Mobile Command Unit Retires

After years of dedicated service on the gravel roads of the Monongahela National Forest and beyond, The Mobile Command Unit has finally been retired. Known as one of The Mountain Institute’s most treasured fleet members, it featured swiveling captain’s chairs, window shades, a CB radio, interior lights, curtains, and more! The MCU has transported hundreds of students, hauled canoe trailers, carried equipment, and most of all, sparkled in our parking lot. Emerging triumphant through rain, snow, mud, heavy loads and long trips, and eventually, one cylinder shy of the standard eight, the MCU drove through our highlands. It now rests in peace with Elkins Metal.

For many years our vans have endured these difficult weather and road conditions on Spruce Knob, with much love, affection, encouragement, and maintenance. We greatly appreciate donations of vehicles or financial support to keep our fleet transporting students. If you are interested in donating, we may be able to incorporate your van, truck, or small car into our fleet, as our activities are varied. Give us a call at (304) 567-2632 if you are interested.

Big Problems for Bats

Last spring, the Spruce Knob News reported on a disease that was running rampant throughout the Northeastern United States, chronically affecting thousands of bats and sparing the lives of few. One year ago, the disease was confirmed at 13 sites in New York, Vermont, and Massachusetts. Today, the disease has been confirmed in nine states, from New Hampshire to Virginia and is responsible for the deaths of over a half a million bats. In February, White Nose Syndrome (WNS) was confirmed in three caves in Pendleton County, WV.

White Nose Syndrome was first discovered in 2006 at four caves near Albany, NY, where thousands of bats, usually hibernating throughout the winter months, were found dead outside of the cave. More than half of these bats were observed with a white fungus near and around their noses. Within a year, during the winter of 2007 - 2008, WNS symptoms were confirmed in Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. This winter, 2008 - 2009, WNS has been reported and/or confirmed in all of the aforementioned states, as well as in New Hampshire, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Virginia.

The white-nose fungus itself doesn't appear to be killing bats, but seems to disturb their sleep so that they end their hibernation early. Bats that normally awake every two to three weeks are waking every three to four days. The fungus grows on bats and infects and destroys the local tissue. Infected bats have been observed flying during the day and during cold winter weather when the insects they feed upon are not available, causing the bats to literally starve to death. Often, these bats uncharacteristically move to cold parts of the hibernacula instead of their typically warmer roosting spots, causing them to use even more of their energy stores to stay warm. Currently, a WNS study is being conducted in Wisconsin, researching exactly how the fungus is affecting the bats and hopefully discovering some way to stop or at least impede its spread. Similar fungi have been reported on bats in Europe in the past, without the same devastating effects.

On March 26, 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a voluntary moratorium on all caving activities. In response to this announcement and correspondence with WV Division of Natural Resources biologists, TMI has made the decision to remove caving from its programming until further notice. The caving activities will be replaced with educational curricula developed around karst topography in cave country, bats, and the WNS crisis. This curriculum can be paired with TMI’s newest citizen science initiative, Appalachian Bat Watch. Along with bat education at TMI, Bat Watch includes the installation of bat boxes, summer homes for bats, and the monitoring of the individual colonies that reside there. Bat Watch sites can then compare statistics with other sites throughout the state and monitor their own populations from year to year. These activities will work to promote understanding of the significance of bats in our ecosystem as well as the importance of species biodiversity in our natural world. This WNS information and more can be accessed on the web at www.fws.gov, www.caves.org, and through other various media outlets.

Photo From: www.wvdnr.gov/2009news/09news027.shtm

It's Almost Summer!

The Mountain Institute's Mountain Adventures Summer camp for 2009 has arrived! Fill your summer up with adventure, adrenaline, thrills, and education. From white water rafting, rock climbing and caving to astronomy, art, and cooking, the Mountain Adventures summer camp is exactly what you've been looking for!

Rates: 1 week $800, 2 weeks $1550, 3 weeks $2000
Dates: June 28th-July 4th, July 5th-11th, July 12th- 18th
For more information please visit our website www.tmisummercamp.org

Welcome New Staff Members!

February 23rd, 2009 dawned a snowy, blustery day; Spruce Knob’s welcome to our new staff members! Upon turning off Highway 28 onto Sawmill Run Road, they ventured into our winter wonderland on Spruce. We spent the following eight days both inside and out, building huge fires in the woodstoves inside and hiking and playing games to stay warm outside. We learned about The Mountain Institute, ourselves, and each other as they prepared to work with us.

Our new staff members join us with varied academic backgrounds, enriching our diverse skills and experience. Their Bachelors and Masters Degrees include: Geology, Social Work, Literature, Electronic Media, Chemistry, Environmental Studies, Youth Ministry, Health and Physical Education/ Outdoor Education Administration, and Forestry.

Prior to working with The Mountain Institute, our new staff members worked on trail crews, counseled and mentored at risk and adjudicated youth, helped with desert and prairie restoration, served with Americorps, worked at environmental education facilities, cooked for groups, led mountain biking trips, coordinated volunteer groups, fueled and analyzed recycling efforts, provided grassroots outreach, were camp counselors, completed graduate research in outdoor education, taught college classes, worked with city parks and recreation, and one was even a professional bridesmaid and wedding dress fitter!

We are excited to welcome this diverse, talented, and animated group of individuals to our staff “family” here at Spruce Knob.

The Blog is Back

As far as my new duties as blog master are concerned, I have been failing. Around November 1, 2008, there was a peaceful transition of blog power and unlike the peaceful transition of our humble commander in chief, I did not campaign and I wasn't elected. And now, two and a half months after being appointed to this position and two and a half months of blog neglect, the Spruce Knob blogging world is in arrears. Watching the Presidential Inauguration today, I have become motivated to take on a challenge. If Barack can do it, so can I.

I'm still not exactly sure about the definition of blog or who reads them and why. I don't have my space or facebook or any of that other hoo-haw and hardly have time to do half of things I'd like to, let alone get done the things I need to get done... but I am now the blog master. The blog is about life on Spruce Knob, something I know a thing or two about and as far as I'm concerned, there's no finer place to live.

Things are nearing perfection in our world up here. Our wood stoves are warm, our bellies are full, our work is fulfilling and plentiful, and our evenings and weekends are full of hobbies, projects, and friends. There would be no time for television if we had one. This life is much more interesting, enlightening, and rewarding than any other I could imagine. A glance to the outside world today seems as promising as any; Barack Obama is President and the Steelers are going to the Super Bowl. In our world today, the plants in the greenhouse survived the cold snap and it looks like it will be another great ski day, after work of course.

Josh

(These views do not represent those of The Mountain Institute (TMI) or of any TMI supporter. This entry does represent my views and I'm not even encouraging you to agree, so big deal.)

A Classic Spruce Shot

We found this picture in the depths of the archives. What a great picture! We figured we should put out an APB to find out who these folks are. Any ideas?

Email Josh at jnease@mountain.org

Spruce's Favorite Quotes

Every time we have a course up at Spruce, the staff get a schedule that has all the important logistical information that they may need for the course. It has their schedule, group details, etc. It also has some of Dave Martin's favorite quotes that he has come across over the years. I wanted to share some of those with you.

"This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."

George Bernard Shaw, Man and Superman, Epistle Dedicatory

Irish dramatist & socialist (1856 - 1950)

"The oldest, most widespread stories in the world are adventure stories about human heroes who venture into myth-countries at the risk of their lives and bring back tales of the world beyond [people]…It could be argued…that the narrative art itself arose from the need to tell an adventure, that [a person] risking [their] life in perilous encounters constitutes the original definition of what is worth talking about."

Paul Zweig
The Adventurer

"Granted that one must live, one should never cease to ask the question: live how, by what means, and for what purpose? If the means or the objectives of life are sordid and base, life is not worth living nor can one maintain self respect. Knowledge must be acquired and used with right motives, and applied to speech, action, and the means of livelihood."

Scott Nearing
Making of A Radical

Prime

Return me, oh, sun,
to my wild destiny,
rain of the ancient wood,
bring me back to the aroma and the swords
that fall from the sky,
the solitary peace of pasture and rock,
the damp at the river-margins,
the smell of the larch tree,
the wind alive like a heart
beating in the crowded restlessness
of the growing araucaria.

Pablo Neruda
Chilean (1904 -1973)

"But in these plethoric times when there is too much coarse stuff for everybody and the struggle for life takes the form of competitive advertisement and the effort to fill your neighbor’s eye, there is no urgent demand either for personal courage, sound nerves or stark beauty, we find ourselves by accident. Always before these times the bulk of the people did not overeat themselves because they couldn't, whether they wanted to or not, and all but a very few
were kept “fit” by unavoidable exercise and personal danger. Now if only he/ she pitch his/ her standard low enough and keep free from pride, almost anyone can achieve a sort of excess. You can go through contemporary life fudging and evading, indulging and slacking, never really hungry nor frightened nor passionately stirred, your highest moment a mere sentimental orgasm, and your first real contact with primary and elemental necessities the sweat
of your death bed. "

HG Wells

Have quotes? Send them to Nathan at nhayes@mountain.org.

Endorsement From WV Department of Education

The West Virginia Department of Education's (WVDE) Office of Instruction has endorsed The Mountain Institute's educational programming in the content area of science. WVDE sees The Mountain Institute as well as other organizations as solutions to create more "hands-on, minds-on" opportunities for West Virginia students.

From the WVDE website:

"The Office of Instruction is currently providing leadership to the teachers of West Virginia as we actively proceed on the journey to a new vision of instructional design and delivery. Ours is a learning journey during which we decide to take advantage of digital tools for inquiry, collaboration and communication as we connect learners with one another or the world beyond our schools and classrooms. While learning to give up the traditional teacher’s role of being the content expert, we are learning new ways to engage with our students." This is from http://wvde.state.wv.us/instruction/

We are honored to be a part of the WVDE changing vision of education in West Virginia. Thanks!

To support public education in WV, please contact Nathan Hayes (nhayes@mountain.org)

Randolph County Outdoor Education Program

For the last 5 years or so, The Mountain Institute has been involved in the Randolph County Outdoor Education Program (RCOEP). RCOEP was founded by community members in and around the town of Elkins, WV. The beauty of this education program stems from its community involvement.

RCOEP provides fifth grade students in Randolph County Schools with a three-day residency grounded in the county's rich natural environment and cultural heritage. Based on the idea that some of the best teaching and learning experiences grow out of a sense of place, the program draws on the resources of over two dozen agencies and organizations working throughout Randolph County.

The program was designed to increase children's awareness of local habitats, heritage, and environment, and addresses a variety of local issues while exploring different solutions.
Students who participate in the Randolph County Outdoor Education Program explore local waterways, forests, history, culture, and resource management practices. They collect data from their watershed, discuss local issues from diverse viewpoints, and participate in activities that celebrate regional arts, crafts, and music. Throughout the three-day residency, each student will keep a journal of his/her own experiences. Through this exercise, students who participate in the Outdoor Education Program will gain a greater understanding of their local landscape and its vital role in their lives.

During the program the students will:
* Attend sessions that introduces them to local wetlands, streams, public and private forested areas, and farmlands;

* Hear firsthand the music and stories of the surrounding communities, and discuss the connection between human and natural landscape;
* Experience and discuss different approaches to decision making and look at issues from different perspectives;
* Reflect on their values and develop critical thinking skills
* Meet professional from different occupations, who may serve as role models when they choose a career.

If you would to support the Randolph County Outdoor Education Program, please contact Nathan Hayes at nhayes@mountain.org or 304-567-2632.