Page1 of 12Pathways Fall 2009

PathwaysThe technological wonders of our age have allowed us to be tuned in and stay better connected to our favorite entertainment, social networking sites and current affairs. As we become more con-nected, we have also become more disconnected from our natural world. As educators, we see first-hand that parents are skeptical of the unknown that lurks in nature and consider the indoors as a safe alternative. However, the outdoors draws our curiosity, and to be deprived of outdoor play can be described as synonymous of being robbed of our childhood. It is in the forest our imagina-tion blossoms and we come to understand our relationship to the world, it is here we transform from the environmentally ignorant to the environmentally literate citizens that come to appreciate and respect the natural world.

In a very short time, author Richard Louv and the Children and Nature Network (C&NN), the organization inspired by his 2005 Last Child in the Woods book, is reversing the “nature-deficit disorder” epidemic. Hundreds of grass roots groups nationwide are rediscovering the outdoors, and recently the federal government reintroduced the, “No Child Left Inside Act” on Earth Day 2009. This legislation would encourage states to create environmental literacy plans that would ensure environmental literacy for as part of K-12 education. This legislation also calls for the professional de-

NYSOEA moves to promote Environmental Literacy for all New Yorkers

Official Publication of the New York State Outdoor Education Association • Fall 2009

w w w . n y s o e a . o r g • 6 0 7 . 5 9 1 . 6 4 2 2

In this issue:• New Members Updates • Award recognition Info• Ramblings from Red Hill• And much more!!

by Tim stanley

Warm Blooded Plantsby Cynthia Wood

If you live in the Northeastern US and you walk in the woods on spring mornings, you’re likely to see a skunk cabbage. Indeed, you might see a skunk cabbage growing while the snow is still on the ground. What you may not notice, unless you look closely, is that the snow around the skunk cabbage has melted. It’s not a spectacular sight, but around all of the skunk cabbages you see, there will be a small hole in the snow.

What’s happening here? Is the sun warming the darker plants and melting the snow? No. Actually, the phenomenon you’re seeing is called thermogenesis, and it’s a normal ability of the plant. Or to put it another way, the eastern skunk cabbage is warm-blooded. Its ability to generate heat enables it to grow and flower while the snow is still on the ground – even though the plant is not frost-resistant. The frost will never touch it.

(continued on page 9)

(continued on page 11)“Go Outside and Play!”

(details inside) “New Study: Kids Need the Adventure of ‘Risky’ Play.”

Photo courtesy from Tim Stanley and Nathan Garcia

Photo courtesy from Tim Stanley and Nathan Garcia

Pathways Fall 2009Page2 of 12

NYSOEA Executive BoardPresident MaryLynne Malone

VP Administration Maritza Cuevas

VP Communication Nirmal Merchant

VP Human Resources Tim Stanley

VP Program Rebecca Houser

Secretary Meaghan Boice-Green

Treasurer Elizabeth Van Acker

Office Darleen Lieber

Regional DirectorsEastern- Tim NeuMetro- Jessica KratzNorthern- Gary ‘Griz’ CaudleWestern- Lauren MakeyenkoCentral- Christine DeCesare

2010 National Confer-ence Committee ChairsJessica OlenychBetsy UkeritisMaryLynne Malone

PAthwaysEditor- Frank KnightLayout- Nathan Garcia

Invitation for Articles and News.The PATHWAYS team is always eager to hear from members and publish the ar-ticles that they have authored or news or event announcements that they would like to share with fellow members. We invite you to send your submission for our next issue. Simply send us the text with any supporting material -- pictures, newspaper clippings and more. We can receive it in any of the ways listed below.

Advertising in PathwaysPATHWAYS welcomes advertisements which will be of interest to the membership of NYSOEA. If you have a product, service, equipment, resource, program, etc. that you would like to share with our membership via an advertisement, we can receive it through any of the following ways.

Email: pathways@nysoea.orgFax: (607) 753-5982

Materials should be typed. Please include a short biographical section about the author of the article. References cited in the article should be listed at the end of the article, APA style.

(ISSN 1077-5100) PATHWAYS is published four times a year by the New York State Outdoor Education Association and is emailed to NYSOEA members. Opinions expressed by contributors are theirs solely and not necessarily those of the Editorial Board of pathways or of NYSOEA. Advertisements included in pathways should not be interpreted as endorsement of the product(s) by NYSOEA.

Greetings. Each time I sit to write news for the membership, I am overwhelmed by all of the great happenings in our organization and throughout the state at our affiliate organizations. I am pleased to let everyone know that the new NYSOEA website is absolutely amazing. I truly believe that we have something to be proud of. The launch scheduled for November 15, 2009, is a couple of months sooner than I had originally intended, but thanks to the dedication of the Communications Com-mittee and the new VP Communications, Nirmal

Merchant, it’s a reality. You will find new and interesting things becoming a part of it all of the time. The launch will not include all of the features, but they will be unveiled periodically. Our 42nd Annual Conference was very successful and as always, left me exhausted but rejuvenated at the same time. There were wonderful speakers, volunteers, workshop presenters, activities and performers. Over $2000 was raised for the endowment with our auction, our store was buzzing with folks, and our raffle brought in a healthy amount of income as well. The 2010 Committee chairs traveled to Portland, Oregon, to present a welcome to Buffalo presentation and has been diligently recruiting committee chairs and volunteers as well as seeking out donors, sponsors and partners. The Environmental Literacy Committee is forging forward with a plan. We have a committee that is working on creating certification for non-formal educators in NY. Our Diversity Committee is becoming more active again. The board has been in constant communication and has been making some won-derful progress spreading the word about the association, recruiting new members and activating committees. Enjoy the crisp morning air and what’s left of the leaves!Don’t forget to visit nysoea.org! MaryLynne Malone

A Note from the President

Mail: Darleen M. LieberRef: Pathways Advertisement / ArticleE-334 Park Center, SUNY Cortland RPLS Dept.PO Box 2000 Cortland, NY 13045

Page3 of 12Pathways Fall 2009

Jessica Kratz (Metro Region) is the incoming Metro Region representative and looks forward to co-hosting meetings, field trips, and service activities through-out the region, such as the green roof on Randall’s Island and the Chelsea High Line. Jessica has been a member of NYSOEA for about 5 years and has begun attending conferences in ’04 at Montauk and started presenting as her alter ego, the Statue of Liber-tree in ’08 in the Adirondacks and has since presented about marketing and fundraising, emerging areas of expertise she hopes to bring to NYSOEA.As an Urban Park Ranger, She had experience leading outdoor education pro-grams for all age groups. In the GreenApple Corps, She provided the administra-tive framework for a green-collar jobs program at the forefront of sustainability initiatives, such as Million Trees plantings, green roofs, and sustainable mountain bike trail construction. In her current role as coordinator of the Greenbelt Nature Center, she marries the programmatic and administrative background with facili-ties management to bring a diverse array of programs to a wide audience.Additionally, Jessica an avid hiker and poet with an occasional yen for swimming and for on-water adventure. Nature is her gym and her muse.

Welcome to Our New Regional Directors

(Continued)

Lauren Makeyenko (Western Region) joined the NYSOEA board this year as the Western New York region chair. She attended her first NYSOEA conference in 2006 at Beaver Hollow Conference Center and uses many of the techniques from workshops she attended at that conference to this day. She is currently the Experience Manager at Tifft Nature Preserve, a 264-acre urban preserve operated by the Buffalo Museum of Science. Prior to working at Tifft, Lauren held a posi-tion as an Environmental Educator at Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve. She has also worked for the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning in the pollution prevention program and as Program Coordinator for the Center for Great Lakes Environmental Education. She co-instructs a Great Lakes Ecology course at the University of Buffalo and loves to get students involved with local environmen-tal organizations.

Lauren spends most of her free time with her husband Josh and 22-month old daughter Ruby. Living in the historic district of Buffalo, they like to bust out and explore nature areas throughout WNY whenever they can. Since Ruby’s current favorite activity is lifting rocks to find worms, Lauren often finds herself getting dirty wherever a rock can be found! Lauren also enjoys nature photography, especially macro. She is excited to be working with NY-SOEA and can’t wait for the conference to come to Buffalo in 2010!

Tim Neu (Eastern Region) began his career at the Ashokan Field Campus in 1982. In 2003, Tim became Director of Ashokan, just as some major challenges were on the horizon. He was part of the team that guided the transition to what is now the Ashokan Center through a cooperative effort between Open Space Institute, NYC Department of Environmental Protection, and the Ashokan Founda-tion, More challenges lie ahead as plans are underway to relocate the heart of the Ashokan campus to higher ground. His vision of Ashokan’s future is to become a model of sustainability, and to create a living classroom dedicated to promoting our cultural heritage through living history, music, and the arts, and to bring envi-ronmental awareness, responsible stewardship, and sustainable practices back into mainstream consciousness.

Page4 of 12 Pathways Fall 2009

(directors continued)

Gary ‘Griz’ Caudle (Northern Region) is an adjunct lecturer at SUNY Plattsburgh and SUNY Geneseo. He retired from full-time teaching 7 years ago and moved to the land he has loved his whole life; the Adirondacks. He has written several college programs for experien-tial outdoor education and various curricula for elementary and high school classes. In his spare time, he paddles when the lakes and streams are open, hikes and climbs year-round, and snowboards over 100 days a season. His goal for NYSOEA is to have every New York school involved in some manner with the organization.

“The greatest gift teachers can give is to help youth validate themselves as capable people.”

Chris DeCesare (Central Region) - She is currently the central region repre-sentative for NYSOEA. She hopes to reach out to members of her region for professional development and networking opportunities and gather new mem-bers by showing them why it’s fulfilling to be a part of this organization. She has attended conferences for many years and began giving back to NYSOEA in 2005 by offering her first workshop and designing the cover of the conference booklet. She was the workshop chair for the 2008 conference in Lake Placid.She has been happily employed as an environmental educator at NYSDEC’s Rogers Center for 11 years. Her formal education includes a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology and a master’s degree in environmental education.

Chris has many outdoor interests from hiking, biking, and kayaking to garden-ing and landscaping. She likes to do so many things that sometimes she feel she can’t possibly do them all!

Nominations open for the 2010 Richard C. Bartlett Environmental Education Award

The Richard C. Bartlett Award is presented annually by the National Environmental Education Foundation to an outstanding teacher who has successfully integrated environmental educa-tion into his or her daily curriculum. The 2010 prize will be given to a high school teacher who can serve as an inspiration and model for both students and colleagues. The winner receives a $5,000 award and a trip to Washington D.C. where he or she meets with representatives from the environmental education community to further his or her education network. Do you know a teacher who stands out among the rest? If so, please nominate him/her for the 2010 Richard C. Bartlett Award. Nominations will be accepted through January 15, 2010.

To learn more or submit your nomination visit http://www.neefusa.org/bartlettaward.htm

Page5 of 12Pathways Fall 2009

Board Movements

Nirmal Merchant joins the NYSOEA board as VP of Communications this year (2009). His mission is to bring the NYSOEA.org website and the Pathways publications into the Web 2.0 era. He plans to open them for interaction with anyone and everyone interested in environmental education by leveraging social and open media.

He currently serves as IT Project Manager at McKinsey & Company where he works on solving business problems using technology in financial content and knowledge management domains.

When he is not getting his hands dirty in technology, he bikes or kayaks along the Hudson. He makes it a point to be in touch with nature, be it scuba diving, biking or hiking whenever he travels. He enjoys absorbing the beauty of nature and culture.

Nirmal feels that our generation is a bit removed from the very forces and resources that sustain it and that environmental education plays a key role in strengthening that connection. He hopes that his participation at NYSOEA gives him an avenue to make a difference in that direction.

New Board Member

Tim Stanley - Is privileged to serve on the NYSOEA board of directors as VP of Human Resources. It is his charge to build the membership and develop relationships with people and organizations that share our commitment to the outdoors and education.

He attained his BT in Agriculture at SUNY Cobleskill and an AAS in forestry from SUNY ESF. After being a Maryland Forest Ranger for two years, he returned to New York where he currently works for The Fresh Air Fund’s Sharpe Environmental Center as an Environmental Education Coordinator. He has been in this position for many years providing quality environmental and agricultural education to many schools and of course, many summers of Fresh Air Fund campers. It is his intent to inspire the present and future

generations to develop social responsibility for the natural world, their inheritance.

His greatest pleasure is canoeing an Adirondack lake on a sunny August day surrounded by water and wilderness. It is there that he truly feel part of something and life just makes sense.

Rebecca Houser is NYSOEA’s VP of Programs this year. She has been a member for 7 years and served previously on the board as the Eastern Region Represenative. She has been teaching environmental ed for the past 13 years, and for the past 8 has been teaching about the Hudson River. She co-hosted the 2009 NYSOEA Conference with Susan Hereth; a challeng-ing year-long endeavor. The great success of the Conference at Fishkill and Sharpe was a tribute to their dedicated hard work. As an avid outdoor woman she enjoys hiking, swimming, and gardening.

Page6 of 12 Pathways Fall 2009

It was mid-August and I was on my way to Vermont with a bit of apprehension as a traveling companion. So far, my post knee replacement activities had gone fairly well but this one had me concerned. The countryside of the Green Mountain State is known for its covered bridges, beautiful views and rugged terrain. It was into this world that my new joint was going to take its final exam; a weekend adventure with “Bike Vermont.”

As with most bike tours everyone started at a beautiful inn; in this case Montgomery House, just 15 miles from the Canadian border. Our diverse band was made up of hard core riders in skin hugging spandex, baggy-shorted weekend warriors and a few who hadn’t been on a bike in a long time. While I had been riding quite a bit as part of my rehab, it was all on a stationary wind trainer. This was going to be my first real test on a non-tethered bicycle; and not horizontal or in front of a TV.

The first morning Erik, one of the tour leaders, went over the day’s route. He informed everyone that he would be coming around in a van, helping anyone in need. Empty water bottle? He’d refill it. Need a snack? Fig Newtons and granola bars all around; fruit too if you’d like. Hill too steep? A quick ride in the van to the top and you’d be on your way again. And while all of that sounded reassuring, it wasn’t how I wanted to approach this ride. I really wanted to see if I was up to the challenge without a van crutch. As we left the inn’s parking lot, my confidence wasn’t faltering but it wasn’t flying sky high either. Only time and many miles in the saddle would tell how this would all work out.

The first few miles of the morning consisted of numerous small rolling hills; just what I needed to discover if this ride was achievable or just a pipe dream. Quickly followed by a reclaimed rail trail along the Missisquoi River, the path was bordered by vast ripening cornfields. Green leaves and golden tassels were all a blur as I rode through this maize tunnel. Rushing rapids in the background added a natural soundtrack to my ride as the countryside flew by. Before I realized it the first big hills were successfully overcome and I was at the

border eager to enter Quebec. Passport in hand I approached the gate, exchanged pleasantries with the guard and rode on to the village of Frelighsburg. With half the ride completed, I felt upbeat, elated and ready for more riding after a brief lunch.

Ah, but there was the rub: the steepest terrain of the day still awaited! The leaders had warned us about the hill, intimating that some riders would most assuredly be looking for the van to whisk them to the top. So here was my challenge. The crux of this ride lay just ahead and while I wasn’t nervous about it, since I was fairly certain I wouldn’t be pedaling to the top. It was then that something Erik shared with me came to mind. A friend of his, who usually rides in out of the way places, has a saying; “if you ain’t hiking, then you ain’t biking!” I took great comfort in this phrase, using it as my mental mantra while approaching the dreaded slope.

CLICK-CLICK-CLICK was the only sound I heard as my thumb shifters lowered me into an appropriate gear. With only a third of the hill behind me, I’d clicked down as far as I could. It was time to walk. And I did; gladly. For the next half mile I looked out over a beautiful apple orchard, taking in the increasing view as I pushed my bike along the road’s shoulder to the top. At the summit I saddled up and was off again; the wheels of my bike humming contentedly as they passed over the smooth black asphalt. The joy in that sound mirrored what I felt at the end of the day’s ride. As with most of life’s pleasures and perils, there are tradeoffs: while the beautiful cornfield had been a fleeting blur, the apple orchard and slowly unfolding scenic view were a delight. I had covered a distance of 44 miles over hill and dale, testing my knee throughout the course of six hours. It had been a great day to be outside and better yet, to be walking normally at the end of it. I’d happily been hiking and biking.

Until next time, may all your rambles lead you to new and exciting places...

“If you ain’t hiking, then you ain’t biking!”

Ra

mb

lin

gs

fR

om

Re

d H

ill

by

Sn

ap

pe

r P

et

ta

Photo courtesy from Tim Stanley and Nathan Garcia

Page7 of 12Pathways Fall 2009

AWARD NOMINATIONSDo you know someone who deserves recognition for dedication and hard work? If so, NYSOEA annually recognizes individuals for their achievements. If you want to show your appreciation, simply nominate the individual by December 1, 2009. Nominating someone is SIMPLE. Follow these two easy steps…

Step 1: Read the description to see if your nominee qualifies.

Step 2: Make a note of the nominee’s achievements in regard to the award. Think of any necessary facts, dates and ac-complishments supporting your nomination.

Step 3: Go to http://nysoea.org/2009/10/31/awards/ and fill in the details of your nomination and submit your nomination. You may also print the online form and mail the copy along with any supporting material to the address provided below.

ORStep 4: Fill in the details in the nomination form provided as an insert in your printed copy of Pathways and send it to the following address:

NYSOEA Office, c/o Dept. of Recreation, Parks and Leisure Studies

Box 2000, SUNY Cortland, Cortland, NY 13045e-mail: nysoea@gmail.com

This year’s award ceremony will be at Ashokan Center’s Winter Weekend, February 5th -7th, 2010.

Harlan “Gold” Metcalf Award, The highest honor present-ed to a member of the Association. Candidates must have made a valuable professional contribution in New York State, demonstrated outstanding leadership, contributed to, and made significant achievements in the field of outdoor education. Recipients must have 10 years professional experience and be a current NYSOEA member.

Leadership Award, Presented to candidate who is re-sponsible for the growth of professionals in the field, who created innovative programs, and/or provided the manage-ment support that expanded outdoor education at the local, state or national level. Recipient does not have to be a member of the Association.

Service Award, Presented for outstanding support of As-sociation goals by contribution of personal time and energy. Recipient must be a member for three years.

Art and Literary Award, Given for outstanding artistic or literary ability demonstrated by publication, scholarly pur-suits and other creative art achievements related to outdoor education. Nomination does not require Association mem-bership.

Environmental Impact Outdoor Educator Award, Award-ed to an individual or organization involved in research, conservation and political action that influence, protected and successfully dealt with problems associated with the environment. NYSOEA membership is not required.

Outdoor Educator Award, This honor recognizes the outstanding classroom teacher, environmental educator or interpreter in the Association who has used the outdoors to enrich curriculum and/or interpret the natural world in a way that has expanded the environmental appreciation of children or adults. Candidates must be active in the field for five years and a NYSOEA member for two years.

Julian Smith Student Award, Presented to a deserv-ing undergraduate or graduate student who have shown a commitment to outdoor education through study, lead-ership, volunteer work and seasonal employment. The student must be enrolled full time (12 hours) and have a grade point average of 2.5 in a program of study related to outdoor education. Applicant must submit a statement of interest and highlight experiences and /or contributions to the field. Two letters of recommendation must be secured from professors or one each from a NYSOEA member and a professor familiar with the student’s background. Other Awards, Presidential Award, Volunteer Educator Award, Appreciation Award.

Awards to consider are:

Page8 of 12 Pathways Fall 2009

Page9 of 12Pathways Fall 2009

velopment of teachers and educators and outdoor learning experiences for students.

In response to the national momentum, NYSOEA formed an environmental literacy committee to address this issue in New York State. As the statewide outdoor education association, it was a logical step for our organization, of formal and non-formal educators, to take a proactive stance in helping build momentum at the state level. Professors Beth Klein from SUNY Cortland and Mary Leou from New York University approached the NYSOEA Board of Direc-tors with an interest to develop an environmental literacy plan for New York State. That led to the formation of the Environmental Literacy Committee in January 2009. The committee set forth to inform NYSOEA members and also gather preliminary information on how to define an environ-mentally literate citizen in New York State and the pathways that lead environmental literacy. A series of roundtables were held in the five regions of NYSOEA. The goal of the

roundtables was to engage constituents in a dialogue about the development of an environmental literacy plan. Impor-tant information was gleaned from this series of conversa-tions, and the results were presented at the 2009 NYSOEA conference in September. The results will be posted on the NYSOEA website.

The committee’s ultimate goal is to ensure an environmen-tal literacy plan comes to fruition in New York State that provides for environmental education in grades K-12 and teacher training and preparation to support it. The com-mittee will also work with the New York State Education Department to secure an Environmental Literacy Plan for NYS. Once New York has an environmental literacy plan and The No Child Left Inside Legislation is signed into law, New York will be eligible for federal funding to begin steer-ing our educational system into a direction that will inspire our youth to better understand and make the decisions that ensure a healthy future for a sustainable world.

Susan HerethNYSOEA Environmental Literacy Committee ChairScenic Hudson Education Coordinator shereth@scenichudson.org

Mary LeouNew York University34 Stuyvesant Street 5th fl.New York, NY 10003(212) 998-5474mary.leou@nyu.edu

Helpful LinksNYSOEA Ning Site: http://nysoea.ning.com/Visit to view and participate in committee updates, online discussions, etc.

The Bradley Bill: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A03726NY State Environmental Education legislation – in process

The Kavanagh Bill: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A07391NY State Environmental Education legislation – in process

No Child Left Inside Federal Environmental Education legislation – in process: Senate Version – http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:S.866:

House Version - http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c111:H.R.2054:

NCLI Coalition: http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=699

TEEP Listserve: http://steinhardt.nyu.edu/wallerstein/teep

(continued from front page)

Beth KleinSUNY CortlandPO Box 2000Cortland, NY 13045(607) 753-5682Beth.Klein@cortland.edu

Contact Information For the NYS Literacy Committee

Photo courtesy from Tim Stanley and Nathan Garcia

NAAEE’s 39th annual conference

environmental education

Building Connections~Bridging Gaps

Buffalo-Niagara, New York • Sept. 29 - Oct. 2, 20107th Annual Research Symposium • Sept. 28 & 29

STRANDS

Arts, Culture, and Spirituality

Conservation Education

Innovative Programs and Practices

Network and Leadership Development

Place-based Education

Socio-ecological Justice and Community Engagement

Teaching and Learning Sustainability

Technology and Energy

Urban and Rural Interface

THREADS

Business and Industry

Diversity

Early Childhood

International

K-12 Formal Education

Research and Evaluation

Service Learning

All sessions held at the Hyatt Regency Buffaloand the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center

Volunteer committees are forming contact bchisholm@naaee.org

CALL FOR PAPERS opens September 15http://www.naaee.org/conference/call-for-presentations

Page10 of 12 Pathways Fall 2009

Page11 of 12Pathways Fall 2009

play behavior, such as climbing trees, playing tag and splashing through creeks helps children learn to make judgements and know their own limits. They also suggested that today’s par-ents are keeping their kids too safe.The original article, posted in The Observer, notes that more children are admitted to the hospital with injuries from falling out of bed than out of trees.

They went on to say, “The tendency to wrap children in cotton wool has transformed how they experience childhood. According to the research, 70 per cent of adults had their big-gest childhood adventures in outdoor spaces among trees, rivers and woods, compared with only 29 per cent of children today. The majority of young people questioned said that their biggest adventures took place in playgrounds.”

Do you stand in the backyard or on the front porch and yell, “Heidi, time to come home!” when your kids are outside playing unsupervised in the neighbor’s yard? No? Then perhaps you are among the generation of parents reported on in todays Tree Hugger e-newsletter, “New Study: Kids Need the Adventure of ‘Risky’ Play.”

The group Play England, who con-ducted the study, suggested that risky

Go Outside and Playby Heidi Hunt

Thermogenesis is rare in plants but does occur in several species of Arum and in the philodendron, as well as the skunk cabbage. The heat genera-tion of these thermogenic plants is not trivial, either. Recent measurements of the titan arum “Ted,” at UC Davis, showed the inflorescence– the flower-like structure of the arum– could maintain a temperature of 32 degrees Centigrade (90 F), well above the sur-rounding air temperature of 20 C (68 F). The skunk cabbage can do even better, maintaining temperatures as high as 35 C, even when the air tem-perature is below freezing.

Why do these plants do this? What possible benefits could accrue? Sur-prisingly, it appears that they did not develop their unique ability as a way to ward off the cold. While the skunk cab-bage certainly uses its thermogenic abilities to be able to bloom earlier, most thermogenic plants come from warmer, or even tropical climes. The arums, being fairly ancient plants, it seems more likely that the skunk cab-bage has merely found another use for an already existing ability. So why would tropical plants need to heat up?

Titan Arum – “Ted” the answer, ac-cording to most biologists, is simple – the need to attract pollinators. Many arums, such as the titan arum men-tioned above, bloom infrequently (as

rarely as every 8 to 10 years in some cases), and so their pollinators need to be able to find them quickly, and from far away. By heating up the plant can render its scent more volatile, and therefore more easily disseminated. The titan arum’s distinctively horrible scent, which has earned it the name

“the Corpse Flower,” can be detected more than a mile away. Once the pol-linators, usually insects, have been attracted, the warm inflorescence also makes an attractive place to rest. The need to spread scent widely is the same drive that gives the titan arum its enormous central spadia (the central pillar, seen in the photo). That spadia, and the surrounding inflorescence, make up the largest floral structure in the plant world – up to three meters tall.

The advantage of thermogenesis must be strong because the energy

demands on the plant are huge. It is estimated that the skunk cabbage, when maintaining its heat against sub-freezing temperatures, uses as much metabolic energy as a small rodent, or even a hummingbird. Normal plant metabolism is much slower, so this much energy usage is remarkable. In order to generate all this energy, thermogenic plants use an entire alternate respiratory process, one that uses mitochondria and fats, neither of which is involved in normal plant res-piration. The whole process, in other words, looks rather more like animal metabolism than normal plant metabo-lism. This energy cost is undoubtedly why most thermogenic plants don’t maintain heat constantly, but rather use it sparingly. In the arums, only the inflorescence itself heats up, and then only during the day. The skunk cab-bage uses heat more lavishly, presum-ably to protect itself from the cold, but once the snow is gone and blooming is over, it too reverts to normal cold-blooded plant behavior.

Perhaps we should be grateful that plants only use this particular pathway for heat generation. After all, with all that available energy, who knows what they could do by using it for something more than just a little heat. The great monsters of tomorrow may not come from outer space or the laboratory, but from our backyards.

(continued from front page)

Non-ProfitU.S. Postage

P A I DCortland, NYPermit No. 14

New York State Outdoor Education Associationc/o Department of Recreation, Parks and Leisure StudiesP.O. Box 2000SUNY CortlandCortland, New York 13045

NYSOEA is a professional organization that promotes interdisciplinary life-long learning in, for, and about the outdoors and seeks to inspire appreciation of the environment by all people.

Our Mission

PathwaysIn this Fall 2009 issue:• New Members Updates • Award recognition Info• Ramblings from Red Hill• And much more!!

Check out our NEW and IMPROVED website!

www.nysoea.org