Conservation Conversations

A River Runs Through Lindenlure

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Thu, 19 Jul 2012 19:28:00 +0000

“ 'Oh, Eeyore, you are wet!' said Piglet, feeling him.
Eeyore shook himself, and asked somebody to explain to Piglet what happened when you had been inside a river for quite a long time.” ~A.A. Milne.

Like Eeyore, I, and no doubt countless others through the ages, have been inside the Finley River of southwest Missouri. As a result of this inward experience, its waters now course through my veins, and fondness for this place permeates my life and soul. This stream's gentle currents and raging torrents have become meaningful symbols as I sojourn in both good times and bad. My life memories are reflected as I gaze into the quiet pools that line its verdant banks.

photo from Pegram Collection, Drury College

In the shallows and depths of the river as it passes through Lindenlure are the tools of earlier days, stone points, rusted bolts, and sculpted stones, which in time have become part and parcel to the riparian flow.   The mill dam itself attracts folks from the area, most seeking relief from a hot summer's day. At times, they seem as much a part of the river scene as the vultures and cumulus clouds that grace the skies above.

In stark contrast are the newer "artifacts" that some leave for others to deal with; the aluminum cans, beer tab rings, broken glass, soiled diapers, and discarded condoms that constantly compromise the natural beauty of the area. And that brings me to the point for this writing.

Those who leave these undesirable and disgusting remnants and those who bring their irresponsible and disrespectful habits with them pose a significant threat to both the well-being of the riparian ecosystem and the many law-abiding citizens who responsibly and respectfully spend time at this uniquely scenic place. Unfortunately, this has been the status quo for the area since the early 1980's, and probably earlier, as I know from having lived near the banks of the Finley at Linden from 1981-1997. If anything, the situation has significantly worsened through the years.

Throughout this time, the Lindenlure Association, a group of Linden folks owning common grounds around and including the mill dam, have made a sincere effort to police the area while managing it for law abiding citizens. At their expense, routine maintenance and security was and still is provided for the entire area on the dam side of the bridge. Before the recent dispute, it had always been the case that law-abiding and respectful people could freely access the mill dam and surroundings. However, the inflow of an undesirable element has threatened the safety and security of both residents of and visitors to the area.

Granted, the river itself and the road to it are publicly accessible, just as the street in front of your house is.   To get a visual, imagine that you are regularly sitting on your front porch relaxing, while people in the street in front of your home are engaging in illegal drug use, underage drinking, meth cooking, lewd and lascivious behavior, littering, all the while disturbing your peace in a variety of ways.   Then imagine that no one is there to disperse or police the crowd on your street. Now, throw in some rowdies that hear about the party. They are driving while under the influence or, perhaps, with a felony warrant out for their arrest. Hopefully, you get the picture.   Now for a fact.... according to a sheriff's deputy, 80% of all arrests at Linden are a result of people coming in from outside of Christian County.   It is hardly a local problem anymore.

Equally granted, whoever painted the rocks purple was itching for a fight.   He did purchase the property adjacent to the access, knowing that the public had both history and the law on its side when people spent time at the river there. (By the way, the large stones across the river were placed there by the HOA in the early 1980's to prevent all-terrain trucks from driving recklessly near the mill dam and endangering the people visiting the site.) But in order to move the discussion further, let's just refer to this perturbed purple painter as "uneducated" and "severely lacking" in people skills and common sense.

Both last Sunday and yesterday, I visited the river, swam in its waters, and let the gentle winds drift my air mattress and me into a peaceful place. I was encouraged by what I saw.   The riverside was largely litter free. The river was being accessed by families with joyous kids splashing and running about. On Sunday, five officers from the Sheriff's Department were present to ensure the safety and well-being of all.  (one of the officers was on the Lindenlure Association payroll). On Wednesday, the place was totally serene and calm, with the joyful and cooperative children exploring and taking turns jumping into the water.

photo copyright by Jennifer Snider

That is exactly the solution that we all have been pursuing. The laws that protect the rivers and the people visiting there are already on the books. Enforcement of laws regarding outstanding warrants, illegal drug use, underage drinking, littering, lewd behavior, disturbing the peace, etc., is a simple and proven method to ensure the safety of any area, rural or urban. Let face the facts. The sustainable, long term interests of the Finley River should govern the actions of all concerned now. That being said, there are people within the ranks of the Free Linden group, the Lindenlure Association, the Sheriff's Department, and the many law-abiding, responsible citizens of Christian County who recognize that our best practices for stewardship of Lindenlure are ones one that preserve the Finley River environment, prioritize community safety, and protect the character and integrity of the entire Lindenlure community.

It is a blessing and a curse that Linden is such a popular destination in Christian County. Its beauty is the lure that we must protect and preserve. Let's work together to be certain that the area doesn't continue to attract the wrong element because of our complacency in regard to totally unacceptable and unlawful behaviors. The intolerance of such behaviors within the community and the quick responsiveness of the Sheriff's Department and other law enforcement groups can slowly but surely make certain that the beauty and integrity of the Finley River Valley is left intact for ourselves, our children, our grandchildren, and all the animal and plant residents of this special place. The river community, of which we all belong, deserves no less than our best in this regard.

The Lethal Lure: Monofilament Fishing Line

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Thu, 07 Jun 2012 15:35:00 +0000

         A picture says a thousand words and so it goes with today's blog entry. A year ago, the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society was notified by the Dickerson Park Zoo that an eaglet from the nesting pair of Bald Eagles at Fellows Lake in Greene County, Missouri, had been brought into the raptor rehabilitation quarters at the zoo. The fledgling was grossly entangled in monofilament fishing line. It was not long before the eaglet died, another victim of a completely preventable environmental hazard. After our initial shock, we asked for photos, knowing that this tragedy could be used as an educational tool aimed at avoiding future calamities. Apparently, no one took pictures.
         There are no bad guys in this southwest Missouri scenario. I do not believe any Ozarks fisherman deliberately acted in a way that resulted in the death of our national symbol; or for that matter, any desirable, threatened, or endangered bird species. (Of course, if the fisherman is an ORV enthusiast on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, it's another story entirely).
         A year passed after the initial eaglet incident. Regrettably, no action was taken or plan implemented to avoid future monofilament mishaps. Springfield Parks Department continued to implement its applaudable efforts to make the area's waterways more accessible to the general public. As a result, more people are fishing at Fellow's Lake, Lake Springfield, and Valley Water Mill. As a result of more anglers, more wildlife has perished due to discarded monofilament line.

On Saturday, May 5, while Big Day birding at Lake Springfield with youth from GLADE and Logan-Rogersville High School, we came upon this dead Belted Kingfisher. This is a bird that we had seen many times, bringing abundant life to its lakeside home, incessantly rattling while flying to its dead wood snag. It beautifully graced the landscape as it dove from its perch to catch abundant shad in the lake. Today, a month later, it hangs lifeless, decaying in the summer sun. It hangs there as a poignant reminder that even when our intentions are good, our impact on nature can be tragic and unforgiving.
On Sunday, May 20, while on a GOAS-sponsored field trip to Valley Water Mill, we came upon this American Robin entangled in monofilament line.

This bird was lucky, as licensed bird bander Andrew Kinslow, skilled at removing birds from nets, painstakingly freed the robin, which flew to safety with a possibly broken leg dangling. Ironically, the monofilament line recycling bin had been removed from its Valley Water Mill site because Carolina Wrens trying to gather the line for nesting material became entangled and killed in the process.
Let's use these tragedies to educate the public and change behaviors. Please take the time to pick up discarded monofilament line wherever you see it, whether you are an angler or not. For more information, visit the Monofilament Recovery and Recycling Project website .

There are "Stars in Her Eyes"

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Sun, 03 Jun 2012 22:13:00 +0000

       As mentioned in my previous post, it was in the heart of the Ozarks that my wife Martha and I made the most important decision of our lives. We chose to have children!
       Clearly, our children transformed us in countless and irreversible ways. Both of them, Nathan and Laura, throughout childhood and into adulthood, instill in us a sense of wonder. They both are environmental educators today, and continue to teach us their own lessons about the outdoors. I've decided to write specifically about each of them on this blog.
       This is the story of raising a teacher, my daughter Laura.  Even when she didn't know she was a teacher, the steps in her lifelong journey kept veering her away from other options and returning her to the educator's path. Born with a strong will and a persistent nature, Laura immerses herself in everything she does. Even as a child, she always gave 100% to everything she did, whether it be participating in school or sports activities, or scheming to challenge her parents and/or irritate her older brother.

Laura at Elephants Rocks, Missouri

Laura spontaneously jumps into new situations, with wreckless abandon at times, and almost always emerges successful in her efforts. She has a magnetic personality and a love of life that just shows! It's a quality that I affectionately call the "stars in her eyes".
With a wide variety of interests and abilities, and a natural curiosity, Laura is determined to navigate new paths. As a result, during adolescence, it was not possible to predict the role of nature in her emerging adult life. She was raised on the banks of the Finley River, and loved any opportunity to hike or canoe up the river, as long as it became a social event, and not a nature watching exploration. Our "hot dog hunts", when we took a picnic lunch up the river to swim, barbecue, and enjoy a summer's evening, were, and still are, one of her favorite things to do.

On the bluff at Lindenlure

There is always social significance in Laura's life, and such is the case when she enjoys the Great Outdoors. She views nature as a place of beauty where people can gather to relax and enjoy life, but only when she is joined by others who are eating, drinking, and generally being merry. Instead of the quiet canoeing of her childhood, she prefers group camping and a raft full of people laughing and splashing their way through the whitewater.
Animals are in the center of Laura's existence. She often wears her bear necklace, a reminder of a memorable family gathering at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks in 2008.

Jackson Lodge, Grand Teton National Park

She befriends any creature, whether wild or domestic, that crosses her path. As an elementary student she handled boas and assorted creatures that found temporary refuge in my science classroom. Still today, she loves to handle snakes and introduce spiders to her own students. In what must have been a comical scene during a childhood vacation, she insisted that her entire family join her in a trail ride in Rocky Mountain National Park. The other three of us could barely stay on the horses while she merrily steered her steed like a pro. She is a staunch defender of domestic animals and strives to find homes for those that find themselves without one. Her own pet Bella is a rescued pug, and has clearly implanted herself in Laura's heart.

Laura and her rescued pug, Bella

Science became a focus for Laura in high school, as she won the Missouri State Science Olympiad Rocks and Minerals competition, clearly demonstrating her latent skills and aptitude in the natural sciences. It was no surprise then, after she graduated and received her K-6 teacher certification that she landed "where she was supposed to be", according to her, as a 5th grade Science Instructor. And it was in that classroom setting that her charisma, expertise, and inspiration flows on any given day. It was truly an honor that she became a science teacher like myself, but her involvement as a project leader in cooperation with the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE) set a new standard for excellence in the elementary science teaching field.

Fifth graders enjoy a brisk day in the outdoor classroom.

Laura worked as the school's Project Leader when two GLADE graduates envisioned a large project developed in partnership with the Ozark Upper Elementary School (OUE). Initially, GLADE alum Kelsey Rumley and Michael Withrow each received a $500 CFO/GLADE grant. Working with Laura and me, they developed a plan that included the restoration and expansion of an unkempt and incomplete outdoor classroom and trail system on campus. To get the project up and running, Laura and Kelsey gathered four classes of fifth grade science enrichment students and the OUE Student Council to form a sizeable workforce. With the approval of school administration and Laura as their leader, the 5th grade students eagerly gathered each day in the fall to mulch, line the trails, and clean up the area. Four outdoor classrooms and connecting trail system were carved out of the woods.

Trail Work!

During the winter months, Laura, along with Master Naturalists, science teachers, and school administrators worked with the fifth graders to construct 32 Leopold benches, 8 for each outdoor classroom.

Students assemble Leopold benches

In the fall of the following year, Laura wrote and received a $1300 grant to purchase and integrate binoculars, handheld GPS units, and service learning tools into the curriculum. Shortly thereafter, she helped a 6th grade student write another grant for the area, and the empowered young man proudly received $350 so that all of students of the school could claim ownership to the project.

Completed Project! Laura is the little teacher on the left! :)

To date, the $1000 grant awarded to Kelsey and Michael has blossomed to over $10, 000 invested in the community school project. The figurative seeds of leadership and responsibility planted by Laura and her young conservation leaders have begun to germinate and grow inside as well as outside of the school.

Following the outdoor classroom ribbon cutting a couple of weeks ago, we received a surprise closure to the project. The Community Foundation of the Ozarks arranged for Laura and me to participate in The National Teacher Initiative of the StoryCorps project. We traveled to West Plains, Missouri, to share our stories about science and environmental education in the rural Ozarks. It was an awesome experience for this father and his extraordinary daughter.

And so, I come to the end of this Parent Post Project here at Conservation Conversations. I vacillate between being so proud and feeling so humble about the paths that our children have taken. Their stories are very different, as they are, but both explore what the term "natural born" means and both are a testament to the power of nature to assist parents in raising their children.

My kids on Fidra Island in Scotland, 1995.

As they both manage their adult lives quite well, I reflect back to an early day in Scotland, where Nathan is simply content to watch for more birds, and Laura occupies the center of the social scene! Both of them are examples of how exposure to nature can facilitate child rearing. Our now grown kids are very different from one another, but their common family experiences include many nature adventures within a strong and supportive family. Today both are responsible and caring human beings who follow their passions, give back to their communities, and live vibrant lives with hopes and aspirations for a kinder and more sustainable world. I am one lucky father!

A Twist on an Old Cliche': Like Son, Like Father

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Mon, 28 May 2012 02:16:00 +0000

It was in the heart of the Ozarks that my wife Martha and I made the most important decision of our lives. We chose to have children! At the time there was no way to truly grasp how this decision would profoundly shape the direction of our lives. Early on, however, it became very evident that parenting is not a simple transfer of knowledge and awareness from parent to child. Rather, it is a mutual exchange of experiences that shapes all of us forever. Clearly, our children unknowingly transformed us in countless and irreversible ways. Both of them, Nathan and Laura, throughout childhood and into adulthood, instill in me a sense of wonder. They both are environmental educators today, and continue to teach me their own lessons about the outdoors. In the coming weeks, I've decided to write about both of them.

This is the story of raising a birder, my son, and how birds became a part of our entire family’s life. This was not because we necessarily wanted to learn about birds, but rather because of our then pre-school son Nathan’s fascination with feathered creatures. Through his formative years, birding dominated his thoughts and impacted the rest of our family. Our vacations centered around birding hotspots, as we would often combine birds, beaches, and interesting cities to make sure fun was had by all.

It is my observation that the best birders have an inborn, natural ability that the rest of us do not possess. I personally was not born a birder. I started at age 39 because my 12 year old son wanted to bird. I still work very hard to differentiate species by song, field marks, habitats, and behavior. Every spring I have to relearn much of what I previously thought I had committed to memory. Once I was a general lover of the outdoors, fascinated by the beauty and complexity of all of nature. Now I am an avid birder, but I am still fascinated by the beauty of all things natural.

However, my son Nathan, now 32, was born a birder. His earliest drawings were of birds and their cousins, the dinosaurs. A precocious reader, he journeyed to the library weekly to amass a pile of dinosaur, bird, and nature-related books. One of his favorites was Mr. Popper’s Penguins. I remember laughing hysterically at the adventure of penguins held captive in a refrigerator. In the 5^th grade, he won an author’s contest when he wrote a book about a family of penguins that were caught on a shrinking iceberg as it floated with its flightless inhabitants along the Humboldt current from Antarctica, up the coast of South America, and on to the Galapagos Islands.

I wasn’t surprised when Nathan began his bird life list at the age of 12. He didn’t begin his list in our home state of Missouri, but his interest was piqued during a spring break visit with his winter Texan grandparents in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

Nathan at Santa Ana NWR in the Lower Rio Grande Valley, 1992

The Green Jays, Plain Chachalacas, and Altimira Orioles in the trailer loop at Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park provided the magic spark that turned his literary interest into a full-fledged passion to seek out and discover new birds in the field. I became his driver, and his passion for birds lured me willingly into the field as often as possible.

It was the summer of the same year that he was introduced in summer school to Rebecca Matthews, long time birder, Audubon Society of Missouri officer, and a founding member of the Greater OzarksAudubon Society. That fall we joined GOAS, and participated in our first ever Christmas Bird Count in Greene County. We were so excited to be part of the Fellows Lake team of experienced birders! Only a week later, we were participating on a CBC team in Taney County, led by Rebecca Matthews. Nathan spotted and identified a Palm Warbler, which became his first independent documentation write-up. The sighting was accepted by the Missouri Bird Records Committee.

Christian County Headliner, June 1, 1994

In the spring of 1994, the internet became a nationwide sensation. Both Nathan and I were contributing to the new Birdchat listserv, and our collective knowledge of birds was rapidly expanding. It was during this time that we met two people who impacted Nathan’s birding future dramatically. Mark Goodman and Susan Hazelwood, both officers in the Audubon Society of Missouri, notified us via email that the young person selected to receive an American Birding Association scholarship to Victor Emanuel Nature Tour’s Camp Chiricahua was unable to attend. Would Nathan like to apply?

Nathan Swick (in the center) at VENT Camp Chiricahua, 1994

The rest is history. The birding community of Missouri rose to the occasion and with a $500 scholarship from the American Birding Association, $250 from Audubon Society of Missouri, and $250 from Greater Ozarks Audubon Society, Nathan headed to SE Arizona to participate in the VENT Camp Chiricahua for youth birders. It was a joint ABA, ASM, and GOAS investment in the future that paid off for both Nathan and the birding community as a whole, but not until after his ten year hiatus from birding.

Fidra Island, North Berwickshire, Scotland

In the summer of 1995 we took a family trip to Great Britain where we birded our way across Scotland; visiting birding hotspots; Bass Rock, Fidra Island, St. Abb’s Head, and the Isle of Skye. Soon after this trip, the demands of an active high school and college life placed birding on Nathan’s back burner for a decade. It was during his honeymoon in Asheville, NC, in 2005, that the sighting of a Black-throated Blue Warbler at close range reignited the flame that he had felt as a youth, and he hasn’t looked back since. His life in North Carolina has been bird-filled.

Birding in Costa Rica with my son Nathan, 2007

In 2007, Nathan began The Drinking Bird blog, which quickly placed him in contact with the nation’s best birders, and established him as a valuable contributor to the bird blogging world. It was not long after that he became the southeastern U.S. birding representative for the most popular bird blog in the world, 10,000 birds. He currently serves as coordinator of the American Birding Association Blog . In addition, he is the eBird Reviewer for North Carolina, is active in the ChapelHill Bird Club, and works to develop future ornithological leaders by co-sponsoring the Young Naturalist’s Club of the Wake County Audubon Society. He is truly one of a growing group of outstanding young birders who have developed their skills both in the field directly and online. The merger of technology and direct field work is their domain, and they are taking the birding world in new and exciting directions.

And then there’s me, the driver and the fortunate dad of the young birder. I am a birder today because I parented a natural born birder. Furthermore, I work with youth in the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE)project, which I co-founded and currently co-direct. The project is likely an extension of the interest in birds that developed within me when I took to the field with my young birding son. At least, I have to give him partial credit for the bird focus in this conservation leadership development project. The overall mission of the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE) is to care for Ozarks ecosystems, to develop future community leaders, and to improve the quality of life through conservation and educational efforts throughout the Ozarks. Specifically, our GLADE youth restore giant cane habitat in hopes that the Swainson’s Warbler will return to a small portion of the White River watershed. It is very appropriate that the same Audubon Society of Missouri that encouraged Nathan as a teen, supports GLADE’s work to restore critical habitat for Missouri’s endangered species and to develop leaders that will positively impact the future of ornithology and avian conservation. But then, that’s what ASM has always done. It is this long term work of advocacy and action that gives ASM, ABA, and GOAS a special place in our family’s heart. They helped to raise our son, and led him in the direction of his dreams.

The moral of the story is this. A seemingly random act of kindness, as taken in the mid 1990’s by ASM leaders Mark Goodman, Susan Hazelwood, and Rebecca Matthews, aimed at a young birder and accompanied by a genuine concern for the birds themselves, rippled outward, resulting in new and progressive leadership within the bird conservation community. Just like then, our investment today in youth birding and conservation can truly make a positive impact. Will our children and grandchildren continue the enduring legacy that Missouri birders have created and thereby experience the joyful song of the Swainson’s Warbler along a clear Missouri Ozarks stream? As always, it’s up to us. The answer lies within the motto of the Audubon TogetherGreen program: Our actions today shape tomorrow.

When the student is ready.....

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Tue, 22 May 2012 02:57:00 +0000

His song rang out like a cathedral bell at dawn. A rush of adrenaline increased our momentum as we descended toward the spring branch. Again, his alluring melody arose from this lush cane sanctuary. We stopped to capture this moment, to feel the intensity of this melody. This bird was no ordinary bird, and this quest was no ordinary quest.

This quest required many years of searching, and this bird impacted my life’s journey, even before I knew it existed. When I became aware of its existence and searched repeatedly for it, it eluded me. Somehow I sat back on my laurels, believing that I could encounter this species like the first robin of spring. By the time I realized that this would not be the case, the years had passed and the miles of driving cross country and hiking through dense cane labyrinths had accumulated. I recognized that I would come to this bird only when the species, and I, were ready. “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear,” I recalled in some lost bit of literature.
I was joined this day by my friend and colleague Andrew Kinslow. We had time to prepare, as several reports from the area confirmed the bird’s presence, but none of the seekers before us came away with more than a fleeting glance of this “King of Camouflage”, the Swainson’s Warbler. Learning from those who had gone before us, we quickly quelled our desire to rely upon digital playback. On this day, by broadening our perspective and fully understanding the nature of this encounter, we developed a more appropriate strategy.

With my lawn chair and Andrew’s camping stool, my journal and his book, my river shoes and his bare feet, and our cameras and binoculars in hand, we traversed the bubbling stream, and listened for the effervescent warbler song rising above the stream’s din. We approached the repetitive melody, settling into a marginal clearing within the dense Giant Cane that towered 18-20 feet above us. We were determined to stay as long as necessary for the bird to welcome us into its lair.

Birder Matt Andrews soon arrived (I knew him from previous shared viewings of shorebirds, and most recently, a California Gull he discovered in the Ozarks last fall). We first saw Matt following the bird’s call from tree to tree. When the warbler returned to our location at the center of canebrake, Matt approached us, and we invited him to join us. It was a winning combination!

The warbler flew from perch to perch without giving even a slight clue. We were amazed at his uncanny ability to fly undetected over and over again. However, within 15 minutes, Matt exclaimed in a near whisper, “I got him”. He patiently lowered his binoculars to give us visual clues to the bird’s location on a bare limb 30 feet above the ground, just above the canopy of the canebrake. Its long, pointed bill stood out as its most obvious field mark, but we basked in our view of its chestnut cap, it light supercilium, and dark eyeline. All three of us watched in awe as the bird sat in an unobstructed clearing, singing every 10-12 seconds during one of those “eternity in a moment” experiences. In reality, probably 2-3 minutes elapsed before the bird moved on, continuing its circuitous route.

This warbler broke all of our stereotypes for the cryptic skulker. It was amazingly cooperative, and truly did not appear to care that we were there to observe its daily activity. This experience gives me an opportunity to say a word or two about the birding world’s current obsession with playback devices. First, I am not opposed to the proper and ethical use of such devices. In fact, I use mine frequently. But, I think it’s important to note that we should do our best to understand each individual species before, and not after, we visit their habitat. Prolonged use of calls or using them at high volumes (birds hear quite well) serves only to stress the avian creatures we love so much to experience, and desire so deeply to preserve. The best approach to many species, especially threatened or endangered species like this Missouri Swainson’s Warbler, reflects the Buddhist Proverb earlier sited: “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” So do your homework, your field work, and your soul work. Truly we are the bird’s students, and our most satisfying nature experiences and lessons come when the paths of birds and us naturally converge and leave lasting imprints on our lives.

A Footnote:

It may sound like it, but the Swainson's Warbler was not the only bird we saw. Here is Andrew's photo of a Hooded Warbler!

Long before this day when I heard and then saw this life bird, the Swainson’s Warbler, I was called by its haunting melody. For several years, I traveled to the most predictable Swainson’s Warbler location in Missouri at the Greer Access of the Eleven Point River. More recently, I traveled to Howell Woods in North Carolina to view the bird in NC’s most reliable Swainson’s habitat. But the student, apparently, was not ready, and the teacher…. Or bird, did not appear.

Four years ago, the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society developed a project to restore critical habitat for Missouri’s endangered Swainson’s Warbler. The Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE), of which I am a founder and co-director, is far more than a bird camp that restores riparian cane habitat, but its roots are there in the canebrakes, which diminished in an age of reservoir creation and food plot biology in the White River Basin. With the disappearance of the cane, so went the Swainson’s Warbler. The last Swainson’s Warblers nesting at the Drury-Mincy Conservation Area, an Important Bird Area where GLADE is held, was over ten years ago.

In GLADE, we are training a new generation of conservation leaders who currently work in riparian cane restoration to bring back a species few will ever see. Even those who attend the academy have a very small probability of seeing what we saw this day. Still, these young conservationists work tirelessly for the day when the song of the Swainson’s Warbler echoes off the limestone bluffs that rise above our Ozarks streams. Last spring University of Missouri Bird Researcher Will Lewis heard the Swainson’s melody as it passed through the restoration area at Drury-Mincy. It was the first sighting since the restoration work began.

Today our GLADE alum look to an alternative future where they bring their children or grandchildren to their restoration site at Drury-Mincy to view the little bird with a big song….. The bird that is a worthy teacher, but only if the student is ready!

Buffalo Dancers, Part II

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:28:00 +0000

Ok, I know that it was taken me forever to get back to blogging after my amazing experience at the Museum of the American Indian in early November, but it seems that time stood still for a while. Only now am I getting around to the "end of the story". Although the awards ceremony became blurred for me after I received a mentor award, there were two other incredible mentor award recipients that I managed to leave out in my previous blog entry. My apologies to two incredible women.

       Dr. Shani Kleinhaus works tirelessly for the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society in the Silicon Valley region of California. A self-described Environmental Advocate, Shani is described to a tee on the Santa Clara Valley Audubon website. "Shani (pronounced shaa-knee) works to protect and promote wildlife habitats and to include conservation in local development plans. She represents the Chapter before local governments and supports the executive director in addressing issues of land use, wildlife and habitat, and environmental impacts. She works closely with our Environmental Action Committee and volunteers on a plethora of conservation issues in the county. Shani earned her Ph.D. in Ecology from UC Davis and has contributed to conservation research, advocacy and planning in a variety of ecosystems in the US and overseas."
     During her TogetherGreen year, she engaged immigrant communities in the preservation and protection of some the last remaining Burrowing Owl habitat at Mountain View's Shoreline park.
     Shani became my friend and kindred spirit during our year as TogetherGreen Fellows.   Her enthusiasm for life was evident when she and I hiked down to the Potomac River to join the "young fellows" for a midnight, moonlight, around the campfire gathering during our first training session at NCTC in August of 2010. Again we found ourselves joining the "young fellows" while in Washington, DC for the final TG Retreat in November of 2011, where we shared a meal at an Indian restaurant and endured the noise of an Irish Pub before we and Stacy Vigallon hiked across the National Mall on a balmy autumn night.

TogetherGreen Fellows enjoying an evening in DC. Stacy on the left. Shani on the right.

Dr. Robin Hadlock Seeley, Marine Biologist of the Shoals Marine Labratory, a research arm of Cornell University, works to preserve intertidal habitat in Maine by protecting rockweed beds from industrial-scale cutting. She has spent the last 10 years working with the Rockweed Coalition, sharing scientific knowledge on the impacts of rockweed cutting while also listening to local fishing communities. Her depth of knowledge of the people, flora, and fauna of coastal Maine is second to none, and her love for this land is evident in her words, expressions, and actions.

A self-described country girl, Robin's humble nature and kindness give no hint to her stellar career as a marine biologist and conservation advocate out of Cornell. For more info, go to the Cornell website or the TogetherGreen site.
So you see, it still amazes me that I have been able to spend quality time with some of the greatest conservationists and environmentalists of our times. There are still 35 more in the Class of 2010 TogetherGreen Fellows. They all have amazing backgrounds, stories, and passions to ensure that their presence in the world has a wonderful outcome for the quality of life for all things living and growing. I will remember them all forever.

Jumping Mouse and the Buffalo Dancer

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Sun, 13 Nov 2011 15:33:00 +0000

It was 25 years ago when I first discovered a book that changed my perception of everything. The book was called Seven Arrows, and it was written by Hyemeyohsts Storm. I was going through a time in my life when I was endlessly searching for meaning, and I wandered into a bookstore, where it caught my eye. At the time my wife and I were school teachers with two young children in the Ozarks, and I was just starting back to graduate school. I didn't have the money to buy the book, so I headed to the campus library. I found the book in the card catalog of the university library, but it was not on the shelves. After searching, the librarian said that it must have been taken.

Nearly a year later, a dear friend and neighbor was dating a man who had worked in the library. Not sure why, but he gave the book to my friend. I marveled at its unexpected entry into my life, and my friend Cathie and I still laugh about it to this day. After perusing it in detail, I returned it to the library from which it came.

But that is not the story that I tell today. There is a allegory in the book called Jumping Mouse about a mouse that hears a roaring in its ears. The story is really about people who are often too busy with the trappings of everyday existence to hear the song of the river, the symbol for authentic life.

And so I begin my story from earlier this week.

I had the profound pleasure of attending the retreat for the Class of 2010 TogetherGreen Fellows. It was held in the magnificent Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian, in the heart of Washington DC. It was a time for closure for all 40 of us, after we had spent the past year in each other's midst.

2010 TogetherGreen Fellows and the Buffalo Dancer II.

My fellow Fellows are among the most inspiring conservationists in the nation. This time together allowed us to rub elbows with many of the absolute greatest conservationists in the world: like Gerry Ellis, photographer extraordinaire, just one degree of separation from the likes of Jane Goodall, Dian Fossey, and many more. To say it transformed my life is an understatement.

On Wednesday morning, our last day, and before the meetings began, I took an early morning stroll in the National Mall. It was surreal to be in this place as the slanting rays of the sun peaked over Capitol Hill and splashed across the golden landscape extending down and beyond the Washington Monument. I was in a reflective mood, after three days of complete immersion in the sanctifying waters of this nature-inspired realm, the Museum of the American Indian and people who gathered there.

The Buffalo Dancer II. There a little mouse hole just under his right foot!

Arriving at the museum with 15 minutes to spare, I soaked in the warmth of the sun while sitting on the limestone bench that meanders near the building's landscaping. A 12 foot bronze statue of a buffalo dancer loomed above me. It was there that my story begins.

Hearing a rustling in the plants that grace the riparian edges of the museum, I looked for a regular DC resident, perhaps a House Sparrow. But what emerged from the vegetation was something far more curious. It was a tiny mouse, a ground dweller, with whiskers brushing across the brush, eye glued upon its immediate surroundings. It was unaware of my presence, or perhaps complacent within the normally human dominated surroundings. I prefer to think "he" was there to instruct me. So, I became a watcher, frozen in time and space, as the mouse went about doing its mouse things, always close to the living earth.

I simply hung out with the mouse. After what seemed like an eternity, he climbed upon the first ledge of the giant bronze figure and made eye contact with me for the first time. Not overwhelmingly startled, he scurried a bit, jumping to another ledge to the base of the statue. Then, as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared into a tiny hole at the soul of the dancer's foot. In my mind, he transformed into the Buffalo Dancer.

My mind reeled over what I had just seen, going back over the many times in my life that Nature had become my facilitator, easing me through life transitions, dark abysses, and everyday joys. And then I remembered the story of Jumping Mouse, who had heard the roaring in his ears, and tracked it to its source.

Fast forward a bit through a morning that featured an incredible Storytelling workshop, views of the Capitol building bathed in autumn light, a deft accipiter breaking a flock of pigeons into a burst of colorful hues....... Fast forward through another moment of clarity as Jesus Garcia of the great Northwest (what we call the Southwest) nourished my soul with a story that tingled my olfactory and culinary senses, allowing the food history of the desert landscape to come alive.

Fast forward to a luncheon, where a beautiful collection of TogetherGreen stories, performed by my dear friends and colleagues, inspired a room full of dignitaries with their undying passion and underlying joy.

And then...... "The 2010 TogetherGreen Fellows have nominated individuals for the Mentor Award, which recognizes three people who have supported their class in a special way during their Fellows year."

Diane Husic

First, Diane Husic..... simply amazing..... Biochemist. Chairman of the Department of Biological Sciences at Moravian College. World-renowned Climate Change Expert....... The list goes on and on, and includes... Brilliant, kind, compassionate, outgoing, effervescent, parent extraordinaire, writer, transcendent, the power to change the world resonating from within and overflowing into the natural landscape..... And the FIRST Fellow with whom I crossed paths at the hotel last Sunday. (We immediately joined forces, jumped on the Metro to the Whitehouse, and participated in the protest of the Keystone Pipeline!)

Fernando Bretos

Second, Fernando Bretos...... from the moment I met this man, I was mesmerized by his passion and ability to inspire. An American of Cuban descent, he touched my life as he has so many before and after me with a vision of an art/nature alliance that restores the Red Mangrove forests of south Florida and engages people in community and joyous fellowship along the way.
(I drove my wife crazy when last fall we watched a Nature episode on Cuba where Fernando was featured, as I exclaimed, "I know that guy, he's really great!" about five times throughout the documentary!) A scientist with an artistic flare, Fernando's impact extends around the globe. Again, I think: Brilliant, kind, compassionate, outgoing, effervescent, transcendent, the power to change the world resonating from within and overflowing into the natural landscape.

And then.... What? Greg Swick? How did this happen? A mistake perhaps.... But then, no, I think I "get it" ...

Thanks, little mouse, for providing me with a clue, for always being on the other side of my mirror, and for joining me in my journey to discover the source of the roaring in my ears. Thanks for pushing me to confront my fears, to plunge into the river of life, to fight against the current, and then to let go and allow its natural flow to carry me to a place of trust, passion, and peace.

Thanks for jumping, little mouse, for as we jumped together, we caught a glimpse of the sacred mountains. And we became the Buffalo Dancer, and delighted in our dance of thanksgiving....

Grandpa Greg jumping with Noah, my inspiration!

"Standing 12 feet tall and weighing a ton, the statue showcases the spirit of the Pueblo Indians, depicting a young man offering thanks in the ceremonial buffalo dance. "Native American people pay respect to the buffalo for everything it gives them," Rivera says, "and show their gratitude in dance."*

*quoted from http://www.historynet.com/george-rivera-art-of-the-west.htm

Dancing to the Beat of Life

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 14:21:00 +0000

I dedicate this blog post to my dear family of 2010 TogetherGreen Fellows. You have allowed me to explore my own vision for the past year. I am eternally grateful to every one of you, and am humbled to have received the Mentor Award from you.

"A man who has a vision is not able to use the power of it

until after he has performed the vision on earth for the people to see" ~Black Elk

I come to the end of this TogetherGreen Fellows adventure with an unwavering sense of gratitude and a renewed commitment to doing whatever I can in the time that I am given to ride this passionate wave of synergy aimed at reversing the destructive path that our species has chosen. I join with many other kindred spirits to explore beyond the horizons, to open reluctant minds, to empower the curious, to enliven the senses, and to instill an understanding that the answers to our quest lie in the heart of nature, where they have been nurtured, preserved, adapted, and refined through the spacious eons of time.

May we all experience our personal revelations in the natural rhythms, melodic expressions, and harmonic overtones of nature. May we further allow them to resonate deeply within our own hearts and radiate outward to all things living and growing. Perhaps then, our species can rejoin a multitude of other precious species that have not forgotten how to dance to the beat of life.

"Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts" ~Rachel Carson.

TG photo by Gerry Ellis, copied from Facebook
Heart of Nature photo by Jessica Eggleston, GLADE 2011

Show Me Oz Link

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:21:00 +0000

Read a compilation of my recent blog posts over at Jill Henderson's blog Show Me Oz: The Very Best of the Ozarks.

Aiming to Transform

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 19:58:00 +0000

"People say that what we‟re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don‟t think that‟s what we‟re really seeking. I think that what we‟re seeking is an experience of being alive, so that our life experiences on the purely physical plane will have resonances within our own innermost being and reality, so that we actually feel the rapture of being alive." ~Joseph Campbell, The Power of Myth)

Many times prior to and during the writing of Gold in the Glades, the word transformation has been used to describe the experiences of the youth. It is not a word to be taken lightly nor is it to describe a normal enjoyable outdoor experience. Rather, it is reserved to express the idea that something very significant has occurred in the lives of the participants. To dispel notions of hyperbolae, it is necessary to explain why the word is appropriate to describe the effects of the GLADE experience on its participants.

Throughout human history, cultures have used rites of passage to signify the importance of life transitions. Our own society still recognizes and celebrates transitions with weddings, baby showers, anniversaries, and funerals, but little is communicated about the role of these events in the human maturation process.

Transformation used in the positive sense implies that the perceptions of an individual have been altered to give him/her more clarity and purpose in life. As a result of the GLADE experience, the participant's world is perceived differently, with greater appreciation and gratitude for nature and everything else that is good. This nature-impacted perception of reality is incorporated into the very fabric of the youth, and all is renewed. If credibility can be assigned to student reflections long after the academy week has passed, the term transformation can be applied to the GLADE experience without hesitation.

Analysis of life experiences can help us to define the human experience and to appreciate the profundity of our existence. Unfortunately for teens,there are few effective educational models that address life phases and smooth out the tranisition from dependent adolescence and responsible adulthood. Effectively meeting the challenge of this oversight in education can serve to expedite the process of finding direction and meaning in one's life.

Graduation exercises have become extremely frivolous, and participants rarely use this transitional period to reflect upon their existence or life purpose. The result is that the time between the adolescent condition and the adult condition has been extended in modern American society, with remnants of adolescence being expressed in individuals well into their thirties and beyond.

GLADE incorporates activities that can serve as a catalyst to promote a type of reflective reasoning that facilitates personal growth and development. These activities recognize that three conditions are necessary for personal transformation. These three conditions can be briefly described as the departure, the experience, and the reentry.

The first condition of departure indicates that elements of everyday life, formerly perceived as essential to the adolescents, are left behind. Many of our students leave their parents, homes, siblings, friends, and other valuable elements of their identity for the very first time in their lives in order to participate in the week-long, residential project. There is a going away, that elicits a sense of loneliness, soon to be replaced by a sense of independence in the second phase of transformation.

The second phase of the GLADE experience is full of new and exciting adventures that fill the mind and touch the heart. New friendships are established with kindred spirits that share a love for the outdoors and fill the void created upon their departure from family and friends earlier in the week. The tools of personal change are the tools of the research scientist and the conservationist: mist nets, dip nets, testing kits, shovels, handsaws, pencils, clipboards, writing and sketch pads, and much more. The doors to this natural realm are many. The keys to entry are the sciences, the arts, the humanities, the engaged mind, and the open heart. The immersive experience provides the youth with a new way of perceiving. Nature is a life instructor to those who enter its domain and experience its treasures.

The third and most difficult condition of the transformation is reentry. Again, the overwhelming feelings of loss and departure loom on the horizon as the week draws to a close. How can one adequately explain with words what has happened upon his/her return to everyday life in his/her home community?

“I wish I had a camera as good as my eyes,” Jessica B., GLADE 2011, reflected. If only there was a snapshot that could express the passion of these young leaders as they experience together the sun setting over the lake.

Then perhaps their loved ones at home could understand their transformation and share their newfound passion.

Post-GLADE reunions, community grant projects, and public presentations provide an opportunity for the newly emerged green team to reignite the flame experienced during the week of the academy. If the staff and community have done their job well, GLADE graduates have been welcomed into a growing network of people and organizations who share a love for nature and a desire to positively impact the natural world through conservation action. The GLADE network has provided them with immediate access to the expertise and resources necessary to translate their inner desires to change the world into local action to shape their home communities in remarkable ways. They reenter with knowledge, wisdom, and human connections that not only ease their transition, but catapult them into a bright future with a metaphorical green tool kit designed to give wings to their greatest visions for a dynamic, living planet.

The universal human conditions of departure, experience, and reentry provide the backdrop for the GLADE project. Our goals within that context are to increase the young leaders‟ knowledge and awareness of biological systems, to provide experiences that facilitate personal growth and development, and to connect each individual to a growing network of people who recognize that our own fate is directly related to the fate of the other species that share the Earth with us. With nature as our common passion, we aim to revitalize and to transform young peoples‟ lives so that our precious natural resources are passed on to their children‟s children.

Be Here Now

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 16:34:00 +0000

Yesterday, I took my book, Gold in the Glades: The GLADE Guide to Outdoor Leadership Development, to the printer. It is a milepost for me, the culminating event in a year long journey to document everything that I could about the GLADE project and experience. It was a soul searching process. Some days the words just wouldn't come, clogged in some muddy ooze, unable to free themselves. On other days I couldn't stop them from flowing, like a effervescent spring in the heart of the Current River watershed.

“A man who has a vision is not able to use the power of it until after he has performed

the vision on earth for the people to see." Black Elk.

My personal vision of conservation has been with me for a long time. Its expressions took the form of experiential courses and projects for secondary students. Environmental Awareness and Group Leadership Explorations (EAGLE) 1986-2000, explored the role of nature in risk taking and personal growth in a natural setting. Analysis of Environmental Relationships in Individual Expression (AERIE), 1994-1998, explored the role of nature in inspiring creativity, and Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE), 2009-present, explores nature through ecological relationships, critical habitat restoration, community service, collective vision, and the nature of leadership. They are all courses that I developed alone or helped to develop. I have been a lead teacher in all of them. And, they all express my personal vision of conservation. Way too simple, it boils down to 10 words: "Be passionate. Be grateful. Be hopeful. Give back to nature."

It has worked for me. I share my thoughts from the book below.

     It is easy to view the world as it is, and hide behind a cloak of cynicism. There is always the quick wit of a sarcastic barb to ease the pain that inconveniently surfaces from within. It is not so easy to acknowledge that beneath one’s cynicism lays an idealist who sees the world not as it is, but as it should be.

     We who strive for ecological balance and social justice experience and occasionally mourn the losses in our efforts to ease the pain present in our world. Nevertheless, we passionately work to restore, heal, and create a new world where justice prevails, green space flourishes, and sustainability reigns for all of posterity. It does not help to tell us that the way is impossible, for we have gazed into the heart of the Earth, and have heard its ancient cry. It defines who we are, and it imparts meaning to our existence.

      I come to the end of this TogetherGreen Fellows adventure with an unwavering sense of gratitude and a renewed commitment to doing whatever I can in the time that I am given to ride a wave of passionate energy to reverse the destructive path that our species has chosen. I join with many other kindred spirits to explore beyond the horizons, to open reluctant minds, to empower the curious, to enliven the senses, and to instill an understanding that the answers to our quest lie in the heart of nature, where they have been nurtured, preserved, adapted, and refined through the spacious eons of time. May we all recognize these natural rhythms and allow them to resonate within our own hearts. Perhaps then, our species can rejoin a multitude of other precious species that have not forgotten how to dance to the beat of life.

“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength

that will endure as long as life lasts. ~Rachel Carson

A Bird in the Hand.....

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 02:58:00 +0000

“Hope is the thing with feathers” ~Emily Dickinson

The Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE) activity of mist netting and bird banding illustrates beautifully the moment when students truly engage in and connect with nature. In the cognitive domain, it enables students to fully participate in important scientific research. In the affective domain, it allows the students to observe the traits of the neotropical migrant, and incorporate them into one’s own fabric. Both actions serve to unearth a sense of potential within that is vital to becoming an effective leader.

The bird banding activity is part of a larger scientific research project of the Institute for Bird Populations. The specific outreach project of the institute is called the Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program. According to its website at www.birdpop.org/maps.htm, MAPS “comprises a continent-wide network of hundreds of constant-effort mist netting stations. Analyses of the resulting banding data provide critical information relating to the ecology, conservation, and management of North American landbird populations, and the factors responsible for changes in their populations.” GLADE staff members Dr. Janice Greene and Andrew Kinslow participate annually in the census project.

The MAPS project provides an opportunity to impact humans as well as birds. The convergence of life paths between these nearly weightless, beautiful, long-distance sojourners and the GLADE naturalists brings knowledge of and appreciation for the survival strategies of the neotropical migrants. The migratory routes of these birds also connect two worlds for the youth. Our own Ozarks habitats and Central and South American habitats, where nesting migratory species of the Ozarks spend much of their lives, are suddenly linked in the minds of the young people. The bird banding activity literally and figuratively expands horizons, and increases global ecological awareness. It provides a key to unlocking an overwhelming appreciation for all life and an opportunity to think about the possibilities of conservation partnerships across the entire geographic range of these fascinating avian travelers.

During the morning activity, resident and neotropical species are netted, bagged and taken to an open-air banding table, where students engage in ornithological pursuits---measuring, aging, sexing, weighing, and banding cause the time to stand still. Students embrace the experience with the resident and neotropical species. In doing so, they develop a new perspective on birds. A sense of calm becomes palpable within the group of young naturalists. Countenances reveal an inner change taking place.

They say that a picture says a thousand words. If so, the photographs of Kelsey Rumley, GLADE 2010, spin a heartwarming tale.

Taylor gazes at an Indigo Bunting while Martha observes.

Introspective onlookers watch Heather, as Baillie delights in an Indigo Bunting.

A brightly colored male Summer Tanager puts a glow on Jessi’s face.

Jessi appreciates the contrasting Black-and-white Warbler.

Bryanna studies the Brown Thrasher in depth.

Tim enjoys the beauty of the Summer Tanager.

Passion: The Sublime Elixir

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 16:37:00 +0000

“Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.”

~Henry David Thoreau

When Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE) graduates express their experience in one final word, or when they write their comments on post academy surveys, the word “passion” never fails to make the collective list. It is noted that GLADE staff and presenters often are animated and extremely enthusiastic about what they are doing. It is true that our staff clearly has an affinity for nature, and that it has impacted their individual lives in profound ways. Actually, we naturally select for passion traits in staff, in presenters, and even in our GLADE participants.

Passion sublimes in far more than a smile and accompanying gestures of excitement. When released in the proper, timely manner in nature, it lingers in the air like a splendid perfume, luring those even at the very outskirts of its aesthetic range. It leaves an indelible mark on the lives of those who risk breathing it in deeply and incorporating its essence into their own being. Passion connects those experiencing it with all things living and growing, communicating meaning and purpose to everyday experiences.

As committed agents of positive change, we long to reproduce the elixir. But what is it, and once found, how do we cultivate it? From where does it arise within the group setting, and how can conservation educators assure that it can be replicated in all outdoor learning experiences?

The conditions which precede knowledge of self are intellectual curiosity and emotional uncertainty. As youth search for direction they often head down paths that tragically result in dead ends due to our society’s emphasis on temporary and material gain, and its wanton disregard for virtue. Families, schools, and faith communities strive to provide youth with effective examples of proper living, but rarely do they espouse proper stewardship for nature or take action to care for biotic communities. The lure of a material world permeates society to the point that well-meaning adults working with young people too often advise them to take a path that will result in a lucrative material career, ignoring the leanings of the heart, which nearly always navigate in a truer direction.

Our guidance systems are flawed partially because they do not acknowledge the role of nature in our wellbeing, and they do not consider the negative impact of today’s squandering habits on future generations. When all is said and done, our grandchildren’s quality of life is directly proportional to the quality of our care for the Earth today. If for no other reason, we owe it to them to passionately act in every way we possibly can to conserve what is left of our natural world.

At the convergence of intellectual stimulation and emotion gratitude lies passion. It does not make itself known until the intellect has been challenged at the limits of its capacity, and the emotions have responded to the power of the mind to discover new and different ways of perceiving. Often, prior to the passion experience, true awareness of entities like nature and life have been obscured by a cloudy vision and/or self-imposed limitations. Passion demands that we find the sweet spot in the ocean of life, where our intellect is fully engaged and our emotional gratitude intersects with it. The outcome is a tremendous wave of positive energy. We must rise to the crest of that wave, be swept away by it, sense its power, balance upon its lip, and ride it with all the energy we can muster. For when the wave breaks upon the shoreline, all is changed. Hope is renewed, new possibilities surface, and a desire to catch the next wave rises up from within to become an overwhelming goal for our lives.

As demonstrated in the above paragraph, natural metaphors can play a very important role in the transfer of information, as well as in the youth transformation aspect at GLADE. It is always the aim of the staff to sense the building momentum spontaneously and use metaphor to transport creative and critical thinking to a higher level. Seizing that moment and riding the wave that underlies it is often the key to a truly exceptional environmental experience.

Metaphorical quotes and comments incorporating ecology and philosophy serve to facilitate personal growth and development within the participants at a moment’s notice. Native American teachings, Taoist passages, the writings of the Transcendentalists, and other nature-inspired writings are excellent sources from which to draw. Quotes and readings memorized and used by staffers at appropriate moments provide fertile soil for the stirring of the passion waters within the young naturalists, and they contribute significantly to the synergy desired.

Even with the use of simple natural metaphors such as “sink your roots deeply” or “soar”, a life tool is introduced to the young people that can assist them in fully comprehending many of the complexities inherent both in natural biological systems and in their own personal lives. The insights gained from natural metaphor then can be fused into their developing value systems, giving them strength, insight, character, courage, and an incredibly respectful view of nature as teacher. Metaphor serves to forever link the individual to the natural world and opens a new world of possibilities within the engaged mind. To connect the natural sciences to the arts or the humanities - to the stillness of sunsets or the sparkling of fireflies-- or to the inner soul or spirit of the individual, brings wellness to the explorer. At the end of the GLADE adventure, passion is waiting to wash gently over the receptive youth.

Passion does not seek to change the individual, but to complete the individual. In lives once dominated by the trappings of a shallow world, the passion that arises from complete immersion in nature mirrors the first blossoms of spring poking through a blanket of snow. As a result, the joy, the hope, and the unbridled sense of empowerment that emanates from within effortlessly unearths the individual’s missing piece….releasing their unique, hidden song from within…..., bringing clarity of vision and purpose to life.

Rescue the Eggs - GLADE Leadership Activity #4

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 01:24:00 +0000

As mentioned in the description of the GLADE Leaderful Model, it is necessary to present challenges which focus the group’s behavior on a common interest, in this case, a conservation issue, and propel the group’s work forward toward their collective vision of global conservation. We have chosen to name this challenging leadership activity “Rescue the Eggs” because of the scenario that we create when introducing the activity.

Materials needed include:

• One 50 foot length of rope

• 16 Ten foot sections of rope

• One 6 foot section of rope

• One coffee can

• Enough ping pong balls or reuse packing peanuts to fill the coffee can

Setting Up the Activity:

• Use the 50 foot length of rope to make a circle on the ground to represent a small pond.

• Arrange the ten foot sections of rope at equal distance around the outside of the circle.

• Fill the coffee can full of ping pong balls (or packing peanuts) and place it in the center of the circle.

• Place a small section of rope to represent a small island around the coffee can.

The Scenario:

Your group has been called to a Cypress Swamp in the White River Wildlife Refuge in Arkansas because of your combined expertise in the field of conservation. The Department of Interior has been monitoring the last remaining nesting pair of Ivory-billed Woodpeckers in the world.

The pair has just established a nest in a large tree.

Unfortunately, only a few hours ago, a tornado ripped through the area, killing the adult Ivory-bills and bringing down their nesting tree. The nest full of eggs miraculously fell on a small piece of land within the swamp. They remain undamaged, but are trapped on an island within the wetland. It is your job to rescue the remaining eggs. However, you cannot enter the water. You must use only the ropes to collectively secure the nest with all the its eggs and move them over the water to safety.

Facilitation:

It is very important when facilitating this leadership development activity that the group starts over whenever their actions cause the balls or packing peanuts (“eggs”) to fall out of the coffee can (“nest”), or if the can touches the area between the inner rope circle and the outer rope circle (“water”). In this way, individuals are gradually made more aware that their lack of input or over-input within the group is intricately linked to the success of the group effort. As a result, quieter individuals are forced to participate, often out of frustration with the powers that be within the group. They also are forced to focus their efforts to accomplish the task.

In the summer of 2010, I used an alternative scenario of rescuing Piping Plover eggs from an island surrounded by an extremely toxic mix created by the BP Oil Spill. It provided a more convincing reason why the participants could not directly enter the water.

photo from http://www.turtlejournal.com/?cat=654&paged=2

In all group problem solving activities, use your creativity to make up your own scenarios whenever they fit your unique ecological situation. Regardless of any unexplainable details (like toxic swamps where people can’t enter!) relating to scenarios used in leadership activities, it’s ultimately the facilitator’s job to set the parameters and even to manipulate them in order to bring about the most desirable closure to the leadership activity. The most desirable closure to any leadership exercise is a solution that develops within the group, collectively emerges from the group, and cooperatively meets the challenge of the day.

During the processing and debriefing after the completion of the activity, be sure to discuss the importance of careful planning prior to any group action. This stage of careful planning can do much to reduce the errors associated with impulsive and non-research based conservation policy. As is the case with the alleged Ivory-billed Woodpecker or the Piping Plover, there is little room for error when collective action is taken to restore a habitat or to save a species from extinction. It is imperative that these future conservation leaders learn to use the latest scientific findings to foolproof their best intentions, as the disastrous effects of the introduction of invasive species in habitat management plans of the past is well documented.

Even more important than the cognitive knowledge that is transferred during these leadership activities is the attention that must be paid to the dynamic human interactions that play out while the group is meeting the challenge. A skilled facilitator moves the group forward not by ignoring social and emotional barriers to effective communication within the group, but by addressing them individually, validating individual feelings and experiences, and finally, reinforcing the value of each and every individual so that the best solution to the challenge is uncovered.

It is when every individual senses the necessity and the power of his/her own contribution to the cause that the synergy of a successful coalition emerges.

A Place Where Science Rules

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 01:12:00 +0000

When setting up a leadership academy based on conservation principles and ecological research, it is essential to immerse the participants in the very habitat that they are attempting to understand and positively impact. At the end of the road where the water and land converge, one such sanctuary in the heart of the Ozarks exists. The Bull Shoals Field Station provides the backdrop for the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems.

Map of Drury-Mincy Conservation Area (courtesy of Bull Shoals Field Station website)

The site has a history that exhibits evidence of ancient seas, the powerful force of water, and the human connection to the land. The fossils of crinoids, brachiopods, and horn corals form the limestone and dolomite outcroppings that were carved through the ages by miniscule droplets from the sky.

Aerial photo of Drury-Mincy Conservation Area (courtesy of Bull Shoals Field Station website)

Indigenous tribes populated the hills in the White River watershed for thousands of years before European settlers arrived. This was a time when nothing but fire disturbed ecological succession toward the climax community of the Oak-Hickory Deciduous Forest biome. Centuries old hardwood trees dominated the ridges, north slopes and valleys. Fire from natural, as well as human causes, periodically swept the land, leaving its mark on the south facing slopes, the natural prairies, and within the forest itself. Short-leafed Pines and oaks dominated many ridges and savannahs, glades, and prairies co-existed in this wilderness ecosystem.

It was not until Henry Rowe Schoolcraft and his team of explorers began their journey of southern Missouri in November of 1818 that the Ozarks, its people, its geology, and its biology were documented. Schoolcraft’s journals provide a detailed narrative of a land that we in the field of conservation can only dream of restoring, but his observations have become a guide for modern day conservationists as they attempt to restore the lands and waters after irresponsible deforestation, excessive timber harvest, reckless mining practices, and the resulting erosion and pollution left countless scars upon the land and water.

In order to understand the model which guides land managers in the Drury-Mincy Conservation Area and in other areas of the Ozarks, it is helpful to quote Schoolcraft. This quote was penned on December 21, 1818.
"The bottom-lands continue to improve both in quality and extent, and growth of cane is more vigorous and green, and affords a nutritious food for our horse. The bluffs on each side of the valley continue, and are covered by the yellow pine."

From January 4, 1819, a description of the grassland east of what is now Springfield, Missouri:

“The prairies, which commence at the distance of a mile west of this river, are the most extensive, rich, and beautiful, of any which I have ever seen west of the Mississippi river. They are covered by a coarse wild grass, which attains so great a height that it completely hides a man on horseback in riding through it. The deer and elk abound in this quarter, and the buffalo is occasionally seen in droves upon the prairies, and in the open highland woods. Along the margin of the river, and to a width of from one to two miles each way, is found a vigorous growth of forest trees, some of which attain an almost incredible size…"

After observing white hunters in the area, he wrote what comes closest to the reason why conservationists cling to a sustainable vision:

“The Indian considers the forest his own, and is careful in using and preserving everything which it affords. He never kills more meat than he has occasion for. The white…destroys all before him, and cannot resist the opportunity of killing game, although he neither wants the meat, nor can carry the skins.”

Early in the 20th century, the only wild White-tailed Deer in the entire state of Missouri were confined to the Drury-Mincy Conservation Area. It is said that today the DNA of every deer in the state can be traced back to the original remaining herd in Drury-Mincy. During a very successful effort to restore White-tailed Deer populations to the entire state, canebrakes were replaced by food plots. This proved to be very beneficial for the game species, but the practice, along with the creation of a series of reservoirs along the White River, resulted in a serious decline in canebrakes and in the number of neotropical bird species nesting in the area. This decline in avian populations eventually resulted in the extirpation of nesting Swainson’s Warblers from the White River watershed in Missouri.

Map of prescribed burn sites in Drury-Mincy Conservation Area (courtesy of Bull Shoals Field Station website)

In the case of the Bachman’s Sparrow once inhabiting the glades of Missouri, habitats that once were regularly exposed to fires supported grasses, native forbs, and short-leaf pines, and were grazed by native elk and bison. Bachman’s Sparrows thrived under these fire-impacted conditions. In the absence of fire during much of the 20th century, these areas were taken over by native Eastern Red Cedars and other woody plants that thrive in the arid, thin soils and bedrock of the south/southwesterly facing glade hillsides. Once the glade region is shadowed by the sprawling evergreen branches of the cedars, the amount of light reaching the surface is greatly reduced and, as a result, biodiversity is negatively impacted.

We have come to the realization that improving habitat for one species may very well negatively impact the population of another. It is with this knowledge that today’s land managers strive to improve habitat for many and varied life forms. To date, fire is the most effective tool for increasing biodiversity and restoring the savannah ridges and hillside woodlands, as well as the arid glades, of the area. In the fertile bottomlands, Giant Cane restoration, invasive removal, and the encouragement of native vines and woodland species serve to lure extirpated and endangered species back to the stream banks and riparian zones.

The journals of Schoolcraft and the knowledge uncovered by current researchers bring us full circle to today’s management plan for Bull Shoals Field Station. Many in the conservation field now embrace a vision of the Ozarks ecosystem with characteristics of the pre-European settlement lands, and this vision guides much of the scientific research, land management techniques, and educational outreach of the facility.

Missouri State University began operations at the station in the spring of 1999 through a cooperative agreement between Missouri State University, the Missouri Department of Conservation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. MDC manages the Drury-Mincy Conservation Area, and the corps owns the land adjacent to Bull Shoals Lake where the station is located.

The back entry to Drury House is the focal point of GLADE during meal time! (photo courtesy of Bob Ball)

The flagship of the field station is a two-story native stone house that banker Frank Drury meticulously constructed in 1924. The stonework is a marvel in itself, and a monument to the fine workmanship of the mason. In 2004, the site became the recipient of a $60,000 National Science Foundation grant. At that time, the entire house was renovated, a well was drilled, and a series of three photovoltaic panels and a bank of batteries were installed to generate sufficient electricity to power the home off the commercial electrical grid. A classroom building and open air pavilion were added to complement the site and further the transformation of a home into a scientific research and education facility. Most recently, one of the original Drury stone outbuildings was converted into a lab facility and office for the field station.

The mission of the Bull Shoals Field Station is to promote scientific research and provide educational opportunities that increase public understanding of southwest Missouri ecosystems. The classroom building and an indoor lab greatly increase the station’s ability to serve the region’s scientists, educators, and conservationists. As a result, it has become a vital extension of the Missouri State University Biology Department.

The back entry of the Drury House provides a great place for creative expression during GLADE.
(photo courtesy of Bob Ball)

The GLADE project has sunk its roots deeply in this “place where science rules”. Our young conservationists begin their journey here in the heart of the Drury-Mincy Conservation Area, an Audubon Important Bird Area, and home for several imperiled neotropical avian species. Habitat restoration sites and a MAPS bird banding station ensure that both the habitat is improved, and the scientific research increases our knowledge of this fragile land. Backed by a network of conservation professionals, GLADE faculty, staff, and participants join forces in a restorative process that will hopefully lead us to a time when this dynamic area, shaped by fire and water, is once again home to 500 year old oaks, giant canebrakes, and arid glades. All involved envision a place where we can return with children and grandchildren to witness the dazzling song and stunning sight of the once extirpated Swainson’s Warbler and Bachman’s Sparrow, along with a parade of other diverse and colorful native life forms.

The Conservationist's Dilemma

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 19:14:00 +0000

“I arise every morning torn between the desire to save the world and the desire to savor the world. It makes it hard to plan the day.” -E. B. White

Of all the quotes that have influenced the way that I try to approach work, education, conservation, and life, this one most accurately describes what motivates me. I suspect that many environmental educators, researchers, and conservationists can relate just as well to White’s words which succinctly convey the essence of our lives within the environmental movement. I first saw the quote at the original Feathers and Flowers blog.

What is it that moves a person to desire to improve the world we inhabit? Clearly, the desire is not present in all humans, and it seems at times that the majority of people are either apathetic or ignorant to the threats that are ever-present and increasing. We who are purpose-driven are often dismayed to the point of utter despair when we observe a collective and blatant disregard for our planet; the overuse of natural resources, the limitless greed, and the plethora of unsustainable behaviors that result in our free-fall civilization. But we have to find a way to effectively navigate the terrain and turn our despair into hope.

This leads me to the attitude adjusting words of Nancy Wood, contained in her collection of poetry entitled “Many Winters”.

"What can I do when I feel the world’s harsh breath and know That if I stay too long in its path My path shall be burned up also
I must go back to the land again and find the eagle at home with the rock.
I must climb to the mountaintop
And find the spot where the river begins
I must lie quietly beside the earth
And find the warmth of its heart.
I must turn my vision to the sky
And find the purpose of clouds.
Then trouble seems far away
And the breath which consumes all beauty
Has passed right over me."

There are those among us who escape the “world’s harsh breath” every time we are inspired by the beauty in Earth’s myriad life forms, the utter complexity of the biosphere, and the unique life-affirming interrelationships that abound upon it. This awareness and appreciation of natural beauty transforms our lives in remarkable ways and halts the downward spiral that many of us experience from living in an unsustainable and wayward civilization. As we journey, Nature firmly grounds us, so that we can sink our roots into the fertile depths of life and extract every nuance of wisdom and understanding along the way. Our love for Nature connects us to the people with whom we share its transformative qualities, and gently leads us all to develop and enact a personal conservation vision here on Earth. The understanding of this truth is a guiding principle of the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems (GLADE), and a prerequisite for the Community Conservation Action Projects (CCAP) that follows the academy experience.

It is within our love of Nature and the urgency of our collective global condition that we find a reservoir of energy and a fire of passion to enact personal visions of conservation. Once we receive the gift of our living planet, we are compelled to return the favor to her in somewhat ritualistic and symbolic expression of gratitude. Our personal vision empowers us to believe that our actions can and will make a positive impact upon the natural world that surrounds us. Our goals converge within our human communities and lead to a deeper understanding and appreciation of all lands and peoples. Our vision of sustainable living on our planet slowly emerges, and materializes in limitless conservation action projects across the region and beyond.

In GLADE, we strongly rely upon the empowered state of mind that emerges within the participants during our week together. This state of mind must be clearly visible, replicable, and palpable in order to fulfill our mission. It must carry the young person inward to discover a conservation idea that can be enacted in his/her own community. It must involve the joining together of community members and resources, and must result in a collaborative project to improve the environment and serve as an example of what can be done elsewhere.

The challenge of maintaining this newly acquired green fire within both the young leaders and the staff long after the GLADE camp experience is one of the keys to success of the program. It is clear that interaction with Nature and like-minded peers has precipitated a desire within each of us to make a positive impact on the environment, but the farther one gets from the source of inspiration, the less likely that individual Community Conservation Action Projects (CCAP) will materialize.

E.B. White expressed this dilemma well when he stated, “It makes it hard to plan the day”. After an experience that inspires us to feel wholly alive, we are filled with the desire to take action to make the world a better place. However, the demands of everyday living soon take their toll on our energy reserves and philanthropic desires, and soon we are just trying to survive the daily barrage. We recognize the source of our inspiration, and, as soon as we can find the time, we once again head for the Great Outdoors, seeking the solace that only Nature can bestow upon us. And so goes the life of the conservationist. We desire balance, and witnessing Nature’s expressions of inspiring beauty, whether grandiose or subtle, restore us to the state of action where we can positively affect our natural environments and communities. It’s this inward renewal/outward action cycle that we recognize as the driving force in our own lives and try to instill in the next generation of leaders.

"There are two things that interest me: the relation of people to each other, and the relation of people to the land." -Aldo Leopold

We sense beauty in Life. We perceive threats to Life. We empower Life. We praise Life. We give back to Life. We return to Life.

I return to the words of Nancy Wood in “Many Winters” to sum it up.

"The rock strengthens me
The river rushing through me
Cleanses
Insists
That I keep moving toward
A distant light
A quiet place
Where I can be
Continuous
And in rhythm with
The song of summer
That you have given me"

The Lure of "Leaderful" Learning

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:54:00 +0000

"It is not leadership from any one person that is required, it is an aspect of leadership each of us summons from within. In this respect, the same qualities we have sought in one person can be found distributed among many people who learn, in community, to exercise their leadership at appropriate moments. This occurs when people are vitally concerned about issues or when executing their responsibilities. Leadership thus becomes a rather fluid concept focusing on those behaviors which propel the work of the group forward."

This great quote by John Nirenberg* pretty well sums up the model of leadership demonstrated and taught during GLADE. Let's take a closer look.

1. Each of us summons this style of leadership from within.

During initiative-based, hands-on, problem solving exercises, it is the job of the facilitator to 1) quickly access each individual, to recognize whether the individual is introverted or extroverted, motivated by thoughts or feelings, relies upon 5 senses or possesses intuition, or sees things in black and white or many shades of gray.*

2. This style of leadership is exercised at appropriate moments.

The job of the facilitator here is to communicate (non-verbally or whispering) with individual participants throughout the problem solving exercise; encouraging the extroverts to step back and actively listen to all members of the group, encouraging the introverts to step out of their comfort zone to express key concepts for solving the "problem" (often it is the quiet observer that possesses the "key" to solving the problem), looking for signs of positive coalitions forming within the group, ensuring these positive coalitions are inclusive and permeate the group and, finally, enacting authentic, real world problem solving. As time progresses, each GLADE participant recognizes how his/her virtues strengthen the group. GLADEsters then sense that one's timely contributions to the overall success of the group are absolutely necessary for both balance within the group and the success of the group outreach.

3. This style of leadership requires that the entire group is vitally concerned about issues.

Common interests bring people together. Potential participants in GLADE are screened to ensure that they share a vision of conservation from the very beginning. Since each of our students has already expressed an interest in nature and the environment, our common vision for GLADE is to literally "save the world" from ecological collapse, but we focus on a much more local aspect of that vision.

4. This style of leadership focuses on behaviors which propel the work of the group forward.

Once the momentum and energy of the collective vision is unleashed, each individual senses the power of his or her personal vision of conservation. During the week-long residential academy, participants restore two acres of Giant Cane riparian habitat to increase biodiversity and provide rich habitat for Swainson's Warbler, a species that once nested here.

Riding a wave of empowerment, the young leaders return to their home communities to develop their own Conservation Action Project, and GLADE provides grant money, expertise, and support to get their projects off of the ground.

We continue to ride the wave of passionate synergy as far as it will take us, and we are all, planners and participants alike, excited about where it has taken us so far. Summer of 2009 GLADE alum are still riding the wave of conservation with us, and their ripples have created new concentric circles reaching outward to groups like the Springfield Plateau Master Naturalists, Community Foundation of the Ozarks, Girl Scouts, and others. What we are seeing is that these young GLADE leaders, working within a supportive network of community and conservation activists, have an incredible ability to profoundly and positively impact their rural communities.

Within the GLADE community of planners and participants, we have become "leaderful"*, and our regional communities have been eager to join our young leaders in their leaderful projects aimed at conserving and preserving both an environment and a way of life here in the Ozarks. Our actions today will shape tomorrow.

*Nirenberg, J. (1993). The living organization: Transforming teams into workplace communities. Homewood, IL: Business One Irwin.

*Meyers-Briggs Type Indicator

*Sandmann, L. (1995). A framework for 21st century leadership. Journal of Extension.

Teach Your Parents Well

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:59:00 +0000

Today it's official. The news will be released to the media that 40 people from all across the nation have been awarded a 2010 TogetherGreen Fellowship from Audubon. I find myself among this tremendously talented and amazing group, and it's all more than a little bit humbling.

Since my task in the coming year is to write a guidebook for conservation leadership academies, it is helpful for me to reflect upon the events in my life that led me to this point. My own love for the outdoors goes back a long way, when as a child I'd sit in a duck blind in the middle of the Central Flyway watching seemingly endless strings of ducks and geese passing overhead, extending to all of the horizons; east, west, north, and south. I was a watcher, never quite understanding the passion of hunting that my father and older brother possessed, but the majesty of the scene unfolding around me touched me deeply.

During college, I would wander through the Flint Hills, where I honed my nature skills while I was a Biology major at Emporia State University. I found my loving wife there, and together we gravitated toward the land, becoming part of the "back to the land" culture of the early '70's. After graduation, we moved to Missouri where we taught school in remote areas of the Ozarks.

It was in the heart of these hills that we made the single most important decision of our life. We chose to have children! First, we thoughtfully weighed whether we should bring children into this troubled world, then we analyzed what we had to offer as parents, and then we simply said "what the hay", and took the plunge. There was, at the time, no way to truly grasp how this decision would profoundly shape the direction of our own lives. Our children unknowingly shaped us in countless and irreversible ways. And that leads me to the topic of this blog. Our children..... and how they "taught their parents well".

Nathan was a watcher from the beginning. He would sit for long periods of time, seemingly extracting every nuance and morsel from the objects in his world. Content to play on the floor for hours, his first notable passion was for trucks. "Eighteen wheeler!" he would shout from the center seat of the 66 Chevy truck, where his unbelievably irresponsible parents let him stand up, unfettered by a seat belt in the old pickup.

And I have to mention Nathan's interest in birds.......that is second only to parenting in time spent in his life these days. Well, I found his sketchings of birds and mammals that date back to when he was three, so I guess it's been there a while. I can't say that he pointed out the birds and "cawed" as crows pass like his son Noah is doing these days, but he knew they were out there from a very early age. We would quietly approach the herons of the Finley River, with as much stealth as one can muster in an aluminum canoe. And it was his interest that led us both to the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society.

And then there came Laura! Laura was an active participant in everything she did, and still is! She would run though the forest, scattering leaves and birds ahead of her, shouting in joy, much to her brother's dismay. She loved plunging in the river, banging her paddle against the side of the aluminum canoe, joyfully and fearlessly experiencing everything she encountered. Her infectious smile masked her sense of mischief, and her magnetism always turned peoples' heads her way. She was, and is, always at play, and her playground is the great outdoors!

Yes, early on it became very evident to Martha and me that this parenting thing clearly was not a simple transfer of knowledge and awareness from parent to child, but was a mutual exchange of experiences that would change all of us forever.

Our love for Nature did not diminish. It flourished with every family outing and vacation, where we balanced the interests of our children The formula was to go to the birds, to the ocean (or mountains), and to the city. Examples included Bentsen Rio Grande, South Padre, and San Antonio: Ding Darling, Sanibel Island, and Orlando: Bass Rock, Isle of Skye, and Edinburgh: Laramie grasslands, Yellowstone National Park, and Denver. The theme seemed to work, as we strived to balance all of our family vacation requirements with each outing.

Laura and Nathan on Fidra Island, N. Berwick, Scotland. 1995

On the Isle of Skye, Scotland 1995

Edinburgh, Scotland, 1995

And so, that brings me to today. Nathan now works at a museum, and Laura is a 5th grade science teacher. Although very different, each of their lives embraces the outdoors and expresses it in a way that either came naturally, or was tweaked a bit by their upbringing. I suspect much of both.

Nathan's passion is for the birds that have always captivated his interest, and he actively shares his knowledge and awareness with the world over at The Drinking Bird blog and on the Nature Blog Network. He encourages young people in their love for nature through his sponsorship of the Wake Audubon Naturalist's Club and serves on the board of Wake County Audubon.

Laura now works tirelessly to bring the wonder of science and the outdoors to her promising young 5th graders. She is currently the school's Project Leader in a joint Ozark Upper Elementary/GLADE community grant project involving the development of a trail system, an outdoor classroom area, and all the good stuff that goes with it. I'm excited to work directly with her and her students as we join together to build a site where young naturalists can explore, play, and discover the wonders of Nature.

I celebrate a great honor today as a 2010 TogetherGreen Fellow, and I want to extend my honor to my wife Martha and two wonderful adult children, who made it possible. Therefore, I dedicate this fellowship to Nathan and Laura, who individually taught me to "observe and listen..... to see for the first time what has always been there", and to "dive in and play....... so that you can always feel the joy that life has to offer". The truth is: None of this would have happened to me if both Nathan and Laura didn't have an uncanny ability to "teach their parents well". For this, I am forever grateful.

A Feather in the Circle

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 16:21:00 +0000

We can all benefit from understanding how events in our lives paint the walls of our individual worlds in different colors, so that we can further understand how one's perception of an object or idea may very well be diametrically opposed to another person's perception. It is this understanding that is the first step in breaking down the walls that separate us from each other and from the natural world around us, and it is the first lesson in the GLADE's leadership curriculum.

I got the idea for this activity in a wonderful book of Native American teachings called Seven Arrows by Hyemeyohsts Storm, and modified it to meet my curricular needs. (It is a story in itself how this book came into my hands, but I'll save that for another blog entry.) There is a wise short story in the book called The Story of Jumping Mouse, which I occasionally use in outdoor education opportunities, but today I want to share:

A Feather in the Circle

ECOLEAD Activity #1

1. Place a feather in the center of the circle of people, or pass it around the circle. (Remember that most bird feathers are illegal to possess. I recommend using a game bird such as the Wild Turkey.)

2. Have each of the participants share the "one word" that comes to mind when they "see" the feather.(responses will range from light to dark, freedom to lost, bird to alone, etc.)

3. Discuss the responses.

4. Facilitation:  I have placed a feather in the middle of our circle, and each of you responded in different ways. Why?
It is important for us to realize that each and every one of our previous experiences in life in some way affects the "way" in which we perceive this feather. For instance, one of you may be near-sighted and the feather does not appear in sharp focus, as it does for others. One of you may be seeing only one side of the feather, while another may see the opposite side.   So, physical differences can influence the "way" in which you see the object.
But it doesn't stop there. One of you may have had first hand experience with a Wild Turkey, perhaps you successfully shot one of these birds during hunting season. In that case, there is an emotional experience tied to your "way" of perceiving the feather, and it is very different from the experience that the person next to you may have had with the same species while watching it spread its tail feathers in a courtship display. Or a third person may have had no experience at all associated with Wild Turkeys or their feathers.
Because of our different experiences in life, any particular object or event may appear totally different when viewed by different people. For instance, I hate roller coasters, but some of you undoubtedly love them, and some don't care one way or another. I love snakes and spiders, but some of you fear them greatly. How did that come to be?   Through our own unique experiences in life, which paint the way we perceive everything in the entire world!

Summer 1986

Even with a concrete, tangible object, there are many, many ways of "seeing". But, what if the idea were an abstraction? an idea? a concept? a feeling? Then the whole process becomes even more complicated when we try to communicate it to the other members of our group. And, the number of different perceptions and the difficulty in communicating them becomes infinitely more complex as we increase the number of people in our group. Imagine looking at these perceptions and communicating them among all the peoples of the world..... Guess that why it's so chaotic out there!

So, in GLADE, this is our beginning point of reference. All the events of your life, totally unique to you, have led you to this point of convergence, where you will spend a week with these people....... in this metaphorical circle. Although we are very different from one another, we have been brought to this place in time, where we will learn and share with one another, and we will find and explore that which has brought us together.

We need every one of your perceptives to fully understand what it means for us to work together toward a common vision of a better world. We know one thing for sure, we share a love for nature and the outdoors. So we will strive to become keen sensors and observers..... eager to experience and share what Nature has to teach us about ourselves and the world around us. We await the winds that will carry us to a more lofty perch.

Summer, 1986

p.s. Readers, just a reminder that all the events and experiences of your life have led you to this blog today, so join in on the conversation! We need the input of all to "see" the way clearly to a just sustainable world for all....

From Where I Stand

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 16:39:00 +0000

Being an environmental educator for 34 years, I have advocated for alternative energy use, habitat restoration, wilderness preservation, as well as justice issues relating to conservation, and have incorporated these issues into science and gifted curriculum.

But this interaction within the public school system is clearly not enough to enact the changes that we need in this area of public policy. We need hands on, experiential learning environments for our young people to develop the ideas that will lead us into a just sustainable future.

Working with secondary students in the areas of science and gifted education has allowed me to touch the future in many ways that are unseen during the years in which I share my classrooms and expertise. I suspect that many of my students have the potential to create ideas that can become the foundations for true sustainability. My former students Marla Marcum and Tory Pegram, among others, have confirmed my suspicions.

Now that the magnitude of our environmental degradation and the lack of just sustainability everywhere is rapidly demanding action, I envision many youth conservation and justice leadership projects that bring together diverse, bright, young people from all over the world to help them acquire in-depth awareness of social and environmental issues, and more importantly, the leadership skills necessary to infuse our society with just democratic principles and sustainable conservation practices.

Knowledge, awareness, critical thinking skills, and effective leadership among our very brightest will unleash a myriad of possible solutions to our current and future challenges. This knowledge, awareness, critical thinking skills, and effective grass roots leadership training instilled in innovative "leadership academies" will ensure that young people will return to their communities as committed citizens, engaging in the areas of just environmental public policy, alternative energy sources, climate change, habitat preservation/restoration projects, poverty, injustice, water and land use challenges, and many other related issues.

I am the Director of one such prototype model of a community-based, service learning, mentor-backed habitat restoration project called the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems. This residential project is funded by a grant from the TogetherGreen Program, a National Audubon Society project funded by Toyota Motors with additional funding from the Greater Ozarks Audubon, Missouri State University, and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks. It recruits 16 bio-regionally based high ability students each year to participate in an effort to increase biodiversity by restoring habitat that once supported two of Missouri's endangered species, Swainson's Warbler and Bachman's Sparrow. It's most compelling mission, however, is to develop within these young people the desire to lead, and to take an active role in sustaining and creating diverse habitat and responsible stewardship in this beautiful place called the Ozarks.

In the coming year, I will be engaging in an effort to put in writing the key components that I see as necessary in order to develop community-based conservation leaders. Although my writings may seem random and repetitive here at Conservation Conversations, I hope that ultimately I can distill this raw material into an informative guide for planners, educators, and conservationists interested in the future of leadership development.

Flower Power

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:45:00 +0000

GLADE curriculum planners believe that it is very wise during our lives to become appreciative of and connected with the myriad expressions of life around us. Many learning activities within GLADE draw upon this idea.

Nothing seems to transform young naturalists more than connecting with a wild, wonderful, and living creature on a personal level. It is in this experience, where intellect meets emotion, that love for Nature blossoms. A bird in the hand has that power, so GLADE uses bird mist netting and banding to touch young lives in a remarkable way. But there are infinite natural examples where Nature becomes the teacher, and, with a touch of facilitation, it takes the learner to the place where passion lies. In that moment, where intellect gives way to emotion for just an instant, all is made new.

Rudbeckia sp., Black-eyed Susan, is a member of the family Asteraceae (composite group of flowers). The biology of the composite is complex, but let’s make it simple. Within each individual composite “flower” is the simultaneous blooming of many flowers, all with the essential flower parts for reproduction of the species, differentiated into disc and ray flowers, and displaying its stunning beauty in a resulting synergy of form, color, structure, and shape.

Any representative of the composite family2 can be used to teach characteristics of effective human groups.

This is how I do it in GLADE.

1. Place a “flower” in the middle of the circle, or pass it around the circle of participants. Ask the individuals to describe the object in one word only. (Responses will range, but you’ll usually get “flower” or “yellow” or other simple responses. You might get some profound responses, too.)

2. After all the participants respond, pick up the object and praise the responses, but then say “Let’s look closer”. Explain to participants that within each individual composite “flower” are the simultaneous blooming of many flowers, all with the essential flower parts for reproduction of the species, differentiated into disc and ray flowers, and displaying its stunning beauty in a resulting synergy. Pull individual flowers out and pass them around for the participants to see firsthand the pistil, stamens, etc. of each flower.

3. Then take it to the next step: “Notice that they all bloom at once. There is no “one” flower that decides to blossom on its own, and if it did, it certainly would not be a beautiful flower. No, this is a large number of individual flowers, all feeling a “natural impulse” to grow. Each flower supports the other, providing a strong framework for “reaching to the sky” Each individual flower fills its specific niche in the whole, and continues moving toward the common goal, the spread of the seed so that the process can repeat itself. It’s synergy, pure and simple.” And that’s how it works with humans, too.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~Margaret Mead

4. This “flower” can serve as a living example for human beings. We first must feel our own natural impulse to grow into responsible and caring human beings. We must then find those who share our collective vision for a better world. We must put aside our differences in order to support individuals, realizing that the odds of us all succeeding are greatly improved by taking care of each other. We each have our niche, and are responsible to the group to speak up or take action when the collective vision calls for it. Therefore, we are all leaders, our group is “leaderful”. When our collective vision is fulfilled, we spread seeds that can sprout in “fertile ground” and expand our vision of a just, sustainable and healthy world.

5. Follow up activity:

a. Arrange the students in a circle in a large grassy area. Ask them to sit down. Once seated completely, ask them to stand up. (a few laughs and “whats?”). “Now standing up by yourself can be pretty easy, but standing up with another person can be trickier”.

b. Have them pair up, sit down, and try to stand up together, face to face, with arms or hands connected.

c. When successful with 2, try 4. Remember to try to stand up face to face, with the entire circle connected by hands and/or arms.

d. Complete the exercise with the entire group. (12-16 is ideal) There will be many failed attempts, lots of laughter, and finally success. Here’s a message that I use to facilitate the process, but not until many unsuccessful and funny minutes have passed. “You know, people, sometimes you just have to back away for a moment to observe, and then see for the “first” time what has always been there.” (I say this because the flower example makes them think that they must be in a circle to solve the challenge. Some groups can do it in a circle, but most find an easier configuration.) Some groups find wonderful “inside circles and outside circles” configured in a way that they are all face to face, connected and circular. (that’s my favorite way to solve it) There are many solutions…. DON’T GIVE HINTS! JUST ENCOURAGE, especially the quieter members of the group, because the answer must come from within the group in order to empower them and transfer the lessons effectively to the remaining activities.

6. Processing: After each activity it is important to reflect upon the exercise to move the group forward to a more mature state. I do this by asking 3 questions:

a. What happened during the activity? Let participants speak freely. Encourage quiet members to speak. Politely encourage dominant members to allow others to speak. Point out the person(s) whose ideas or encouraging comments lead to solution of the challenge. Try to achieve a positive consensus.

b. What does it mean? Again, let participants speak freely. Encourage quiet members to speak. Politely encourage dominant members to allow others to speak. Try to achieve a positive consensus.

c. Where do we go from here? ? Again, let participants speak freely. Encourage quiet members to speak. Politely encourage dominant members to allow others to speak. Try to achieve a positive consensus.

d. Reinforce the power of an individual’s role in the collective vision. Try to encourage active listening, so that the group can hear and respond to that “quiet person” who has the “key insight” to move the group to better understanding and toward the common goal. “We do not have a single leader, rather, we are LEADERFUL.” And in each of the following activities:

Reiterate, Reinforce, Encourage, Empower, Enact!

And, that is grassroots leadership training, GLADE style!

1 Engaging Communities of the Ozark in Leadership and Environmental Awareness Development

2 I usually use a marigold or a zinnia, as they are easily dissected into parts

This I Believe

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 17:44:00 +0000

"Never has the need for personal philosophies of this kind been so urgent." Edward R. Murrow, 1951.

As a secondary gifted instructor, I was always trying to uncover meaningful activities for my students: activities that they could take with them into the real world, that had to potential to guide them down the path, and to help them regain their balance when necessary. This is where the "This I Believe" project hit the mark.

In 1951, Edward R. Murrow created a unique radio broadcast where well-known, as well as ordinary, people from around the nation and world took the time to reflect upon and write down their core values and beliefs. These were then condensed down to a 350-500 word essay, and delivered on radio by the individuals who wrote them.

The project was revived by NPR and is still going strong at the This I Believe website. Guidelines are archived there, and one can still submit their essay. Collections of essays are heard on NPR, found on CDs and logged in books.

When a teacher gives an assignment that requires a great deal of difficult critical thinking and personal insight, it is always best to join the students in the process. This guarantees that they will put the necessary time and effort into the process. And so, I offer my "This I Believe" essay. It has everything to do with what I do and who I am. It is a starting point for me as I begin a year-long process of reflection: in hopes of discovering my own voice within the conservation movement.

This I Believe Essay

written on December 3, 2008

I am thrilled by the sight of birds.
I’ve looked for birds all across America and abroad, and I’ve actually fit my curious pastime into every family vacation. I have birded in Scotland, where the islands are covered with magnificent sea birds, and in Costa Rica, where a plethora of distinct habitats provide countless avian niches. I bird in ordinary places, too. Each trip to the grocery store or the mailbox is an adventure, adding excitement to my life.

But that does not tell the whole story. I have discovered that birds have become an integral part of my belief-value system, adding purpose to my life.

I believe that the more we open our minds to learn about and care for the bird species that inhabit every corner of the earth, the more likely we are to open our minds and hearts to all forms of life on Earth, including the lives of our own human brothers and sisters.

I could tell you that the tiny warblers migrating through the Ozarks each spring are jewels that display every color of the rainbow in shimmering iridescence and striking brilliance. It's the same with our fellow humans, whose cultures, religions, customs, and lifestyles are also precious gems, mirroring Nature and painting the Earth in rainbow hues.

I recently became part of an effort to train environmental leaders for the future through TogetherGreen, a nationwide National Audubon Society program funded by Toyota Motors. Our grant resulted in G.L.A.D.E., the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems. The avian connection with the academy is the drab, secretive Swainson’s Warbler, whose numbers have plummeted in the White River watershed of southwest Missouri after its Giant Cane riparian home has been destroyed by human activities.

During the academy, “green” leaders in grades 10 and 11 are restoring Swainson’s Warbler habitat by replanting Giant Cane in strategic locations. These teens practice a science that places great value on a drab, secretive, brown bird, and they take significant action to provide proper habitat for it. The Swainson's Warbler is hardly a poster species for a great environmental movement, but that is just the point.

I believe that a society that teaches its children to care for and value inconspicuous species will reap the rewards in positive, altruistic adults that value each other and all life on Earth. Mahatma Gandhi once said the “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated". Jesus of Nazareth asserted: “as you do unto the least of these, you do unto me.”

So, the Swainson’s Warbler, along with countless other threatened and endangered species should be placed on the human species’ “least of these” list. After all, we share the Breath of Life together with all living things, including all the warblers and all the humans. Each has a necessary niche; to gain nourishment from and to give support to all Life surrounding it.

Life is a miraculous gift and a wise teacher. Nature provides infinite examples that can guide us to a sustainable future: a future that will nurture many generations of our grandchildren. It will take a great deal of human ingenuity and humility, but, rest assured, it is possible if we come together, and then, display our finest feathers.

I believe, like my beloved birds, that we can fly with grace and beauty, to a high precipice, where we can look out upon the whole Earth and cherish the gift of life with which we alone have been entrusted.

*photo of Swainson's Warbler from birdspix.com

Engaging Communities of the Ozark in Leadership and Environmental Awareness Development* Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 02:16:00 +0000

We who live in the Ozarks believe that it is one of the best kept secrets in America. Don't tell anyone, but we have clean air, clear water, beautiful forests, lakes, caves, prairies, and streams. Our cost of living is practically the lowest in the nation, and our economy is diversified with tourism playing a large role in the balance. So, as a conservationist, our case is not nearly as hard to sell as it might be in other parts of the country.That is not to say that we don't have our problems. We have extremely vulnerable water due to the Karst nature of our terrain. We have the scars of overdevelopment and the remains of mountains, whose tops have been leveled for commercial development.

This is all the more reason why we need projects like GLADE, the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems. And, of course, we'd like for GLADE to become a model for other communities. And so I begin Part 2 of my "Rehearsal for Success" presentation. I begin where Part 1 left off.

GLADE empowers youth and produces concerned, active citizens. One of our alum currently serves on the Sparta, Missouri, park board as the small town plans its very first municipal park. JJ has big plans for a native plant garden at the entrance to the park, and two other GLADE alum have already placed Bluebird nest boxes around the perimeter of the park. Advanced Biology students at the high school will monitor the nests, and contribute their data through their engagement in citizen science.

Exposure to GLADE curriculum results in responsible guardianship of our natural resources. GLADE alum Sarah and Amy have developed and constructed the largest rain garden project in Springfield, Missouri, designed to eliminate an extensive, environmental runoff problem in their school's parking lot.

GLADE's leadership model encourages youth to make positive contributions to their communities by offering its participants grants to develop conservation action plans in their own rural towns. Our young people have set up school-wide recycling programs, water retension projects, reuseable grocery bag programs, lakeshore clean ups, children's library gardens, grow native gardens, bluebird nest box trails, and more.

The young people of the Ozarks are our most precious resource. Our investment in them is critical to the well-being of our wildlife, land, and water resources. They are our flowers, if you will, and we, as a supportive and responsible adult community, must provide them with the fertile ground, the roots, and the stems to support their continued blossoming.

The GLADE project can turn promising fledglings into fully fledged and responsible leaders.

Leadership develops across many disciplines. Did I mention that possibly the only reason Edwin Hubble was able to achieve on such a grand scale is that he had an platform to develop and display his leadership. He was an athlete. He held the state record for high jump and won 7 gold and 3 silver medals in a single track/field meet after he moved to Illinois in 1905.

Not all of our brilliant rural young people have the opportunities that athletes have in the Ozarks. They may dream of being scientists and community leaders, but in remote areas of the Ozarks, they need programs like GLADE to encourage and support their dreams.

The years will pass quickly, and our future will reveal itself. Here are two possible scenarios for the Ozarks. One, a land with clear streams and clear heads providing vibrant, community-based leadership, and one in which the very things that we value have disappeared , and our most promising young leaders trapped in poverty without the skills needed to move forward.

Let's be sure that we guard and nourish our precious resources: our lands, our waters, our wildlife. And most importantly of all, let's nourish and prepare our young people to be our leaders of tomorrow.

Just as sure as the seasons change in the Ozarks, we will need perennial support for the GLADE project. $1000/year will provide the GLADE experience for 1 young leader/year for as many years as you are willing to support the project. Please consider a long term INVESTMENT* in GLADE.

*ECOLEAD - Engaging Communities of the Ozarks in Leadership and Environment Awareness Development - rights reserved by the Greater Ozarks Audubon Society GLADE project.

*poverty in the Ozarks photo from the movie "Winter's Bone". Be sure to see it when it comes to your town.

*for more info, contact grswick (at) gmail.com

Engaging Communities of the Ozarks in Leadership and Environmental Awareness Development* Pt. 1

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 17:07:00 +0000

GLADE, the Green Leadership Academy for Diverse Ecosystems, has the ability to bring people and organizations together with a shared vision of active, young, community-based leaders. It was created in the Ozarks, developed in the Ozarks, and takes place in the Ozarks. We now enter a challenging time with our goal to become independent of TogetherGreen funding by the fall of 2012.

Have you ever heard of the Hubble Telescope? I suspect that most of you have because of the beautiful pictures of outer space that it has miraculously sent back to Earth.

Did you know that the Hubble Telescope was named after Edwin Hubble, one of our own here in the Ozarks?

Edwin Hubble was born in the small, rural community of Marshfield, Missouri, in 1889. During his life of research, he profoundly changed the way we look at our own world when he discovered that a multitude of galaxies exist beyond our own Milky Way. Rising from his humble beginnings in the rural Ozarks, he rose to become one of the greatest scientists in the world.

So what does this have to do with the GLADE project? Leadership crosses over many disciplines, and developing strong, responsible leaders is critical to survival of our nation. How can GLADE facilitate the emergence of community-based leadership?

The GLADE Logic Model

Academic Rigor---->Conservation Researchers, Field Experts----->Wise Use of Resources

Hard Work--------->Habitat Restoration Project------------>Productive, Active Citizens

Leadership Training----->Niche-based Leadership---->Skilled, Community-based Leaders

INPUTS-------------------------------------------------->OUTCOMES

Throughout the week university professors, MDC specialists, water quality personnel, and other professionals in the conservation field share their time and expertise with the students on a one-on-one basis,providing direct exposure and knowledge of the wildlife, land, and water resources of the Ozarks. GLADE participants, future community leaders will take this set of skills back to their hometowns, increasing the chances of a future Ozarks communities reflecting committment to core values.

The work ethic instilled by the GLADE project is hard to deny. For the past two years, students have toiled in upper 90's temperatures and endured heat advisories for the entire region. In spite of this, they enthusiastically engaged in a 2 acre Giant Cane riparian habitat restoration on a single day of the academy each year. This action both protects the waters and increases the biodiversity of the habitat so that the quality of life in the Ozarks is enhanced.

The Leadership Training aspect of GLADE incorporates the latest theories and practices in the world of business. Our niche-based approach allows each individual to flourish and rise to the occasion when there is a need for his/her input in the group process. Over the course of the week, each individual develops a committment to the group, and is connected by a common vision. In this leadership model the benefits of teamwork and shared responsibility are emphasized, and the values of integrity, honesty, and respect are solidly reinforced.

(to be continued.)

*ECOLEAD -Engaging Communities of the Ozarks in Leadership and Environmental Awareness Development- rights reserved by GLADE project.

Zen and the Art of Conservation

noreply@blogger.com (Greg) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:12:00 +0000

I returned home from Shepherdstown, WV, where Hurricane Earl veered to the east, only to find that over 10" of rain had fallen across the Ozarks. The official total for my community was 8.25 inches. The clear, rippling rivers and streams became murky, and sediment-filled flood waters rapidly made their way downstream.

The corresponding plant growth following the heavy rains was predictable and exponential in its intensity. My suburban lawn responded in different ways, depending upon the make up of its plant species. When we purchased the home a decade ago, the monocultured fescue sod in the front yard gave the home a fresh green, albeit sterile look. The back yard was prairie remnants of the old Bingham farm with its highly diverse and well adapted flora. Today, the front yard appears brown and lifeless. Where fescue once dominated the landscape, hardy invaders are making their way into the landscape in a variety of forms, colors, and sizes. Then there's the backyard! Even prairie wild flowers remain. Green as can be, every species that one finds on the Weed Killer label flourishes in abundance! Goldfinches munch on crab grass seed stalks; their brilliant yellows enhanced by the golden light of the morning sun.

I digress. The people that became my new friends last week were truly remarkable, with liquid wisdom flowing from their words and actions. Daniel Dermitzel, a self-described urban farmer, comes to mind. In describing the act of hoeing the garden, he conveyed so much about living in the willful act of joining the hoe in a rhythmic dance. He searched for the words to describe it, but we both knew the essence of what he was talking about.

In the classic Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Persig experienced the same sensation with a complex machine (tool, if you will) while caring for and riding on his motorcycle in a cross country father/son journey of self-discovery. Those "tools" that we use, and value, whether they be hoes, motorcycles, binoculars, cameras, or self-designed curriculum plans, become an extension of our authentic selves, revealing much about our inner dialogue, our dreams, our purpose.

I know that my mower is one of the worst contributors to air pollution, climate change, and who knows what else, but when I am mowing, my mind enters a zone where thoughts come into ever sharpening focus. My task becomes secondary to the ramblings of my mind.

Yes, here in the Ozarks the grass has quickly grown. During the retreat near DC, an analogous event occurred. Metaphorical torrential rains fell, and grass grew unimpeded. The waters overflowed the banks, and my thoughts tumbled across the rocks. It was only when I let go, that I found that my waters moved downstream with effortless action, and, with patience and perseverence, actually smoothed out the edges of the rocks.

I always find myself in the middle of things. That's where I choose to be. The mid-point between urban and rural, front yard and backyard, elementary kids and high school kids, water and land, Persig's rational and romantic, past and future. Wherever I wander, I am innately drawn to the conversion zone. I guess that's why I love beaches, merging land and water. Or trees and mountaintops, both bridging earth to sky, or art when it joins science, and vice versa. Or when the past meets the future. ....... now....

Our green coalition is one that embraces all and shares a common vision of a just sustainable world. Since conservation is about people, we stand midway between the forces of continued unsustainability and an irresistible, biodiverse, dynamic, and living planet Earth. We reach our hands out, hoping that others will extend theirs to us.

It's not for the faint at heart. May we all have the courage to endure the torrential rains, and the passion to envision the rainbow at the end of the storm.