Tryon Goes to Middle School

Earlier this week, I visited a young group environmentalist at Archdale-Trinity Middle School.  These students stay after school to recyle, making sure their school environmental friendly for turtles as well as humans and every critter in-between.  I learned a lot about the large amount of plastic bottles and paper that are thrown away each day at a school.  Each week, the ATMS Environmental Club recycles the bottles for points through the Dream Machine Recycle Rally.  The Dream Machine Recycling Rally is supported by Pepsi Company, Waste Management, and Greenopolis to encourage schools to reduce their waste. Schools get to redeem points for rewards.

Of course, we all know that these students wouldn't be doing this without the help of a wonderful, energetic, inspiring teacher. Their teacher is Sarah Fuller-Allman, the EENC membership co-chair. As if volunteering and teaching aren't enough, Sarah owns a farm and raises and shows Brahman cattle. I didn't meet her cattle. I guess that's good because I might have been stepped on. Ouch! Here is a picture of one of her Brahman calves starting to stand after being born. 

These kids are not only helping their school to be “green friendly,” but they are also helping the community by testing their water.  They had some time to take me water quality testing in Archdale at a local stream.  This stream is off the parking lot from the school, so the kids study how the school affects its local environment.  I learned a lot with the kids about the runoff from the parking lot and how it is causing sediment to build up in the stream.  They share their data with local scientists to help improve the water quality.

It was definitely a tiring day, following these energetic environmentalists around, but it is good to see my children’s future will be protected as along as these kids keep studying and lobbying for us!

My First Marathon

On September 17th, Davidson Lands Conservancy sponsors a "Race for the Green" marathon.  This year, I hitched a ride on the back of one of the runners and actually finished in pretty good time, and not at all winded!  The course winds in and around the town of Davidson and ends up on the Town Green.  On the Green, and for the rest of the morning, I enjoyed live entertainment, displays from vendors of "green" products and activities with the kids. I was able to share information about the conference with many people, and at by lunchtime, I was exhausted! Thankfully, EENC member Carolyn Walker took me home to rest before my next adventure.

I helped Dr. Grant at the Davidson Lands Conservancy booth.



These cute girls took me around  after they got their faces painted. I passed on that because I am not a painted turtle.

I finished my first marathon. I don't know why everyone thinks it's so hard. I thought it was pretty easy.












     

September 10: Summer Camp at Piedmont Environmental Center Turtles Just Want to Have Fun

Nature Camp and Herpetology Camp at PEC

Imagine an old guy like me going to summer camp, but that’s just what I did. I had the chance to go to High Point and attend one week of Piedmont Environmental Center’s Summer Nature Adventure Camp and two days of Herpetology Camp. The 5-day Summer Nature Camp was a great experience. One of the naturalists, Tom Shepherd, has been supervising camps for more than 25 years.  The other Naturalist was once a camper at this very camp. She went to Appalachian State University and came back to work here. Some of the campers have been to this camp before and some were newcomers like me. The schedule covered just about every topic of natural history.

Each day, camp began with an introduction to the map of the day. The trail selected for our first hike was the Woodland Wildflower Trail. The Naturalists explained the 8 “tools” packs that go with us on every hike. Of course, the most sought after pack is “Herp tools” pack. It contains the most essential tools for working with wild reptiles and amphibians: calipers, scales, record books and pencils, two pillow cases, and three herp-jugs.  I learned that you can buy herp-jugs in the grocery store. They come with free peanut butter and parmesan cheese in them! The parmesan cheese kind are the best, they have the build- in flip-top air holes. I got to be put in the herp pack and a camper named Maria carried me.

With snacks in our packs, and our packs on our backs, we set off on the first of 12 trails we would follow through-out the week. Our first herp was a Fowlers Toad. A camper spotted it just off the trail next to an old log. Hard to believe I am considered within the same broad biological science as this odd fellow.  Over the course of the next five days the campers and I had spotted and documented fourteen species of herps including: twenty-one Yellowbelly Sliders, three Painted Turtles, one Eastern Musk Turtle. Unfortunately, no Eastern Box Turtles we found during my week at camp.  Campers also kept track of the birds, arthropods, fish and mammals observed during the week.

On Thursday, the campers have the option to spend the night. During the final activity of the evening, the naturalists shared stories and folklore about Eastern Box Turtles. One story explained how I got the markings on my carapace; they are the footprints of a little muskrat that brought the land-land up from deep down in the water-land to give the woman from sky-land a place to stand. You have to hear the story! I learned that my carapace is also a calendar. Each one of my vertebral and costal scutes represents a full moon cycle. The riddle is: 13 scutes but only 12 months, how can you account for the extra scute?

Herp Camp at PEC is two days of studying lizards, frogs, toads, salamanders, snakes and of course, as my pack friend from last week would say, las tortugas. We got really lucky for Herp Camp; it had rained over the weekend. The forest was moist and refreshed when we started out on our first trail. The first herps we saw were tiny American toads. Then, several campers called out with great enthusiasm, “Turtle!” A hatchling Eastern Box Turtle was walking across the trail. We took lots of pictures. This is the fourth year out of the last five that a hatchling has been found during the summer camping season. These documented sightings are evidence that there may very well be a reproducing population of Eastern Box Turtles at PEC.

Over the course of the next two days the herp campers and I observed and identified 21 species of herps, three short of the record that was set 14 years ago. So close! We found one more Eastern Box Turtle. She was captured and marked two years ago at nearly the same spot on the trails. By looking at her marks on her marginal scutes, the naturalists determined that she is turtle #33. The record shows she was recaptured last fall during one of the school fieldtrip classes at PEC. The campers and I helped update her weight and carapace measurements for the record book.

I left PEC camps like every other camper has left; absolutely worn out! I am told it is a tradition.

September 7 A Visit to the NAAEE Offices

Sue Bumpous, the program and communications manager, took me to the NAAEE offices, so I could meet everyone there. My favorite part, at least at the beginning of the day, was riding the Metro without being in a suitcase. We got on the blue line at Franconia, got off at Metro Center, then rode the red line to Dupont Circle.  I got to put the ticket in at the beginning and put it back in when we got off the train.

At the NAAEE offices, I got to help a lot of people. Dee was swamped with conference registrations. That, they tell me is a good thing. If you didn't register, you can still come to the conference but you have to pay an extra $50 at the door. That is a lot of turtle food. Well I don't really pay for my food. I mostly look for worms and then eat them. 

                                                                             


Pepe Marcos-Iga was in town from Arizona and needed my help with ideas for the 40th anniversary program. 

Gus Medina needed my help too. I think we were selecting pictures for the opening program, but I can't quite remember.

I was hoping to meet Linda Rhoads, the acting executive director, but she had some appointments out of the office. Guess I'll have to wait for the conference.


 By the time I was done at the NAAEE office, I was pretty tired. Tucked my head back in my shell all the way back home on the Metro.

Tryon on the move to Northern Virginia and Washington DC

I’m in Northern Virginia, visiting some old friends and making some new ones. I got a ride with my friend Sue Bumpous, when she returned to Virginia after she finalized conference details in Raleigh last week. My plan is to visit the offices of NAAEE and see what they do there.

But first, I got to hang out with Elizabeth Burke. Elizabeth is the communications chair for EENC, even though she doesn’t live in North Carolina anymore. She says she still loves meeting with the environmental educators in North Carolina and, having met a few of them, I can see why.

Her main volunteer job in Virginia, is helping to care for native plants at the Earth Sangha Wild Plant Nursery. The nursery collects its seeds from wild stock in parks in Northern Virginia (local ecotype is how they describe it) and then propagate the seeds in their nursery. 

Elizabeth took me to the nursery on her regular Wednesday morning shift, where I met Alison (on the left) and Denise (who is holding me so I can read the words on the sign).

I also got to meet a bunch of garden helpers from  St. John’s Community Services. They come every Wednesday and help with watering, weeding and, when there are seeds to be sown or plants to repot, they fill pots with dirt. Ishmael, one of their counselors, is holding me here, so that I don’t get stepped on.

The nursery operates on a trough system, with one of the troughs dedicated to wetland plants. If you know wetlands, you know all the kinds of critters that are attracted to the water. I saw dragonfly larva, water boatmen, water striders, and lots of green frog and bullfrog tadpoles. There were also a couple of green frogs just hanging out (they kind of hid when my St. John’s friends got too close).

The picture on the right shows a toad road one of the garden helpers made, to help the frogs get out of the water when the time comes for the herps to hibernate. I thought I would give it a try. Seems to be pretty solid.

With all these beautiful plants around, I wanted to get up high so I could see them better. Elizabeth picked me up and let me check out the false sunflowers.  Earth Sangha propagates 200 species of native plants, which make their way back to meadows and riparian buffers.

I’m helping Denise remove the bee straws from the bee condo. Denise has become an expert on native bees and told me that she would donate two of her beautiful bee houses to the Stapp auction: one for the North Carolina basket and one for the Virginia basket.

Speaking of the auction, if you are coming to the conference, I hope you'll bring some auction items. The money raised will go towards scholarships for next year's conference.