Don Culwell, Programs and Services Chair for SFNC addressed the Ozark Society’s spring meeting at the Ferncliff Conference Center in West Little Rock on April 15. Other speakers for the meeting included Chris McRae, world-wide solar energy expert, who described solar installations in Haiti and Honduras. Faron Usrey, a Buffalo River Stream Biologist for the State Park Service Research Learning Center, addressed the River from a standpoint of using science and education to preserve and protect the free flowing stream.

Culwell introduced South Fork as a place where education and a love of the out-of-doors brings wide variety of groups of all ages to interact with nature. He described a recent session with 9th graders where the structure and function of flowers aided the biology of plants. Colorful petals attract pollinators…or wind carries light weight pollen, each pollen grain carrying two sperm nuclei “in search of” the female pistil. As the enlivened sexual discussion within the group proceeded, one concerned guy, realizing his allergies and the pollen interaction with the mucous membranes of his nose, piped up “you mean, I have sperm in my nose?” The answer “well, yes, but they will not find a pistil.”

Recognition of flowers as the “plant tool” bringing together genetic information from two parents and the ensuing production of seeds able to enhance the plant population in the woods and glades allowed students to think along new liners as they left the cabin for a walk in the woods.

Docents and Board members of South Fork Nature Center were busy in March visiting with the teachers at Clinton’s High School and Junior High School.

On March 17th a Taco Soup lunch was cooked by the docents and served, complete with all the fixings, to approximately 20 incredible high school teachers. Krissi Graham, a very active docent at SFNC, arranged the visit with the administration and Ms. Valerie Lawson, the Consumer Science teacher, was kind enough to lend her room for the luncheon. Don Culwell, Janet Miron and Glenda Hall were also on hand to visit with the teachers about the Nature Center.

On March 31st docents again cooked up a great BBQ lunch for approximately 24 teachers at the Junior High School. Pulled pork sandwiches, slaw, beans and cake-balls were on the menu along with cookies and chocolate cake. Once again, Krissi Grahm facilitated the visit with the administrators and issued the invitation to the teachers. The Junior High media specialist, Ms. Tracy Sutterfield kindly agreed to host the teachers in the library. Don Culwell, Leslie Goff, Krissi Grahm and Janet Miron were the docents present to meet with the teachers. The teachers had some very unique ideas about activities at the nature center. Several teachers were very excited about designing field trips to meet their curriculum needs. A total of 40 teachers from both schools signed up to receive the SFNC Newsletter.

The chance to connect with these outstanding professionals and share the Mission of SFNC and the dream of “no child left inside” was one more step in our journey of educating students in our community about the natural environment around them and their role in preserving it!

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Third Saturday Guided Walk

10am, April 23 at the Nature Center, off Hwy 330 by the Lake

Click here for Directions…

Everyone is welcome to attend 3rd Saturday events at the Nature Center, which are held monthly Spring through Fall. ADMISSION IS FREE!

South Fork Nature Center Spring Trail Visit

You are cordially invited to join Bob Hartmann, SFNC Docent, as he seeks out spring blossoms now showing off along the trails and particularly in the cedar-cleared areas of the glade restoration project. Orientation and the trail walk will begin at 10 AM at Riddle Cabin.

Exposed soils possessing a ‘seed burden’ of yesteryear glade flower complex is now beginning to resurrect. Come and see the plants and flowers that have been hiding. Included will be blooming trees and understory shrubs such as Red Buckeye, Deerberry and Serviceberry, among others.

Some sites will feature lichen and fungi with prospects of finding the dainty beauties, Cinnabar Red Chanterelles. Status of last year’s Monarch Butterfly project will be observed. Multiple sites of the butterfly’s favored foods, several kinds of milkweed seedlings were planted and now have automated weather stations installed at several select locations. Soil moisture and ground-level weather is being recorded to aid assessing plant survival.
Photos by Bob Hartmann

“Art in Nature”

We will reconvene at cabin at 11:30 AM, where Joyce Hartmann will have an “Art in Nature” session for those who would like to participate. She will give a brief watercolor demonstration and have materials available for participants to make their own Nature Spirit cards using watercolor paint and/or homemade Ozark Black Walnut dye.

For more information, please call 501-745-6615.

What is Field-Based Education? And why is it important?

Janet Miron, Gates Rogers Foundation

Field based learning is education that extends the walls of the classroom. Students learn from direct experience. This can be accomplished through experimental learning that involves a direct encounter with what is being studied. South Fork Nature Center’s outdoor classroom environment supplies the stage for “field based learning.” Students are immersed in the natural environment and mentored by docents, many who have career profiles in Conservation, Forestry, Fisheries, Wildlife management, and scientific education such as biology, chemistry, microbiology and botany.

Field based learning is rarely one dimensional, and almost always has a multidisciplinary approach. South Fork Nature Center consistently “crosses the curriculum” by incorporating math, language arts, and creative arts in student experiences. Observation and reflection are hard concepts to master from a text book; they are truly developed by experience. Our trails offer a huge canvas of opportunity for students to immerse themselves completely in nature. Our docents are trained to encourage student observation using all their senses and exercising their critical thinking skills to reflect on predictions and draw conclusions. Students learn firsthand that science is interconnected with all subjects in life. They leave their field based experience at SFNC knowing that science and nature influence their lives daily.

Why is Field-Based Learning important?

Outdoor nature experiences can be very dynamic. In some cases they can be life-changing. Numerous high school students are actively searching for a career direction. Many don’t have family-initiated “environmental” experiences or role models to draw from. Often times students’ classroom experiences are the foundation for their career choices. Hands-on immersion in nature, together with collaboration with docents, is sometimes the pivotal point for young “up-and-coming” environmentalists. Out-of the-classroom educational experiences in the field often increase motivation for continuing education.

If you have a student interested in an environmental career please visit the following links for more information and career profiles:
Environmental Career: Profiles →
The College Board: Careers in Environment & Science →

Educators!

Check out Enrichment Program page to start planning your field-based activities!

Field-Based Enrichment Programs →