PLT GreenSchools YLINC 2014 Day Four

The last day of our amazing journey was one of packing up tents, cleaning up headquarters, and two more final activities outdoors. Early in the morning, Stephen f. Austin State University Forest Wildlife Management Professor, Dr. Warren Conway invited the kids to look for birds on the lake shore. With Dr. Conway's spotting scope, the kids got to see a bird that they have already seen a millions times in illustration, but never in the flesh: a bald eagle! The National Bird makes itself at home on Lake Sam Rayburn frequently, but the campers felt very fortunate to see it. Like an avian ballet, hundreds of cormorants and pelicans churned the waters by the lake shore, and a great blue heron flew by for a photo op.

Left to Right: Andre Sanez, Dr. Warren Conway and Lyndi Long watch the fog roll in and watch for birds on the shore of  Lake Sam Rayburn

After getting packed up and ready to go, the kids took kayaks out in the water, which seemed to be the highlight of the camp. Dr. Tamberly Conway, U.S Forest Service Washington Office Partnerships, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist, led the students on one last fun session of Zumba outside overlooking Lake Sam Rayburn.

Emerson Hernandez helps Andre Saenz and Clarissa Trevino get going on thier kayak.

Then it was time to say goodbye. Emerson Hernandez, Gabriella Bravo, Luis Cruz and Carlos Jimenez each wrote a letter to Tamberly and read it out loud. These letters were expressions of the kids gratitude for this opportunity. Tamberly was moved to tears, as her friends poured at their hearts from the words on the page. Everyone shared one last group hug, one last Austin cheer and made their way back to Houston. The students left nature as they found it during these past four days but nature did not leave them as when the students and nature first met. Each of the Y-LINC students left a piece of themselves with the nurturing nature that found them.

Emerson Hernandez, onenof our campers from El Salvador, said that before he signed up for this outing, he had plans to attend college, become a writer and open his own business. After this program though, he still wants to write and be an entrepreneur, but he is determined to make time to go out and enjoy nature. He is determined to live by his favorite epigram: "Give more than you can ever take" by working with and donating to groups that have programs just like this, if not to create a nature experience camp of his own. He says that these four days have made him "love nature even more."

Emely Velasquez, a Student Case worker at Houston Independent School District's Dropout Prevention Department and a 2005 graduate of Stephen F. Austin High School, believes that programs like GreenSchools! Y-LINC have a positive effect on students. "Things like this, helps them keep coming back every day, and that keeps them from dropping out.” Emely joined us for the week as another vital partner, helping us set up the camp and keep it running smoothly. One of our goals was to introduce the youth to world of opportunity in the outdoors: Emely is confident that we have accomplished that goal. “It broadens their horizons. It introduces them to different opportunities that they may not have even known about.”

Funds from U.S. Forest Service Conservation Education and National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council made our event possible. The FNFGT, the U.S. Forest Service, NUCFAC, National Project Learning Tree and many other vial partners are building "Greenbelts" of Project Learning Tree GreenSchools! in Houston ISD through the Greenschools! : A Model for Green Communities partnership. Part of the work of that partnership involves providing access to outdoor recreation and delivering educational programming that connects the public to their Urban Forests. We have accomplished that and more.

Dr. Tamberly Conway, one of our event's principle organizers, along with Dr. David Clipson, the Friends of the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas, Executive Director, said that another goal of this camping experience was to“establish pathways to education and careers in natural resource conservation and management or just establish an interest in higher education.” Another goal was to establish a stronger bond between Stephen F. Austin High School and Stephen F. Austin State University, which are being developed as sister schools. In addition, Stephen F. Austin High School supports a diverse student population, with an approximate 96% Latino student enrollment. This partnership between the high school and the university will help to create pathways for Latino and other diverse youth, while establishing opportunities to diversify the SFASU College of Forestry and Agriculture as well as various agencies and organizations who are seeking to establish a workforce that mirrors the public they serve.

In addition, our partnership is developing a program model that will allow other school districts across the country to form GreenSchools!, establish GreenSchools! Greenbelts, and involve the schools and communities in the development and implementation of GreenSchools! Action Projects that support a healthier environment and sustainable ecosystems. Nalleli Hidalgo, Tracy Sanchez, Charlie Jordan, Arianna Berdote, Andre Saenz, Samuel Camarillo, Emerson Hernandez, Luis Cruz and Gabriella Bravo are our Green Ambassadors who are working to bring new schools into the Houston East End Greenbelt. Emerson, Luis and Gaby decided to offer themselves as Greenschool Ambassadors during this very adventure!

This event also contributed to the U.S. Forest Service Diversity and Inclusion Initiative. One USFS focal area is to increase diversity in the Forest Service workforce but also think about diversity as it related to USFS programs. We included our diverse student group in nearly every decision and encouraged them to continue to be involved in the same types of projects back home.

“We believe that through these programs, we can inspire youth at an early age to become better conservation leaders and to think about the possibilities of an education and a career in natural resources,” Tamberly added. “We are trying to lay the groundwork for the next generation of the U.S. Forest Service and of our nation as a whole."

But even if the kids don't get a job with her agency, she is confident that what they learned here will empower them throughout their lives to be knowledgeable, active citizens who will care about the environment and who will better understand the management of our nation’s natural resources for the greatest good.

Our awesome PLT Greenschools Y-LINC 2014 crew!

PLT GreenSchools! YLINC 2014 Day Three

Day Three was filled with adventure in the National Forest. We met with many awesome professionals of a cross section of disciplines from the U.S. Forest Service who introduced our kids to the very real possibility that they could have a great career working in the outdoors.

The U.S Forest Service and the Friends of the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas is dedicated to helping our students stay safe, and shows that dedication by requiring them to wear hard hats when traveling in the forest. John Boyette gave everyone a safety lesson on being in the forest, first thing in the morning before we loaded up into the vans.

John Boyette discusses safety in the forest with our campers.

 When we arrived at the Angelina National Forest Work Center, Operations Team Leader, Jim Crooks , Acting Angelina and Sabine National Forest District Ranger, Rachel Smith and Angelina and Sabine National Forest Assistant Fire Management Officer, Dale Snyder talked about safety and using fire as a forest management tool. Rachel said that, compared to east Texas, not as much prescribed burning happens in the west due to the complexity of the terrain, longer fire regimes and public attitudes in the west. According to Dale, cost is also a limiting factor: the U.S. Forest Service can burn for about $17 an acre in East Texas compared to $200-400 per acre in the western part of the country. Rachel, Dale and Jim also discussed the considerations involved in determining whether conditions that are best for burning: risk of losing control of the fire, risk to the health of the fire crews, risk presented to the public by smoke, and the effectiveness of the burn.

Rachel Smith, Jim Crooks and Dale Snyder talk about managing forest with fire.

From the USFS Work Center, we traveled to Upland Island Wilderness, one of the natural areas in Texas Congressionally designated as Wilderness. Federal protected Wilderness Areas are lands that are protected from future human development where motorized vehicles are prohibited and are managed to be, according to the text of the Wilderness Act, as "untrammeled by man" as possible.

Upland Island Wilderness, so named because it was an Island of trees spared from clearing from the "cut out and get out" period of the 1930s, was bought from Temple Inland in 1984. Temple Inland removed all merchantable timber 6 months before ownership was transferred. It took the Forest Service 15 years to go through the protocols of the National Environmental Policy Act. Remnants of human activity remain in Upland Island, including culverts, road signs, and the Rushing Place historic home site.

In 1994, a wildfire threatened dozens of homes, nearly destroyed Rushing Place, and burned 3,500 acres overnight. The U.S. Forest Services Wildland firefighting crews got the fire under control, thankfully, with no loss of life or structures. The fire was so dangerous due to 40 years of undergrowth, in an ecosystem that generally experiences natural fires every four years. That danger, and the loss of habitat for the endangered Red Cockaded Woodpecker, led the U.S. Forest Service to develop burn plans for the Wilderness, which was recently approved by Congress.

The campers explore Upland Island Wilderness

Dale explained his duties as a fire boss in the field. As the topmost officer in an incident command, it's his job to make sure that everyone stays safe, knows what to do and stays aware of changes in the blaze's behavior.

After a short walk through Upland Island Wilderness, we visited a site on private land that was involved in the County Road 32 wildfire in August 2011, a fire that endangered around 350 homes in the Ebenezer community. The man who was convicted for setting the fire is currently serving a 23 year sentence.

But, as Tamberly told the campers, a lot of good came out of the fire. The landowner cleared the burned forest a few weeks after the fire and shortly thereafter, the landowner replanted longleaf pine through a cost share program supported by the Natural Resources Conservation Service. The fire had also allowed the underlying seedbank to respond with healthy tufts of native Bluestem grass and other lush native plants and grasses.

At Boykin Springs Recreation Area, Rachel and Dale told the tragic story of the Yarnell Fire and the Granite Mountain Hotshot crew that perished in the blaze. Rachel said that hotshot crews are much like a Swiss army knife for fire: they are self sufficient, highly experienced, in great shape and have many skills. Dale emphasized the importance of fuels mitigation with that story, since only one landowner complied with a fuels mitigation plan that was in place in the City of Yarnell many years before the fire.

Clarissa Trevino is so zen on the dam at Boykin Springs Recreation Area in
the Angelina National Forest

U.S. Forest Service Law Enforcement Officer Chris Crain explained the duties of his job, keeping the law in the forest and making sure that people stay safe. He also gave the kids a primer on how to survive in the wilderness, since the possibility of getting lost in the woods is a job hazard for a U.S. Forest Service officer. He explained how to get the three things you need have to survive: water, shelter and fire. Captain Crain showed the students how to build a fire, how to build a quick shelter by leaning sticks on a large log and how to harvest water by tying a plastic bag around green vegetation. The most important rule, according to Captain Crain, is not to panic.

Campers build a fire to stay warm with Chris Crain at Boykin Springs

It may not be Holiday Inn, but this shelter made from sticks and a poncho
might keep you alive on a cold night.

Dr. Warren Conway, a professor at Stephen F. Austin State University who will soon be moving over to his alma-mater Texas Tech, asked the  campers to share some of their perceptions regarding their learning adventure and asked them about their interests in education and careers.  He matched the students’ interests with viable career options to help the youth better understand their potential career pathways.  Dr. Conway gave them a lesson on owl biology and natural history and then played several recordings of various owl species. The group heard a couple of owls in the far distance and soon, everyone began to try their own mouth calls as they hooted and whistled, trying to mimic the recorded owls.  Tomorrow will be their last day here, and we are sure that this journey is one that they shall remember for a long time.

Be sure to check out our Twitter feed, #YLINC2014, for live tweets and exclusive photos of our Youth Leadership in Nature Challenge journey! There are exclusive photos of the PNPC and more on our Flickr page as well!

PLT Greenschools! YLINC 2014 Day Two

Jason Lombardi explains his urban wildlife research project.

Our campers got to know Stephen F Austin State University (SFASU) in a big way on their beautiful Nacogdoches campus. 

When we first arrived at SFASU, we were a little early, so we planned to take a short walk in the verdant SFA Mast Arboretum, but as we were walking toward the trail, we noticed that Jason Lombardi and two fellow students, Andrew and Heather had captured a possum. They were working on Jason's Wildlife Management Master’s thesis project focused on urban wildlife and their behavior. Jason magnanimously offered to give our kids an impromptu presentation on his research. Jason, Andrew and Heather's dedication to their project was readily apparent in their willingness to talk to us, and the students were very engaged in an example of the kind of research that the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture (ATCOFA) does every day.

Next, we visited with Dr. Brian Oswald for a presentation about fire and forests. He talked about how prescribed burns, fires set on purpose in very specific conditions, help forests stay healthy and protect the urban-wildland interface from catastrophic fires by removing excessive brush. He showed us the unique tools of the wildland firefighter that help them make fire breaks, invited the students to try walking in a 45 lb vest, and let the students try diving under a fire shelter. While the work of managing fire is dangerous and difficult, Dr. Oswald said, "People need this skill set in natural resources." He talked about the many fire jobs across the nation and about study abroad opportunities in Spain and the Netherlands. Some of his Fire Management students are currently conducting research in the Netherlands.

Dr. Oswald inspects Gabrielle Bravo's ability to get inside an
emergency fire shelter, and declares her a "live potato".

Dr. Matthew McBroom, SFASU hydrology professor, took our kids on a hands-on science sojourn to Sarah's Branch at the Pineywoods Native Plant Center (PNPC). We saw how the rain gardens filter runoff before it reaches Sarah's Branch, which flows into LaNana Creek. Emerson Hernandez and Clarissa Treviño used a Sechi Tube and a water sensor to determine the turbidity, conductivity, pH, temperature and dissolved oxygen of a certain point of the stream. 

Dr. McBroom described Hydrologists as crime scene investigators for water bodies in trouble, using science to find sources of pollution and invent solutions to hydrology problems. He warned that pollution affects a water body as soon as it enters and "once a creek is polluted, it’s real expensive to clean it back up again". Leaving trees by a stream, creating rain gardens, picking up after your dog and encouraging more green spaces, all can help keep water clear and clean.

Emerson Hernandez collects a water
sample from Sarah's branch creek
adjacent to the PNPC

Elyce Rodewald, Educational Programs Coordinator at the PNPC introduced the sojoruners to the new educational center by the Tucker House which was built to LEED standards to have a minimal impact on the environment. It features low speed, high volume fans and 20 SERE air conditioning units. Green Mountain energy is planning on donating a grid-tie solar system to the facility.

Dr. Jeremy Stovall, Professor of Silviculture, had our students mesmerized with his discussion of how forests are managed. Dr. Stovall insisted that clearcuts, when done properly, are a wise management decision for a variety of land management goals. Our students asked at least a dozen questions of Dr. Stovall, such as "do trees ever grow back from stumps" and "Are nutrients or water removed from the site when trees are harvested?" He answered all of them, showing our kids that a college professor can engage them just like their phenomenal high school teachers, Mr. Juan Elizondo and Mr. David De Hoyos.

Courtney and Conner, purple-blooded SFASU Sylvans, gave the kids a shot at timber sports. The students tried their hands at hatchet throwing, knife throwing, log rolling and cross-cut saw.

Abiel Montalvo and Emerson Hernandez (out of frame on right) saw away with the Slyvans crosscut saw

Dr. Neil Cox, professor of printmaking at SFASU's College of Art, elucidated our energized pupils on how prints are made. He explained lithography, copper plate printing, and relief printing in as fine a detail as the prints he loves to run. We explored the photography studio were the oldest techniques are taught, the ceramics lab were art has made peace with function, and the art department workshop where Robert King makes fiddles from 1900's era cigar boxes. Dr. Cox revealed several interesting collaborative efforts between the College of Forestry and the School of Art. He also discussed scholarships with our students, encouraging them to not be the many who leave money on the table.

Dr. Neil Cox gives a lesson on printing from a copper plate

To round out the day, many of our students burned up some energy at a ZUMBA class at the City of Nacogdoches Recreation Center with ZUMBA instructor Misti Cranford. Then we retired back to Lazy Acres to feast on two flavors of enchiladas, handmade fresh tortilla chips, savory tamales, hearty frijoles charros and grilled jalapeños.

Glistening with fun after a great Zumba workout!

Glistening with fun after a great Zumba workout!

Tomorrow, we will venture into the Wilderness. The Wilderness Act, which preserves 106 million acres for public enjoyment and research, turns 50 this year!

Be sure to check out our Twitter feed, #YLINC2014, for live tweets and exclusive photos of our Youth Leadership in Nature Challenge journey! There are exclusive photos of the PNPC and more on our Flickr page as well!

P.S. They made Adrian Delgado, reporter and grant writer for FNFGT, a birthday he won't forget. Adrian's wife Lyndi, Tamberly Conway (Partnerships, Diversity and Inclusion Specialist with the U.S. Forest Service, and the YLINC campers made him a cake and brought him many lovely gifts. He thanks everyone from the bottom if his heart for their generosity. He is a very happy camper.

PLT GreenSchools! YLINC 2014 Day One

It's like a holiday present to the high school pupils of Houston! The U.S Forest Service, the National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (NUCFAC), the Friends of the National Forests and Grasslands in Texas-Latino Legacy (FNFGT), Stephen F. Austin State University – Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, the Texas A&M Forest Service, Houston Independent School District and the Natural Resources Conservation Service were proud to give the gift of the outdoors to 12 Stephen F. Austin High School students. They got to start 2014 off right with a very special Project Learning Tree GreenSchools! Youth Leadership in Nature Challenge (Y-LINC)! 

Y-LINC has been a FNFGT program for 5 years, in which high school students that otherwise may never have a chance to go out in nature, have an opportunity to spend a week in the middle of the great outdoors. The adventurers camp, talk to experts in the fields of natural resource management, learn how to build fires, cook s'mores, help the community with service learning projects and much more. This year, however, FNFGT has integrated our work with Project Learning Tree GreenSchools!, a program that helps students devise projects that reduce their school's impact on the environment. FNFGT is currently engaged in an multi-year partnership with the NUCFAC to create networks of GreenSchools! that improve not just the school’s environment, but also their surrounding community, while emphasizing the importance of urban forests. Our partnership, called GreenSchools!: a Model for Green Communities will develop techniques and models that will help other communities across the nation to grow their own GreenSchools! networks, which are being titled, GreenSchool! Greenbelts.

Our twelve kids, all over-achievers and big believers, come from Stephen F. Austin High School, one of our most active schools in the Houston ISD East End GreenSchools! GreenBelt. We have offered them Y-LINC as a way for them to gain more outdoor and leadership skills, build professional networks, and make them aware of the possibilities that nature offers them in their careers. This fresh perspective may help them do bigger and more impactful GreenSchools! projects back at their campus!

The first stop was the Stephen F. Austin Experimental Forest near Nacogdoches, Texas. Stephen F. Austin State University and the U.S. Forest Service cooperatively manage the forest as a place to conduct research in the fields of forestry and conservation. The Experimental Forest makes a perfect home for the Natural Resource Conservation Service's (NRCS) East Texas Plant Materials Center (PMC).

Camper Emerson Hernandez plants wildflower 

seed in a transplanter pot at the NRCS

Our kids learned from Alan Shadow, NRCS Agronomist and East Texas PMC Manager, that the East Texas PMC determines the plant species best able to solve local conservation issues, such as declining wildlife habitat, energy demands and the recent honeybee colony collapse disorder crisis. Their exhaustive research creates a library of knowledge that wildlife managers, foresters, environmental scientists and private landowners can access in order to pick the right plant for the job. Mr. Shadow gave the Y-LINC campers the ten-dollar tour, showing them the NRCS's specialized planter, a massive combine, a crop roller, transplanter and other muscular machines that let the NRCS do their valuable work on a picayune budget.

After the tour, Samuel Camarillo, a Graduate Student in the Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture at Stephen F. Austin State University, led the caravan on a dendrology stroll through the meandering interpretive trails of the Experimental Forest. If they didn't know before, our kids now know that Yaupon Holly was a Native American medicine, Carolina Basswood twigs can be made into tough rope, burning Poison Ivy can create a deadly smoke, Hercules Club (Toothache Tree) can numb the mouth, American Black Elderberry makes a rich jam, White Oak acorns are edible when carefully prepared, Devil's walking-stick was used to make a prickly fence, Blackberries are plentiful in March and Sassafras was the traditional flavoring of root beer. Sam's thesis at ATCOFA involves creating a model to predict where the Chinese Tallow tree grows best, in order to know where best to combat the invasive tree. We wish him luck with his crucial work.

Sam Camarillo, SFA Forestry Grad Student, 

owns the basswood twig as he turns wood into rope.

The student adventurers beat a path, via automobile, to SFASU, to hear from Ryan Horn from SFA's Admissions Office. Ryan encouraged the students to pursue a degree at a university, and pointed them to information on the SAT scores they need to achieve to be accepted to SFA and the financial aid resources that help them pay for their degree. Horn said that SFA provides a very personalized educational experience to its students, due to its small classes and stand-alone nature. Members of the Stephen F. Austin High Cheer team, Austin Pride, many of whom were participating in the Winter Y-LINC, gave Horn and Mr. John Sperry a cheer straight from their school.

Mr. John Sperry, ATCOFA's Undergraduate Adviser and Recruiter, introduced the campers to the dozens of career paths and degrees available at ATCOFA, including (but not limited to) Wildlife Management, Forestry, Environmental Science, Horticulture and Spatial Science.

Dr. I-Kuai Hung, Professor of Geographic Information Systems, prefaced to students the high-tech field of Spatial Science: the computer-based discipline that develops map products like Google Earth, crime density maps, optimal Black Bear habitat maps, etc. Spatial Science also has everything to do with GPS, satellites, and meteorology. Its one of the fastest growing fields and ATCOFA is a well-recognized training center for the GIS experts of the future.

Campers shot more lasers at Dr. I-Kaui Hung's Spatial Science presentation than your average space opera

Stephen F. Austin High School gives a cheer at Stephen F. Austin State University.

The campers returned to camp for hot venison chili and rice, cooked with love by Lyndi Long, a former FNFGT program presenter, who now educates hundreds of children at a museum in San Antonio. Lyndi comes back each year to Y-LINC as a volunteer. They then met with their team leaders: Sam Camarillo, Arianna Berdote (a SFA Wildlife Management Undergrad), Charlie Jordan (a SFA Forest Recreation Management Undergrad) and Andre Saenz (a SFA Wildlife Management Undergrad and employee of the Texas A&M Forest Service), and split up into their groups. Texas A&M Forest Service District Forester III, Texas Project Learning Tree Co-Coordinator and our long-time friend, John Boyette, provided presentations on the growing (literally) field of urban forestry and taught kids the great mystery of how trees work!

Tomorrow, we will return to SFASU to hear from more SFASU forestry giants! Be sure to check FNFGT out on Facebook, on Twitter (@FriendsNFGT, #YLINC2014) and our photo albums on Flickr and our new Google+ page !