TRT @ CVNP Teacher-Ranger-Teacher Wrap up

TRT @ CVNP
I am a "feast or famine" kind of gal. All or nothing they say and my blog life is apparently following that path too. I've gone months without posting and then suddenly I have time and energy to post multiple times a day.

Click on the picture above to follow the Animoto link.

I've completed my Teacher-Ranger-Teacher, (TRT), duties and it has been a busy and exciting year. I wanted to share the feeling in this Animoto show. Click on the link or photograph above to view.

Technology Touches

http://www.tagxedo.com/artful/3408be6068494d8d

This Tagexdo word cloud was for an e-Facilitator training course and a great way to run inventory on what the course highlighted. The word cloud is easy to use and has a big payoff. One's motivated to continue to finish the project to see the end result. The personal choices that your allowed to make on the way makes the process that much sweeter. This is a must due for any classroom. It doesn't require a lot of time but access to computers, Internet, etc.

Adding Technology Touches

One of my collaborating colleagues heard about Voki and wanted to try it. I wanted to play around with it and see how easy it would be to use and then brainstorm some ways we could use it with students. My own son saw me working on it and decided he was going to use a similar app on his ipod to have a "face-off' with me. His version of me was so flattering. I told him he'd obviously won- after all he knows how I look better than I do since I have to look in a mirror! I'm still exploring this tool, so I'll add updates.

Teen Read Week is October 14-20

LRC helpers did a fantastic job creating our first display case,
"Fall for a good Book" 

I've been working hard and getting acclimated to my new position. Teaching is truly a rewarding occupation. Having a sense that your efforts can actually help someone, is priceless. And as the school librarian I get to be a part of so much...helping students find the resources they need, the delight on their faces when their requested book comes in, the peace they show when they enter into the quiet sanctuary like setting of the LRC, (depends which period), the focus they display when working at the computer-typing, researching,or completing their math problems. I'm proud of the LRC helpers I have too. They've created displays and promoted programs and the opening weeks of the school library would not have been possible without their day-to-day contributions.

The school website addition is my first virtual trek outside the LRC. YALSA's Teen Read Week inspired me; Teen Read Week is October 14-20

Face Your Fears

One of my most significant milestones during the TRT experience so far, has been my experience with the Beneath the Fishing Pole program.

When I was a girl, my grandmother would always ask if I wanted to go fishing and I always declined. When I reflect on why, I can recall not wanting to touch any worms, put bugs on a hook, or touch a live or dead fish or clean fish or eat fish! Nothing, and I mean nothing about fishing sounded fun or enjoyable at that time.

Fast forward three decades… and here I am in a situation to undue all of those past thoughts by helping young children overcome the very thing I’d avoided when I was their age! Yes I faced my fears and said that out loud as I hooked my first cut up worm onto the hook. The kids and the adults in the group marveled. I just convinced myself that if my family and I were starving and our survival depended on me fishing- I would do it, period. Once I was past that initial obstacle, I helped several children get the worm parts that Ranger Jack had cut, onto the hooks. Once those were gone I had to cross another bridge and conserve the worms we had and needed by cutting the whole worms into three parts. I watched Ranger Jack cut the worms with the scissors and I got down to business myself. I could not contain my excitement and surprise when the worm parts continued to wiggle around even after I’d cut them. Who knew…not me… but now I do.

I learned so much about the anatomy of a fish, how to cast, how to hook, how to line up poles, transport poles- the joy of learning has always been in me and I am so thankful to our Creator for letting me share that part of myself with others and for allowing me to be a part of such a wonderful experience with others.

I must be prepared. To help me prepare for my first Ledges Ramble program, I took my sons and two of my nephews on the hike with me and had them do the scavenger hunt. I matched an older with a younger and emphasized to them that they didn't need to find everything and that the most important thing was to enjoy the hike and the park.

They were so wonderful to watch and so helpful. I was so thankful for the time I spent with them and felt a connection and love for them and the outdoors. Wow, I sound so sappy but it's so true. I can't wait to do this again.

On Top! Ledges Ramble...

Despite all of the challenges with being a TRT, there are so many worthwhile moments. When I got to lead my first Ledges Ramble program, I described the “tight space” we could go into near Ice Box cave. A couple of the children voiced their concern and had decided they would go around rather than slide and slink through the tight space.  After some thought one of the little girls said, “Well, face your fears,”  and had made up her mind that she was going to slide and slink. I was truly inspired. I had just said those same words a week before. I high-fived her and before you know it, it became our group mantra- “face your fears!” We were all high-fiving and when it came time to go into the tight space, we all went through, they squealed with delight and wanted to go through again. Amazing.

That’s Special

Over the past several weeks I’ve gotten to know the map of CVNP pretty well, as well as the lay of the land.  There are so many special places in the Park and this blog is dedicated to some of my personal hotspots…

Tinker’s Creek Gorge is on a very steep hill. On the way up there was a deer waiting to cross the road and on the way down, two determined older and very fit bikers were pushing up the hill. Driving through the Bedford Reservation Metro park to get to the Gorge was a pleasure. Following the creek, and imagining kids frolicking in the water sprinklers and jumping around on the playground was delightful.  The Terra Vista Natural Study Area was a stop on the way back. It was a little to “natural” for my taste,    (It makes me truly appreciate the work that the National Park workers and Conservancy volunteers do to keep the trails looking and working their best).

Exploration days, where I can get outdoors, see, experience, and appreciate different locations in throughout the Park, are one of the best parts about this position. On one such day I had the treat to visit the Blue Heron nesting area off Bath Rd. The Heronry with or without binoculars is a special location. You can literally see dozens of nests and will undoubtedly see one or a few herons flying to and from. I’ve heard that the Herons have to keep their nesting area away from the Eagles or else the Eagles will feed the heron eggs to their eaglets! I don’t know how true it is but I’m relieved that the Eagle’s Nest is further north.

So far, one of my favorite places to visit is the Beaver Marsh. This place is full of history and you never know what you might see there. One time visiting with the other TRT’s we focused on turtles and frogs. We saw several of both. We could see the work of the Beaver’s but during the daylight hours, not the beavers themselves. A deer passing through, wood ducks and ducklings, different species of birds, Herons too, damsel flies and dragon flies and so much more!

There's a variety of wildlife that calls the Beaver Marsh home, not bad for a former junkyard!

The Brecksville station part of the Towpath where the Eagle’s nest was great the second time around, because the adolescent was actually there! A young eagle was alone, hovering over the nest, as if his parents told him not to leave or he could have been working up the courage to soar!?!

Other hotspots:

• Tinker’s Creek Gorge the Overlook, even though there is no lower level view.
• Canal Visitor Center with the realistic and semi-interactive exhibits on Canal locks, life, early Native-American history is worth the trip north and there are plans to update this center and make even more interactive!
• Rockside station has the eco-friendly pavement and parking lot.
• Hunt Farm Visitor Center has an adorable play area for small children and personifies creativity.
• Hines Hill Center is home to the Conservancy. The “Barn” and the “Chicken Coup” that shares the campus,  can be rented out and is a picturesque place for a wedding ceremony.

ART

As a TRT, part of my mission is to give people a reason to care- connect visitors intellectually and emotionally to tangible places and things as well as to intangible themes that make the National Park Service, (NPS), purposeful. One of the major ways to accomplish this is through personal services and media services. That’s why I love this blog. I can undertake the personal and media services at the same time. As the saying goes, “we conserve what we love and understand.” Part of my interpretation skills will be to present as many perspectives as I can. Visitors need to feel and see the Park as a valuable resource.

Applying the Interpretive Equation

KR + KA x AT = IO

So, after the cool workshop on Geocaching at the Leopold Conference, I’m excited about seeing how as an LST- Librarian Servicing Teens, I could use the Park, and the popular Hunger Games book series, “districts” of training and skills to engage more students. Tangible and Intangibles. The Cuyahoga River, Crooked River, Place of the Jawbone, Place of the Wing, can surely earn a spot in the plans.

The Sequoia tree and bison represented vegetation and wildlife, the mountains and water represented scenic and recreational values, and the arrowhead represented historical and archeological values.

NPS arrowhead patch