Another Fall of Teaching Children About Nature In Sabino Canyon
— kenne
October 7th, SCVN naturalist David Dean conducted an advanced training tour of the Biomes of the Santa Catalina Mountains.
We began the tour by meeting at the McDonald’s at Catalina Highway where David provided an overview of the biomes of the Catalinas. Before starting the car caravan up Catalina Highway, David covered the lower biomes, the Saguaro-Palo Verde (100′ – 4,000′), which includes the dominant cacti and legume trees; the Desert Grassland (3,800″ – 5,000′) with grasses, succulents & shrubs being dominant.
At about the 5.5-mile marker, we pulled off at Molino Basin where David lead a discussion on the Oak – Grassland biome (4,000′ – 5,600′) and Oak Woodland (5,000′ – 6,000′) biome. Here he used posters and the natural taurine to cover; Trees: Emory Oak, Mexican Blue Oak, Silverleaf Oak, Arizona White Oak, Alligator Juniper, Western Soapberry, Border Pinyon Pine: Shrubs: Mountain Yucca, Soap-Tree Yucca, Shindagger Agave, Sotol, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass; Grasses: AZ Panic Grass, Blue Grama, Sideoats Grama, Cane beard grass, Spidergrass, Bush Muhly, Bull Grass, Lehmann Lovegrass; Oak – Grassland: Oaks & Junipers, Chihuahua Pine, Buckbrush, Golden-flowered Agave, Mt. Yucca.
Our next stop was along the highway near Bear Creek to discuss the Riparian Corridor (Not a biome) where we found AZ Sycamore, AZ Walnut, Gooding Willow, Fremont Cottonwood, Velvet Ash, AZ Cypress, AZ Alder.
At the approximately the 5,400″ elevation we stopped at the Middle Bear Picnic/Green Mountain Trail Head to learn about Pine-Oak Woodland biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, Chihuahua Pine Silverleaf Oak, AZ White Oak, Emory Oak, Black Cherry, Alligator Juniper.
Next, we stopped at Windy Point Vesta(6,500′), a popular place for tourists driving up the scenic Catalina Highway. At this location, David talked about the Chaparral biome, which includes Silver Oak, AZ Madrone, Border Pinyon Pine, Alligator Juniper, Manzanita, Golden-flowered Agave, Beargrass, and Buckbrush.
At the 19.3-mile highway marker (7,825′), David leads a discussion on the Pine Forest biome where the dominant plants are AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Ponderosa Pine and occasional Douglas-Fir.
As you can see, David used live plant specimens on his posters.
Ever wonder how Mt. Lemmon got its name? The highest point in the Santa Catalina Mountains (9,152′) was named after Sara Plummer Lemmon, a respected botanist from New Gloucester, Maine, who arrived in Arizona after living in coastal California. Her Arizona fate was sealed when she attended a botany lecture in 1876 led by her future husband, John Gill Lemmon, and the whirlwind romance was on. After four years of courtship, the two wed and worked together cataloging the flora of the West, which would lead them to the Coronado National Forest in the southern section of what was then the Arizona Territory.
A discussion on the last biome in our tour, Mixed Conifer Forest (Above 8,000′) took place at Bear Wallow (8,100). Here David illustrated the common plants in the Mixed Conifer Forest: Ponderosa Pine, AZ Pine, SW White Pine, Douglas-Fir, White Fir, Quaking Aspen; Silverleaf, Netleaf, and Gambel Oaks; Rocky Mountain, Big Tooth, and Box Elder Maples.
In hindsight, I wish I had done both photography and video of the biomes tour. Near the end of the tour, I did think about doing a video clip, which is what follows.
Note: Much of the copy in this posting is from David Dean’s handout, Biomes of the Santa Catalina Mountains
Leading Nature Walk In Sabino Canyon — Image by kenne
Hikers in a New Aspen Grove Up from Marshall Gulch On Mt. Lemmon — Image by kenne
In 2003 the Aspen Fire destroyed many homes in Summerheaven and thousands of acres on Mt. Lemmon. Last Friday the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists led hike was on the Aspen Loop that goes through some of the areas destroyed, now recovered by new aspen and pine groves.
A precursor to the Aspen Fire was the Bollock Fire, 2002 in the eastern part of the Catalinas. Parts of the area burned in 2002 is now experiencing the Burro Fire that started Friday and has now consumed 9,000 acres. The Burro Fire is one of a half-dozen wildfires in the Coronado National Forest. Did I say it is hot and very dry in southeastern Arizona?
— kenne
Slideshow images by kenne
Panning for Garnets In Sabino Canyon Creek — Imaged by kenne
(Click on any of the tiled images for larger view in a slideshow format.)
The Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists will be conducting the final week of the spring semester for Elementary School children in Sabino Canyon. It has been another great year for the national award winning program, now in its 40th year.
— kenne
Ventana Canyon Panorama (February 24, 2017) — Images by kenne
Click on any of the images for a larger view in a slideshow format.
SCVN Friday Hike on Esperero Trail (February 17, 2017) — Image by kenne
— kenne
Naturalist David Lazaroff and several other naturalists with the 2011 SCVN Training Class, Day 1 — Image by kenne
I was a member of the 2011 Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) class. During the fall training I wrote the following poem, posting it on this blog:
STANDING AT THE ALTAR OF NATURE
When we stand
at the altar of nature,
we stand with the greats;
Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Henry David Thoreau,
and John Muir,
each having helped define
our relationship
with nature and language –
“every natural fact is a symbol
of some spiritual fact,
. . . words are signs of natural facts.”
Nature’s beauty becomes
a source of spiritual energy
connecting all things
into a universal whole
with the energy of our
thoughts and will.
We stand at nature’s altar
not separate from her,
seeing her in the flowers,
insects, animals, mountains,
creating a unified landscape
of our inward and outward senses.
Like all relationships,
the experience depends
on the degree of harmony
between us and nature,
therefore becoming a gift
granted while walking with nature
as she is embraced in our minds –
Enlighten, she shares her secrets,
making the universe more “transparent.”
Yet the gift may only offer a glimpse,
to be shared in images and words,
charming all living things.
Commenting on my poem, SCVN member, Walt Tornow, wrote that my poem ”. . . captures beautifully my feelings about being in the mountains.” He went on to share the following:
GOD, GRACE, AND GRATITUDE
Finding God in the wilderness …
Here for the grace of God am I …
Grateful to be, to be here, and be given the opportunity and capacity to enjoy the many gifts/ blessings around me.
– Walt Tornow
Naturalist, Gwen Swanson, demonstrates “panning” to students in the “Strike It Rich” program.
This creekside activity allows children to learn about the difference between rocks and minerals
by panning for garnets in the sand along Sabino Creek, and the importance of water in forming the canyon.
Image by kenne
SCVN Training nature walk with naturalist, Bill Kaufman (Fall 2011) — Image by kenne
Yesterday’s SCVN Friday Hikes was Pontatoc Ridge Trail. As we gathered at the trail head parking lot (at the end of Alvernon Way), it became apparent that we would need to create two hiking groups. Elizabeth Herron, Jeff Ornstein and I would guide Group 1, Dan Collins and Bill Kaufman Group 2. Including the guides, each group had 17 hikers, with a total of 39 public participants. The plan was that Group 1 would begin the SCVN hike about ten minutes before Group 2.
Look along the ridge-line to see the Pontatoc Ridge Saddle, where we should have been.
Hikers pointing toward the Pontatoc Ridge.We finally came to a relatively flat place we could stop, rest and assess the situation. It was then that I pointed out the saddle on the ridge across the canyon as where we suppose to be. It was my way of assuring everyone that we were not lost, we just took the wrong trail several miles back.
On our return, we stopped at the sign we didn’t read earlier on in the hike.
November 18, 2016, SCVN Friday hike was to Hutch’s Pool, one of our favorite hikes in the Santa Catalina Mountains. Here are some of the photos for your review. Click on any of the images to see a larger view in a slideshow format. Enjoy! — Images by kenne
SCVN Thursday Elementary Program Naturalists — L-R: Debbie Bird, Pat Fox (New Trainee), David Dean, Bob Veranes, Phil Bentley, Maureen Hutter, Jerry Bird, David Engelsberg, Becky Duncan, Nancy Murphy, Jim Burton (New Trainee), Kenne Turner
— Image by kenne
Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) begun their Fall Elementary School Field-trip program this week. A second grade teacher selected the “Web of Life” program for today’s field-trip.
— kenne
L-R: Dan Collins, Louise Kaufman, Bill Kaufman, Tim Ralph, Maribeth Morehart, Dan Granger, Susan Ferguson, B.J. Martin, Jim Martin, and Kenne Turner
June through August each year, some of the Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) guide hikes for the public on Mt. Lemmon — SCVN Summer Friday hikes. (The U.S. Forest Service maintains over 150 miles of trails in the Santa Catalina Mountains.) Last Friday, some of us gathered on Mt. Lemmon to hike Aspen Draw trail together and celebrate the end of the SCVN summer hiking season, followed by a potluck lunch at Marshall Gulch.
Before going on the Aspen Draw trail hike, we stopped by the Mt. Lemmon Visiter’s Center and Maribeth ask fellow SCVN naturalist, Paul Kriegshauser, (Paul also volunteers at the Center information desk each Friday) to have lunch with us.
Paul brought along a very special treat, Mt. Lemmon apples, which Maribeth cut into slices for everyone — Yes, apples do grow on Mt. Lemmon!
kenne
(Click on any of the thumbnail images to see a slideshow.)
Images by kenne
“In 1880, the American pioneer botanists John Gill Lemmon and Sara Plummer were married in Oakland, California. Sara, born in Maine and college-eduated in Massachusetts as an artist and a teacher, had moved to California for health reasons. John was an established California botanist, and Sara’s love of plants quickly drew her, too, into the professional botanical field. Shortly after their marriage, the Lemmons decided to honeymoon in Tucson: they called it their “two-year botanical wedding trip.” They to the new train to Arizona, and soon found themselves drawn to a huge mountain range north of town — the Santa Catalinas.”
— from “A Natural History of the Santa Catalina Mountains, Arizona.” by Richard C. Brusca and Wendy Moore
Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) Teaching Children About Nature — Images by kenne
The kindergarten and elementary program concluded this month. They will start up again in October, five days a week. This program works with the local schools and teachers.
kenne
Naturalist David Lazaroff and several other naturalists with the 2011 SCVN Training Class, Day 1 — Image by kenne
I was a member of the 2011 Sabino Canyon Volunteer Naturalists (SCVN) class. During the fall training I wrote the following poem, posting it on this blog:
STANDING AT THE ALTAR OF NATURE
When we stand
at the altar of nature,
we stand with the greats;
Ralph Waldo Emerson,
Henry David Thoreau,
and John Muir,
each having helped define
our relationship
with nature and language –
“every natural fact is a symbol
of some spiritual fact,
. . . words are signs of natural facts.”
Nature’s beauty becomes
a source of spiritual energy
connecting all things
into a universal whole
with the energy of our
thoughts and will.
We stand at nature’s alter as man
not separate from her,
seeing her in the flowers,
insects, animals, mountains,
creating a unified landscape
of our inward and outward senses.
Like all relationships,
the experience depends
on the degree of harmony
between us and nature,
therefore becoming a gift
granted while walking with nature
as she is embraced in our minds –
Enlighten, she shares her secrets,
making the universe more “transparent.”
Yet the gift may only offer a glimpse,
to be shared in images and words,
charming all living things.
Commenting on my poem, SCVN member, Walt Tornow, wrote that my poem ”. . . captures beautifully my feelings about being in the mountains.” He went on to share the following:
GOD, GRACE, AND GRATITUDE
Finding God in the wilderness …
Here for the grace of God am I …
Grateful to be, to be here, and be given the opportunity and capacity to enjoy the many gifts/ blessings around me.
– Walt Tornow
Naturalist, Gwen Swanson, demonstrates “panning” to students in the “Strike It Rich” program. — Image by kenne
This creekside activity allows children to learn about the difference between rocks and minerals by panning for garnets in the sand along Sabino Creek,
and the importance of water in forming the canyon.
SCVN Training nature walk with naturalist, Bill Kaufman (Fall 2011) — Image by kenne
A Panoramic View of the San Pedro Valley from the Green Mountain Trail in the Santa Catalina Mountain (north).
View from the Green Mountain Trail south toward Tucson with Thimble Peak in the crosshairs. Thimble Peak is the Highest Point in Sabino Canyon. — Images by kenne
Click here to see a slideshow of photos taken on this SCVN lead hike last week.
