western North Carolina AAM partners – Mars Hill College, Montreat College, Brevard College, and Western Carolina University – have submitted annual project plans to the ERC for the final year of the program beginning October 1. The programs will chiefly focus on campus-based activities for faculty and pre-service teachers, although limited community outreach will continue. More information about these programs will be available in the September ERC Newsletter.
Montreat College AAM Director Wendy Fusco and her husband, Danny, welcomed their first child on July 7. Abigail Grace weighed in at 8 lbs. 8 oz. and all is well. Wendy returns to part-time duties at Montreat this fall.
More information about AAM in WNC is available at www.aamprogram.org, www.aamlearning.org, and at the individual partner websites at http://www.mhc.edu/aamind/,
http://aam.montreat.edu/, http://aam.wcu.edu, and http://www.brevard.edu/aam/.
Online Education
AAM Online Education Materials Being Distributed
Dr. Pam Johnson and Bonnie Jensen have discussed with representatives from colleges, universities, and other educational organizations during July how the digital material developed by the AAM Online Education Program could be used on their websites. An overview of the available resources, as well as the process for obtaining them is detailed on www.aamonline.org/info. Five organizations that are in the request process. Interested organizations should contact Dr. Pam Johnson at ph. (866) 325-8585 or pamjohnson@ercwc.org.
Professional Development Online Lessons
The recently developed lessons for educators, “Introducing Primary Sources” and “Using Primary Sources in the Classroom,” are ready for use by the general public. These lessons are available online at the AAM Online Education website (www.aamonline.org) and the AAM Home School website (www.aamhomeschool.org). These lessons were piloted by the media specialists who participated in the PROPEL workshop series offered by the Western North Carolina AAM programs during 2006-2007. CDs of these lessons may be requested by completing the online form at www.aamhomeschool.org/primary_add.aspx.
Conference Presentation
Dr. Pam Johnson presented “Change in Classroom Practices of Technology Use by K-12 Teachers” at the International Conference on E-Learning Conference at Columbia University, June 27-29. Dr. Johnson also presented the two new professional development lessons, “Introducing Primary Sources” and “Using Primary Sources in the Classroom” by the AAM Online Education Program. CDs of these lessons were given to all conference participants.
University of North Carolina TLT Conference Proceedings
Dr. Beth Coulter, Western Carolina University AAM Director, and Dr. Pam Johnson presented “Developing Online Primary Source Specialists” at the UNC-TLT conference in March. The presentation was selected to be included in the proceedings for the conference. From more than 130 conference presentations, only 12 were selected for the proceedings. The proceedings may be viewed at http://conference.unctlt.org/proceedings/2007Proceedings.htm.
The AAM Online Education program Web sites are located at:
Quincy University
The Adventure of the American Mind project has made a good beginning at Quincy University this summer. Four separate eight-hour workshops have been conducted with a total of 22 teachers participating. The participating teachers became familiar with the Library of Congress website and how to start implementing primary sources in the classroom. One of the participants, Andrew Volpert, commented "Creating a project based on primary sources has been very useful in helping me create a lesson that is applicable, enjoyable, and challenging to my students. Primary sources, particularly political cartoons, are much appreciated by high school students who tire of textbooks and teacher lectures. These cartoons combine humor and history in a way that requires critical thinking that will ultimately lead to advanced comprehension of the material."
Meetings have been held with the Quincy Public School District and Sacred Heart-Griffin to organize teacher professional development training within their schools to start during the fall semester.
Byron Holdiman, AAM Director, has been invited to speak at the community Independence Day celebration to introduce the AAM/Teaching with Primary Sources project and the Veterans History Project to a gathering of over a thousand attendees during a patriotic concert honoring local veterans.
Quincy’s AAM program Web site is located at:
http://websites.quincy.edu/~schoolofed/AAM.htm
Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville
SIUE AAM presented in two CI 407 “Middle School Learner” courses at SIUE introducing the Library of Congress website. Redbud Elementary School completed a three-day basic workshop series July 16-18th. Teachers were amazed with the resources found at the Library’s website and are ready to try out their learning experience activities this coming school year.
The SIUE Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) graduate course began in July with a brand new cohort of pre-service teachers. Topics such as technology standards, technology integration, and an introduction to the Library website were the focus for the summer term.
The Learning with Lincoln Institute sessions have been completed at SIUE and EIU. Participants from both universities will come together on August 9 at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum for a symposium event.
SIU-E’s AAM program Web site is located at: