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.

Escaping the Heat

Wow!  It sure has been hot here in North Carolina!!  But don't worry, come October we have average temps in the low 70s.  But if we are still facing record temperatures, than I will certainly be sitting in on the NAAEE Conference Plenary Panel: Climate Change, Oceans, and Society!

To escape the heat, I headed to the mountains.  I have really enjoyed visiting this part of the state on my journeys, there is so much to see!  This time, I decided to immerse my turtle self into some more history of the area.  When I attended the Sustainable Forestry Teachers' Academy in New Bern, I learned all about the history of the forest industry on our coast (that reminds me... I still have to upload my pictures!)  But wow - - did you know that North Carolina is known as the birthplace of forestry in America??

One of the gardens at the Biltmore Estate

I learned that a man by the name of George Vanderbilt built this little summer retreat for his family and friends in the mountains of North Carolina outside of Asheville.  He called it the Biltmore Estate.  I did visit the house, but you can't take any pictures inside.  There was so much to look at there - I could have easily spent three days walking through the grounds and gardens!  But what I learned is that Vanderbilt worked with three very smart men to convert the tired agricultural land around Biltmore Estate into the beautiful forest we see today.  Those three men were Frederick Olmsted, Gifford Pinchot, and Dr. Carl Schenck.  These three men created and implemented what is most likely the first written forest management plan in the United States, as well as beginning the first forestry school.  You can read about their influence, and learn about it first hand when visiting the Biltmore.  

Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the Weeks Act

I headed up to the Cradle of Forestry, a 6,500 acre historic site within the Pisgah National Forest, set aside by Congress to commemorate the beginning of forestry conservation in the United States.  The Pisgah National Forest exists because of the Weeks Act, and the Vanderbilts.  The Weeks Act is celebrating its 100th Anniversary this year, and the Forest History Society (also based in North Carolina) has a great web site that you can use to help educate yourself and students about this important legislation.     

The Cradle has lots of beautiful trails to walk on and see some replica buildings from Schenck's Biltmore Forestry School.  One of the buildings is a classroom, and I am sure Schenck's students preferred learning out in the field rather than in that classroom with those hard wooden benches!  And since there were no forestry schools in the United States, Schenck wrote most of their textbooks and helped them create many of the tools they would need in the woods, including the Biltmore Stick, which is used to help measure the diameter, height, and volume of trees!

I had to get up close to read the information about the
Biltmore Forest School.  Glad the volunteers didn't mind me
sitting on the calipers!

Here I am with my new friend Cindy!

While on the trails, I met my new friend, Cindy Carpenter.  She works for the US Forest Service as the Education and Interpretation Program Manager for the Cradle of Forestry.  She has a huge passion for forest history, forestry, and education about our wonderful resources.  She even sang me a song while she played her guitar about forests! 

I also went through the Forest Discovery Center which has some wonderful interactive exhibits.  I tried to convince the volunteers that I could be a part of their display.  I also saw this huge sawblade!  Can you imagine the size of the trees that were cut into building lumber with this?

Well, I certainly had a great time in the western part of the state again!  I did also want to remind you that August 11th is the Early Bird Registration deadline for the NAAEE Conference.  Registering early saves you $80.  You know what I did with my $80 savings?  I registered for one of the pre-conference workshops!  There were 16 to choose from, so it was a tough decision.  Also - don't forget you can also follow me on Facebook and Twitter... just look for Tryon T. Turtle!

California Stow-Away

Hello! 

 I would have posted earlier, but as you know...I'm on turtle time!

 

As an Eastern Box Turtle, it was easy for me to stow away in a suitcase by tucking in my head and legs.  Samsonite has nothing on a turtle's trusty shell!  Before you could say "Turtles are truly terrific," my friend Sheila toted me to sunny California.

 

While here, I'm busy having fun in the sun while promoting this year's exciting 2011 NAAEE Conference in Raleigh, NC and checking out the state that will host the NAAEE Conference in 2012.  Take it from this terrapin, you'll want to travel to both these destinations for the best professional development in EE!

Here I am  posing with Jenny Rigby outside Acorn Naturalists--the science and nature supply company that's well-known by environmental educators the world over! 

 

Jenny treated me to a grand tour of her eco-friendly American Craftsman bungalow in Old Town Tustin, CA.  We entered through handcrafted doors featuring a beautiful oak tree.  It reminded me of the shimmering oak tree on the Raleigh Convention Center!  Whether doing EE out west or back east, we are all "Rooted in Time, Branching to the Future."

Inside we saw all the cool books, activity guides, and field equipment that fill the pages of the Acorn Naturalists catalog.  Plus, lots of turtle-themed and nature inspired gifts which are perfect for this, the Year of the Turtle!

 

Be sure to visit the Exhibit Hall at Raleigh's 2011 NAAEE Conference to meet all kinds of companies and organizations that sell educational materials to support quality EE!

Next, this landlubber lumbered further up the beach where I met another new friend.  Riley was visiting the beach from the desert region of Phoenix, AZ.  She invited me to join her and her siblings in sculpturing sandcastles and excavating moats before high tide would sweep them away.  What fun! 

These youngsters were very curious about turtles--both those that live on land and those who make the ocean their home.  I told them how we turtles like to dig our nests and lay our eggs in sand and soil.  I also gave them ideas on how they could help turtles everywhere.  Environmental educators who come to the 2011 NAAEE Conference will hear Jean Beasley speak on how she founded the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Topsail Island, NC to help sea turtles in trouble.  I'm looking forward to seeing Jean's education assistant Lennie, a blind Kemp's Ridley sea turtle who is my BTF (best turtle friend!)

Goodbye!  It's time for ol' Tryon T. Turtle to trek back to NC to promote the 2011 NAAEE Conference. I've got to let everyone know that the early bird registration deadline is coming up August 11th!  You remember the story of the Tortoise and the Hare?  Be quick and register by clicking on "Conference" atwww.naaee.org.  Hope to see you there!

The Sea Turtle Frenzy!

Every summer, folks in North Carolina get a little cuckoo for sea turtles.  I suppose it's because North Carolina's coasts are home to five of the world's seven sea turtle species!


Well I'm just a 59-year old landlubber who's grown accustomed to my maritime cousins getting most of the fame and glory.  And size doesn't always matter.   Even though loggerheads outweigh me by 100 times (300 lbs to 3 lbs), our brains are just about the same size!!!!

I visited Hammocks Beach State Park where four Sea Turtle interns carefully monitor almost 4 miles of coast each night from dusk till dawn!  When they see a sea turtle crawl ashore to nest, they enclose the nest in a protective cage to keep dogs, raccoons and foxes from interfering.  About 70 days later, up to 100 eggs hatch and the young sea turtles "boil out" of the sand.



I also visited the aquarium at Fort Fisher and talked to education staff about how I could help.  Apparently sea turtles use the brightest horizon (usually the ocean) to orient themselves at night. But bright street lights can confuse them.  Also, plastic bags that end up in the ocean look strikingly similar to jellyfish, a favorite food of some turtles.  Even landlubbers like you and I can make a difference! 

Playing in the Mud with Seagrove Potters!

In case you don't know, Seagrove, North Carolina, has been famous for it's pottery for hundreds of years.

Last weekend, the EENC Conference Chair, Lois Nixon, took me to Seagrove. It was really fun to hang out with people who love playing with damp, squishy mud as much as I do!  Can you believe they were making cereal bowls out of that clay? Lois was there to look for bowls for you to purchase and use at the conference. These will save on disposable bowls, which makes the sustainability chair Mickey Jo Sorrell very happy, and will give you a piece of North Carolina to take home with you.  

As you can see in the photo, I was very interested in how they make bowls out of mud—you can also meet my new friend, Suzanne, in the Artists’ Corner at the conference.

I really learned a lot of new stuff about mud last weekend. Those potters have been making bowls, face jugs (can’t remember if those jugs hold spirits or scare off spirits!), bird houses, dinnerware, Christmas ornaments, pie plates, decorative wall tiles, and much more for over 200 years. A few of the people we met  are descendants of the potters who came to Seagrove in the 1700’s to dig up good dirt and mud and clay for making pots and bowls.  Some of the potters still use that local mud for pots and glazes.

About 100 potteries are along a highway way out in the country.  We would see their signs by the highway and then have a long way to go down their dirt driveway to get to the place where we could see and buy their pottery.  It was like a treasure hunt.  Most of them live in very old historic houses, and make the pottery in the barns or sheds. I met a tiny baby five-lined skink with a neon-blue tail on the way to one of the pottery barns. 

After the potters make the mud into a bowl shape, it dries, then they “fire” it in a “kiln” to get all the water out and harden it before the colorful glazes are added (these are all new words for me).  

I peeked into one of the kilns. It is a big brick room, where they stack the bowls and pots on shelves, then use wood (or gas or electricity) to make a really hot fire --

1700º F or more.  After the pots cool, the next step is for the potter to mix up their special secret recipes for glazes and dip or brush on the glaze, then stack the pots back in the kiln again, and heat the kiln to about 2000º F to melt the glaze onto the pot.  I would not be peeking into the kiln when that firing was going on!  It might scorch my shell!  The potters said the fire even shoots out between the bricks—in ancient times in the Orient, this caused these outdoor kilns on the hillside to be called “dragon kilns.”  I think dragons might be my ancestors! 

After the pots and bowls cool down in the kiln for a whole day, the potters open the kiln door to see their art work!  Sometimes it is a big surprise….good or bad!  We found lots of beautiful cereal bowls on our shopping trip, and here I am, trying to decide which one I want.  Which is your favorite?  We’ll save some of these just for you to buy to use for your breakfast each morning at the conference.                       

By the way, that breakfast is going to be healthy granola (yummm), yogurt (think I’ll skip that), and fresh NC fruit from the Farmers’ Market.  Your choices will be fresh apples and pears grown in the NC mountains, fresh peaches and figs grown in the sandhills of NC, or fresh raspberries and grapes grown on the coastal plain.  You’ll have to hurry to beat me to those fresh raspberries each morning.

Stay tuned for more travels!

Tryon T. Turtle

Where are the Smores?

No smores this week at Carolina Beach State Park.  Extremely dry conditions led to a burning ban for wood campfires.  Not to worry, there's no shortage of great ice cream here on the coast... not to mention the roadside produce stands full of NC peaches and blueberries.


While we're cautious about  campground fires becoming wildfires, prescribed fire is an important part of our natural resource management.




The longleaf pine savannas in particular depend on fire every few years to maintain this natural plant community.  One of the park's most famous plants, the Venus flytrap, also tolerates fire well.


Prescribed fire reduces the "fuel level" in forests, protects rare species and can even reduce tick populations.  Park rangers receive  extensive training and only conduct prescribed burns when the weather is ideal.  

This turtle is trying to avoid too much heat.  I don't want to end up like these bacon, hot dog, turtle burgers. Grubs and shrooms are more my taste!