Have a Sustainable Spooky Season

For those of us that love crunchy leaves, cool breezes, bonfires, and pumpkin spice, it’s the most wonderful time of the year! Halloween (or Samhain, pronounced saa-win) is coming up soon, and along with the fun and sugar overload, comes a lot of waste. There are ways we can enjoy the holiday but also make sustainable choices. You can start by taking small actions. Here is a list of tips for having a more sustainable spooky season. Choose a new sustainable action this year!

Candy and Treats

-Use Cheyenne Mountain Zoo’s Orangutan-Friendly Halloween Treats Guide and choose candy that is made with sustainable palm oil. 

-Look for candy that has no, or minimal, plastic packaging or that is packaged with recyclable materials. For example, Nerds are packaged in cardboard.

-If you are hosting or attending a party, instead of buying candy, bake cookies or cupcakes and make them spooky by decorating them. This could also be a party activity.

-At parties, use real plates, cups, and utensils instead of disposable ones. If you do use disposable cups, ask guests to write their names on them so they can reuse the same one.

Costumes

-Shop local produce used for treats like candy apples.

-If you buy a store-bought costume, save it again to wear again multiple times. Avoid buying costumes that are poor quality and made from cheap materials that won’t last.

-Create costumes out of clothing and accessories you already have. Save old clothing that could be used for costumes in the future.

-Go to secondhand stores for clothing that can be reused as costume pieces.

-Host a community costume exchange. Invite people to bring their previously worn costumes and find something different for this year, or bring costumes kids have outgrown.

-If you attend an event with a costume contest, or have your own party, have an award for best homemade costume.

Decorations

-If you buy decorations, buy things that are meant to last, or that can be used over and over instead of thrown away. Some examples are glass lanterns and fabric ghosts and bats.

-Another tip for store-bought decor – buy things made from cotton, hemp, or recycled paper. Avoid plastic!

-A quick Google search will bring up thousands of results with ideas for sustainable DIY Halloween decor, like turning cardboard boxes into tombstones. This could also be a fun crafting activity to do with others to celebrate the season.

-Reuse boxes or bags to store decorations that you plan to reuse.

-Check out fall local artist markets or search on Etsy for sustainable decor. If the item ships from close to your location, that’s even better. As a bonus you will also be supporting independent artists instead of big retail stores.

-Decorate with natural things that are edible or are compostable like real pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, dried flowers and pinecones. Twigs, leaves, and acorns can be used to make centerpieces with autumn vibes. These materials can also be used to make a fall wreath for your door.

-Use soy or beeswax candles. You may also be able to purchase these from a local maker.

-Use energy-efficient, LED lights.

Pumpkins

-Shop for your pumpkin at a local farmers market or pumpkin patch where they are grown.

-When you carve your pumpkin, save the seeds for roasting, and the insides for making soups and sauces, or baking pies, muffins, or bread.

-Compost your pumpkin instead of throwing it away.

-Chop your used jack-o-lantern into smaller pieces and put them outside for animals. You can also fill a used jack-o-lantern with seeds for birds.

Trick-or-Treating

-Walk in your neighborhood, or if you drive somewhere else, park and walk a large area instead of driving to many different locations. Trunk-or-Treat or community events are also a good way to do this.

-Use a pillow case or canvas bag to collect candy, and reuse them. These can be decorated as a fun Halloween art project. Avoid plastic bags!

-If you do buy a bucket to collect candy, get one that you will use year after year.

Wishing you a spooky, safe, and fun Halloween!

Melissa

Eek-O-friendly Halloween tips. ECOlunchbox. (n.d.). https://ecolunchboxes.com/blogs/news/81805057-eek-o-friendly-halloween

One Tree Planted. (n.d.). Green halloween: How to have a Sustainable Halloween. https://onetreeplanted.org/blogs/stories/green-halloween

Sustainable decor ideas for Halloween. The Good Boutique. (n.d.). https://www.thegoodboutique.com/inspiration/sustainable-decor-ideas-for-halloween

The ultimate guide to having a Green Halloween. Good On You. (2021, December 2). https://goodonyou.eco/ultimate-guide-green-halloween/

World Wildlife Fund. (n.d.). 10 green halloween tips. WWF. https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/10-green-halloween-tips 

Bat Night

Recently, I coordinated a program at Sandy Creek Nature Center with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to host a Bat Night. Participants were able to see what bat biologists and technicians do in the field as well as learn about our local bats. The evening began with a quick walk down the North Oconee River Greenway and we discussed habitat features along the path. This stretch is wooded on both sides but one side is drier and up a slope while the other has a small creek running alongside the path.

Once we reached the setup spot and waited for night to set in, the biologist and technicians discussed their work, the set up of the mist net, their anabat tool to listen for bat frequencies and other information about issues bats face in Georgia. About 45 minutes after sunset, the nets were dropped and within five minutes, a bat had been caught! The technicians retrieved the bat and brought it back to the set up site where they had their table set up to record information about the bat. We all donned masks because there is a risk of COVID transmissions from humans to bats. They took measurements of the bat wings, looked at the bone structure to determine approximate age (adult or juvenile), weight, noted general health and identified the species. This particular bat apparently had a strong musky scent which made them think it was an Evening bat but it turned out it was a stinky Big Brown Bat Eptesicus fuscus. The bat was marked on the head in case of recapture and then released in the opposite direction of the net. In the end, two Big Brown bats were caught, studied and released.

This is one of our adult programs that allow participants to have contact with field scientists, learn about their research and also experience something that SCNC staff can’t offer without these connections. We offered a firefly program back in the summer. Anytime we have offered this type of program, it is very popular. Participants are very enthusiastic and have a lot of interaction with the scientists that they don’t typically have in a classroom lecture setting. While we were getting the second bat out of the net, participants were offering ideas for future programs that we could offer! I would like to continue to build on this type of program and offer a different type of program each quarter. We’re often thought of as a place to bring children but I hope that offering these types of programs will broaden our audience and provide wider community support.

Incorporating Mobile Apps Into Your Programs

by Jenna Ellet, CIG

As a naturalist, I had previously encouraged participants to keep their cell phones in their pockets to avoid distractions. After all, we want to encourage folks to disconnect from the virtual world to spend more time in nature, right?

Well what if we are missing an opportunity to further engage with our audience? What if we’re missing a chance for our message to continue long after we’ve parted ways?

Back in the summer of 2016 the wildly popular mobile app, Pokémon Go, was released. This single mobile app had encouraged people of all ages to spend more time outside; in fact, nearly 14% more people were going outdoors throughout the day. The objective of the game is to find fictional creatures of all shapes and sizes, some of which resemble birds, amphibians, mammals, and even fungi. I don’t know about you – but there appears to be some overlapping themes with creating a life list!

Life lists are generally defined as a compiled list of all biological species, typically in a specific taxonomic class, seen by an individual (i.e. birding). Is there really a big difference between keeping a life list and filling your Pokedex?

The Sound ID feature in the Merlin Bird ID app uses your smartphone microphone to listen and identify nearby bords.

This had me thinking – if creating a life list of fictional creatures could get so many people outside, why couldn’t other apps do the same? Mobile apps like iNaturalist, eBird, and Fishbrain allow you to add and keep track of different “lifers” you find.

While leading Night Hikes, I now like to incorporate SkyView Lite to point out constellations and planets, and Echo Meter by Wildlife Acoustics to ID bats (note this app requires an Echo Meter Touch device to work). Doing so opens up a world of new conversations and has piqued the interest of people of all ages.

As naturalists, many of us know a little about a broad range of topics and inevitably there comes a time when we’re unsure of an ID. Apps like Seek and Merlin Bird ID can help you fill that gap and you can share the results live with your group! The research process itself is valuable because it can show your eager pupils how they can become citizen scientists right from their mobile device! And isn’t it the goal of our work to get people more interested and involved in the natural world? If you’re not already, I challenge you to explore some of these apps and see how you can weave them into your next program!

Recommended mobile apps to get started with:

• Seek by iNaturalist (available on Android and iOS, free)
• SkyView Lite (available on Android and iOS, free with in-app purchases)
• iNaturalist (available on Android and iOS, free)
• eBird by Cornell Lab (available on Android and iOS, free)
• Merlin Bird ID by Cornell Lab (available on Android and iOS, free)
• Fishbrain (available on Android and iOS, free); note this app is rated for ages 4+ but may be better suited for teens and adults

Sources:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1875952121000409#b0230
https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1140/epjds/s13688-017-0119-3.pdf

A Message Remembered

by Cindy Neal Carpenter

Discussions on the Interpreters Forum about theme writing prompted me to reflect on a simple message from an interpretive program I attended as a young adult 47 years ago. It was in Shenandoah National Park. The setting was woodsy and rather intimate as I recall, a small group, the park ranger close. I can still see her face under her NPS campaign hat as she said, “If you sit quietly for fifteen minutes nature will come to you.” I don’t recall what the program was about, if I even caught the whole thing, but I remember that conclusion, and it intrigued me.

A few months later in Pennsylvania woods I gave it a try. Stillness was difficult, but as I sat on a log beside an old cross-country ski trail, nature was arriving. I started to pay attention to the patterns of ferns, tree leaves and grasses and their movement. I watched ants crawling by my feet.  I felt the summer air and took in the fragrance of the hay-scented ferns. Fifteen minutes was a long time and I was getting antsy. Time up, reasonably satisfied, I stood to head back the way I came just in time to see two black bear cubs cross the trail, maybe 50 feet away. I was awestruck! What a gift! Then my heart started to pound as I realized the mother must be nearby, too, somewhere between me and my exit from the woods. I slowly counted to 100 (was this a strategy the ranger had suggested, had her program been about safe wildlife encounters?) before cautiously starting back. There’s more to the tale, but I will get to my purpose.

My Kodak 110 Instamatic pocket camera captured (kind of!) on film the two bear cubs crossing the trail. Can you spot them, way back in the sunshine?

Five years later I was wearing an NPS campaign hat, employed as a seasonal Park Ranger, an Interpreter! I had no training or knowledge of what this field is, but there I was, starting off with the help of Bill Lewis’s little volume, Interpreting for Park Visitors and training manuals. I retired in 2018 from a fulfilling Interpretation career with the USDA Forest Service full of experiences I would have never imagined at its start. Now and then I passed on that park ranger’s message, though interpreting mostly history oriented sites, I don’t think I ever created a program around it. Still she was a role model and compelled me into action. I wish she knew how much she enriched my life, even changed it. 

Through all these years I am not sure I ever wrote what leaders in our field now consider a strong theme. I crafted them carefully, especially after learning mid-career about tangible, intangible and universal connections and all the other pieces of scholarly research that led to the Certified Interpretive Guide course and NAI’s professional certifications, and that continue to help us improve our practice.

So what about the message “If you sit quietly for fifteen minutes nature will come to you”? I don’t know if that was the ranger’s theme, if my perception of it was even within her Zone of Tolerance (Ham, 2013), but it was the take-away for me. Something in me related to it. I was receptive to this simple Call to Action, to patiently observe, to ponder, to step outside my comfort zone, to be curious, to learn, to treasure, to share. It didn’t reveal a “so what” or bring world peace and tolerance, but it changed my little world. Since interpretation happens in the hearts and minds of the visitor was that enough?

Reference:

Ham, S. (2013). Interpretation: Making a Difference on Purpose, Golden, Colorado, USA: Fulcrum   Publishing.

 (As a postscript to continue my tale, in case you are curious, on my way out of the woods, I caught a glimpse of the cubs moving through the tall ferns beside the old ski trail. I decided to continue on that trace to a road rather than return to our summer cottage by way of a connecting side trail I had walked to reach my sitting spot, figuring the mother was in that area. Sure enough, just as I arrived in the kitchen via a front door, excitedly telling my mother about the cubs, out of the woods along the trail I used to enter them appeared the mother bear. My mother saw her first and after exclaiming “There she is!” she suddenly was hurling a honey coated bun out the screen door. It seemed to be a reflex on her part, but I will always remember the surprising image of her strong overhand throw toward the back yard. The bear sniffed but as I recall otherwise ignored the bun as she walked a bit along a driveway and then returned to her cubs she left in the woods. Thankfully Mom never again attempted to feed a bear.

 A few hours ago on the phone with her, two months shy of her 99^th birthday, I told her this story. She does not remember it, but laughed all the same. That simple message from the park ranger long ago means even more to me: family, sense of place, wonder, nurturing, gratefulness, joy, and love. I will always hold it.)

The “Trails” and Tribulations of Accessibility

Welcome to summer!! For us at Roper Mountain Science Center, that means the beginning of Summer Adventure- our public days. 🙂 During the schoolyear, we are primarily serving school kids on field trips with limited public access. But during the summer, we open our doors to the public for 8-10 weeks.

Roper Mountain is a 62 acre facility, owned by Greenville County School District. Although the word mountain is in our name, people still have trouble accessing all that we have to offer for Summer Adventure because of the windy, hilly, bumpy, and sometimes “off-road-y” trails. It has always been an issue at our unique site, but it’s been on my mind more than ever because of the accessibility and inclusivity push that people in our field have been talking about, which I am thankful for!

I was able to utilize the interpreters forum through NAI to get some good ideas to remedy the issue of our only entry point being a very uphill walk from the parking lot to check-in. So far, with the signage and plans that we’ve implemented, we have greatly improved that situation. People now are given a heads up about the hill and if needed, have the option of walking around the building and avoiding the hill. It took a lot of signage, staffing, talking points, and volunteer radio training, but we got there! 🙂

When people visit, they can visit a variety of outdoor spaces and playgrounds, 2 separate buildings, and a Living History Farm. The walk down to the Farm is quite long and down a bumpy dirt road. There have been many visitors that can’t make the trek and it pains me that because of accessibility issues, they can’t enjoy everything that we have to offer here. While it’s easy to have the mindset of “we are who we are”, a unique facility with specific challenges, I still think there are ways to improve.

I am lucky that our Director has been great at being open to suggestions and implementing plans so far to increase our visibility and accessibility. I would love to hear from people who face these same challenges and how you’ve addressed them. Please email me at azalabak@greenville.k12.sc.us if you’d like to connect! I hope you enjoyed hearing about what we’ve done so far while we face the trials and tribulations of accessibility.

Scholarships – Prepare for the heat!

By Jessica Goodrich, Awards and Scholarships Committee Chair

As summer vacation looms large on our calendars, the heat, humidity, and deadlines for the National Conference have arrived!! Don’t forget:

–          Water

–          Sunscreen

–          To submit your scholarship application by June 25, 2023

It was amazing to see everyone again in Cleveland, and the party continues in Little Rock, Arkansas in November. How would you like some free money for that party????

This year the Sunny Southeast Region is offering one $700 scholarship for the National Conference. The deadline for applications is June 25, 2023. Please email them to me directly at jessica.goodrich.cig@gmail.com. You can download it below (Word file). If you have any issues with it, please reach out to me, and I can send you a print only version. The Scholarship Policy as set forth by the National Office is at the bottom of this post. Read it, pretty please. It’s only 1 page. By applying, you agree to abide by it.

Scholarship ApplicationDownload

Scholarships are a service of the Region to the Members, and I am grateful to be the Chair of the Awards and Scholarships Committee since 2016. Scholarships enabled me to attend my first Regional Workshop and National Conference. Yet, a Chair must have a Committee. If you do not plan to attend the National Conference this year, you can still participate in the growth of our fellow interpreters. I’m seeking new members for the Awards and Scholarships Committee. The time needed to be a member is minimal – about an hour in January and 3 hours in December. The only other needed skill is the ability to check your email weekly. If you’d like to join me in bestowing Awards and Scholarships on our fellow members, complete the form below and send it back to me at jessica.goodrich.cig@gmail.com

Committee RegistrationDownload

The deadline for applications is June 25, 2023!!

Send everything to me directly at Jessica.Goodrich.CIG@gmail.com. Enjoy your summer!

NAI Scholarship Policy (Amended by the NAI Board February 2015) 

Program Description 

Scholarship programs of various types are offered by the national, regional, and section units of National Association for Interpretation (NAI).  

Purpose of Document 

This document provides guidance in administering and standardizing scholarship programs at all levels to adhere to guidelines recommended by the external auditor. 

Scholarship Defined 

A scholarship is defined as any disbursement of funds to individuals through a competitive process for the purpose of attending professional development opportunities.  

Funds for Scholarships 

Scholarship funds are restricted by each NAI unit disbursing the funds. Each unit is responsible for determining an appropriate amount to be restricted for scholarships within its available treasury. 

Scholarship Selection Requirements 

Each unit that provides scholarships is also responsible for providing a scholarship selection committee that must include at least three NAI members. Members of the committee, their employees and their immediate family members are not eligible for scholarship award while serving on the committee. Each unit is responsible for providing written criteria for scholarship awards. Region or Section contributions to the International Scholars Program are subject to the national office policies governing international scholarships, but region or section donors may add specific restrictions related to their region or section. All scholarship applicants must be NAI members at the time of application to be eligible. 

Disbursement of Funds 

Registration costs for the event to be attended will be deducted from the overall scholarship amount and the remainder, if any, will be sent directly to the scholarship winner by check after attendance at the event is confirmed. Alternatively, at the request of the NAI unit, a check for the remainder made out to the scholarship winner can be sent to the unit’s designee to be awarded at the event. In either case, a completed disbursement form for the total amount awarded must be completed and submitted to the NAI office (two forms will be required if the total amount awarded exceeds the cost of registration – one for payment to NAI for registration amount and one for payment to the individual for the remainder). 

Expectations of Scholarship Recipients 

At a minimum, scholarship recipients are expected to present a program at the event for which the scholarship was provided, or write an article for the national, region or section newsletter about their experience.  

Reporting Procedure 

Each unit will be required to submit the attached form to the national office within 30 days of the last day of the event for which the scholarship was awarded with all information provided as indicated on form.  

The one trait you will need as a new manager

When I started working as Environmental Educator over 20 years ago it felt like I was in a new world (because I kind was). I have just moved to the Carolinas from Mexico City, trying to figure out this new job, new skills, language, and culture all at the same time.

Looking back one thing that I really appreciate from all my peers and supervisors besides welcoming and friendly is how much I could trust them.

After 15 years as nature center manager I have had some of the most difficult conversations with staff in my office, work performace shortfalls, medical bad news, passed for a promotion, getting terminated. But I have also had wonderful conversations, engagement news, expecting babies, getting promotions, new jobs, etc.

All this conversations are possible because staff consider my office a safe space, a place where we both say what we think knowing each other intentions. It is a safe place to be vulnerable, show that none of us are perfect and that we need help to be successful.

When you ask 100 people about a trait that they most admire about their supervisor you will hear 100 different answers but to me most of those are just another brick that is standing on the foundation of trust.

If you can build a team that can trust each other, you will have a team that will help each other become the better version of themselves because they know we all have each other’s back.

In my case I am very lucky and proud to work with an amazing team of professionals who can all trust each other every day to either ask for help or lend a helping hand.

Celebrating 50 Years

This year marks the 50th anniversary of Sandy Creek Nature Center. In preparation for the year, we’ve looked to the past to see where we started and how far we’ve come. Our start came from a group of citizens in the community that saw a need to protect greenspace and provide a place for people to recreate while learning about the natural environment. Those 12 founders created a legacy that over 55,000 people enjoy each year.. 

We’ve gone from a property with no buildings & dirt roads to multiple buildings with award winning exhibits. With only 2 staff members which grew to five full time staff, three part time, twelve camp staff in the summer and many active volunteers. At one point in the early days they had only  $12 in the bank. Now our yearly budget is over $500,000. When the center was started, it was run by a nonprofit. In 1980 the facility was turned over to the county parks department because of the day to day costs it takes to run such a facility. Fortunately, we still have a nonprofit, Sandy Creek Nature Center Inc., to support us financially as well as a voice for us when we can’t speak up as government employees. The Athens-Clarke County Leisure Services provides our day to day operational budget but Inc. has provided funding for many projects over the years, including most recently our Nature Playscape that was built using donations and none of the center’s budget or taxpayer dollars. 

What has led to the success of the center? People. The original founders’ enthusiasm recruited new people with drive and a vision to see the potential of what this place could be. Long term support from these founders and volunteers has been felt in many ways since the start. Although many of the founders have passed on, their families still support us today by visiting our facility, attending programs, volunteering and financial donations. Parents that brought their children to the center when it first opened the grounds are now grandparents and their children have children of their own. The key to thriving in the future is to continue bringing the next generation and building that connection with them so they will bring their future children and grandchildren to the center over the next 50 years.

I have been fortunate to be part of Sandy Creek for almost 19 years. Over that time, I’ve had the opportunity to meet several of the founders and build relationships with them. I’ve met previous staff that helped create our facilities and programs that are still popular today. Working for so long at one facility has given me many opportunities to learn and grow. From working on our exhibit renovation to creating a managed forest, planning and teaching thousands of programs, speaking with over a million people (my estimation based on visitation and number of years working) about Sandy Creek, I hope that I can say that I’ve left a mark on the center in a positive way just as our founders did 50 years ago.

Back cover of our Winter newsletter, The Hyla, celebrating 50 years with old photos.

Birdwatching cheat!

I work in a botanical garden and hold nature classes for children from toddlers to teens. It is relatively easy to teach them about plants since they stay still. It is less easy to study birds who are often timid, very quick, and may be hidden high up or far away. Children often have limited ability to focus for the longish periods that birdwatching entails, and very young children cannot use binoculars. About ten years ago, I turned to bird silhouettes in the landscape to combat some of these issues. I placed the bird profiles in appropriate locations near our education facility. The blue jay perched on a fence post, the pileated woodpecker on the side of a tree, and the owl sat in the woods. Bird silhouettes reflect how we often see birds in the landscape. When birdwatching in the field, birds frequently perch in such a way that color is difficult to discern, so size and other distinct features become more important (the upturned tail of a wren, the elongated beak of a hummingbird). The difference with these birds is that they stay still! I made a handout for sharing with visitors. On one side was a map to locate the birds; on the reverse, the bird profiles were paired with photos and facts about their habits and habitats. These birds have been an excellent teaching tool over the years; even as some birds disappeared,

This fall, I ordered more bird profiles and used them in the classroom with my two Junior Naturalist groups (aged 6-11 and 12-16). Once introduced to the outlines, the naturalists began to compare each bird’s size and notable features. This led to detailed and extended discussions about beak shape, possible food preferences, and more. They were eager to dive into research and pulled all our guides off the shelf; excited chatter ensued as they engaged in the process. We asked the students to draw a bird and make a poster about them. It was fascinating to see who decided to sketch and who chose to trace, but both worked well. I didn’t hear the cries that often surface: “I can’t draw” or “I’m no good at art.” Everyone participated, which was a win!

When I started this project, I thought about laminating life-size paper silhouettes and putting them in the landscape. I also thought about finding a craftsperson who could jigsaw outlines in wood. Then I found Rusty Birds, a company out of Vancouver, Washington, and I was pleased with what I ordered. However, these birds are marketed as decorative, not explicitly made for bird identification, so you should bear that in mind.

I’m no expert.

Do you ever go into flight mode when you’re asked to interpret a subject that’s a little outside your wheelhouse? Have you ever heard a team member say “I don’t do ____”? Is it like pulling teeth to get your staff to try a new topic for a program?

If you answered yes to any of these, I have a secret for you:

You don’t need to be an expert on a subject to interpret it expertly.

That’s it. Tell your peers, colleagues, and direct reports.

Now of course, I’m not trying to say you don’t need to know anything about your subject. Research is vital to program development. You can’t outline a theme or supporting facts without an understanding of your topic. What I am saying is that you don’t need to spend years studying the topic in order to make a great program.

Personal example: I love to lead birding programs! I am a mediocre birder at best. So here’s how I do it:

• Set expectations for my audience – I call it “Beginner Birding” and not “Migrating Warblers in Mecklenburg County” because those two programs would draw different audiences and I would be a sure disappointment to the latter group!
• Focus on the tools – I start the program with the basics. How to use binoculars, how to use a field guide or app, and what to look for (shape, size, color, etc.)
• Facilitate the experience – Once we get accustomed to the tools, there’s time to practice, problem-solve, and set participants up for their best chance at success.
• Provide context – Along the course of the program I use the birds we see to build knowledge and context for new birders. What behaviors are we seeing? What does that tell us about the ecology of the species we’re watching now? Can we apply that to other similar species? What species or groups of birds are we not seeing today? Why might that be? Again, I’m not an ornithologist, a bird behaviorist, or even a very good birder, but every time I lead this program, I learn something new!

So if you think you’re not equipped to lead an interpretive program about geology, gardening, or giraffes, remember that your technical knowledge of your subject areas is not the most important piece of your expertise.

How are you going to use this expertise to try something new?