Earthbeat fall14

Farewell, Old Friend!With heavy hearts we

must say farewell to

one of the Center’s

longest serving employees,

Naturalist and Planning

Specialist, Tom Stone.

Friday, October 31, 2014

will be Tom’s last day at

the Ebersole Center.

Tom Stone has been a fixture at Ebersole for more than 28 years and has been an asset and a treasure to the Center and its participants. Tom joined the Lansing School District’s Ebersole Center on July 22, 1986 and

has helped to make the Center the wonderful, exciting and educational place it is today. Tom’s contributions are many and the relationships that have been built will endure, but it won’t be the same without him here.

Tom’s extensive knowledge of nature and outdoor skills has benefited visitors to Ebersole Center for decades. He not only has great skills as a Naturalist, but as a bus driver he made many trips to Lake Michigan and other destinations. As a lifeguard he watched over canoeing and wading activities. As a tractor driver he took visitors on hay rides. Tom wore so many hats that it is impossible to list them all!

Tom’s laid back attitude has made hima favorite with students, teachers and chaperones alike. Student’s love Mr. Tom. (His stories have long been a favorite, especially “The Little Turtle”.) He also spent time as a Voyageurin Canada and has thrilled generations withhis wild fur trading presentations. His flexibility and willingness to do whatever has needed to be done (with a smile) have made him a tremendous asset, especially as the Center has moved from a large staff to just a few key staff.

Tom’s retirement has been bittersweet for his Ebersole family. We are happy for him and wish him only the best, but we are all sad to see him go. So Tom, enjoy your retirement—fishing, hunting, and spending time with your family—and stop in and see us sometime. We will miss you!

If you’d like to wish Tom well on his retirement, please send cards or letters in care of the Ebersole Center and we will gladly pass them along to him.

V E R N O N D . E B E R S O L E E N V I R O N M E N T A L E D U C A T I O N A N D C O N F E R E N C E C E N T E R F A L L 2 0 1 4

Tom Stone, Ebersole Naturalist

Explore Ebersole!

Fall Open HouseSaturday, October 4Noon to 4:30 p.m.Admission: FREEPlease join Ebersole Center staff and volunteers for a day of family fun, celebrating the outdoors at our annual Fall Open House. Explore the Center’s 158 acre site featuring boardwalks, nature trails, wetlands including a bog, fen and 14 acre lake, as well as a prairie and beech-maple hardwood forest.

Whether your child will be visiting

the Center with their school, or you

just want to spend a fun fall day

outside, the Fall Open House is a

great opportunity to visit and see

what the Lansing School District’s

Ebersole Center is all about.

Open House activities will include:

• Guidedwildflowerandtrailhikes

• Catchandreleasefishing (bring your own bait and pole)

• Canoeingandarchery

• Naturecrafts

• Facilitytoursandmore!

Visitors are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch. Coffee, water and punch will be provided.

Please contact Ebersole Center with questions or for more information. We look forward to seeing you, your family and friends at the Open House!

What’s Cookin’? Glazed Lemon Zucchini Bread

INGREDIENTS2 cups cake flour* 1/2 tsp. salt 2 tsp. baking powder 2 eggs 1/2 cup canola oil 1 1/3 cups sugar 2 TB lemon juice 1/2 cup buttermilk zest of 1 lemon 1 cup grated zucchini (Use a cheese grater and pat dry with paper towel to remove excess water)

GLAZE 1 cup powdered sugar 2 TB lemon juice 1 TB milk

Instructions1. Mix flour, salt and baking

powder in a medium bowl and set aside.

2. In another large bowl, beat eggs then add canola oil and sugar until well blended.

3. Add lemon juice, buttermilk, and lemon zest to this mix-ture and stir well.

4. Fold in zucchini. 5. Add dry mixture to wet

mixture and stir until well combined.

6. Pour batter into greased 9x5 loaf pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.**

7. Make glaze and spoon over bread while still warm. Let glaze set up before cutting.

* All purpose flour may be used.

** If using glass loaf pan, you may need to bake 15-25 minutes longer. For muffins, bake 25-30 minutes.

Above article rewritten from multiple sources.Impatiens capensis photos ©2014 Michael Maurer Smith.

A Jewel in the Wetlands

F ound in abundance at Ebersole Center, Orange Jewelweed (Impatiens capensis), or ‘‘spotted touch-me-not’’, is a plant that flourishes in deep shade and soggy soil. Although it is an annual, once established in an area, it comes back year

after year because the plants self-sow vigorously. Having foliage that glistens and sparkles when wet gives this Native American wildflower the name jewelweed.

Jewelweed grows up to 5 feet tall and blooms from July through October. The inch long flowers resemble a cornucopia and are a beautiful, golden orange with red or reddish brown spots. This plant grows in wetlands, often in dense stands along ponds, brooks, roadsides and in damp meadows. Nectar-loving animals like hum-mingbirds, bees and butterflies visit these plants on a regular basis and are the main pollinators. One of the unique features of jewelweed are the projectile seeds that explode out of the pods when touched, which is where the name “touch-me-not” comes from. The seeds are eaten by a variety of birds and small rodents, and are also edible for humans. However, the leafy parts of the plants are considered poisonous if eaten without cooking in multiple water baths.

Native Americans had many medicinal uses for jewelweed. The succulent stems exude juice when broken which can be used to treat rashes. The leaves have been scientifically proven to have both antihistamine and anti-inflammatory properties.

It is said that rubbing juice from the foliage on the skin will prevent—even cure—a poison ivy infection, as well as take the sting out of nettle and the itch from insect bites. Today people cultivate jewelweed as ornamentals in their gardens.

October is a great time to take a hikeand look for this interesting, wetlandspecies. Join us on October 4 at theCenter for our Fall Open House andyou might spot the last of the bloomson these beautiful, beneficial plants.

Oh the Memories!By Thomas Stone, Naturalist & Planning Specialist

My 28 years with Ebersole Center began on July 22, 1986. So many wonderful

things have occurred during this time. It has left me with a lifetime of memories

of working with thousands of students.

One of my favorite memories is that of the busses arriving at the Center. Seeing the

smiles, hearing the excitement in the children’s voices, giving good friends hugs,

happy reunions after a year, these things are what the Center is about, my friends.

Teaching children, building relationships with the teachers and chaperones and making

memories are things that have been important to me through the years.

I have great memories of wide-eyed children as they

discover something unique in Ebersole’s 158-acre

natural classroom, and of the many nature hikes

around the lake and the forest trails. These

remembrances also include students rolling over logs

and looking for salamanders; seeing faces light up

as they witness nature up close and personal.

I also enjoyed teaching canoeing on Jackson Lake to

thousands of children (and the few students that decided to test the water’s temperature

with a full body immersion). I have many memories from our off-site trips to Lake

Michigan. Witnessing the amazing expressions on the children’s faces as they get a

glimpseoftheirfirstGreatLakeissomethingthatwillneverbeforgotten.

Over the last 28 years, I have created many great memories

of working with excellent Ebersole Center staff; dedicated

individuals who have provided excellent educational

experiences while tackling the many ups and downs and

day-to-day challenges at Ebersole Center. Most recently

I have watched each of our team members take on additional responsibilities and go

above and beyond their normal job expectations. This is all because of the excellent

team leadership of the Ebersole Center’s Director, Torey Byington. It has been my

great honor to have known and worked with such a dedicated staff.

Memories are an important part of our individual lives. The Ebersole Center and the

memories of my 28 years here will be something that I will always cherish and carry near

and dear to my heart. The Ebersole Center is truly “Nature’s Jewel”. It is a treasure book

full of discovery where lasting memories are made and never forgotten.

As I close I would like to thank all of you for being part of my life and…

“OH THE MEMORIES!”

“My absolute favorite

memory from working

at Ebersole Center

is that of a boy from

Mt. Hope School in

Lansing. When he saw

Lake Michigan for

the first time, he said,

“This is AWESOME!”

Then he proceeded to

fall backwards into

the waves, laughing

joyously.

I must emphasize

that taking children

to a Great Lake and

watching them enjoying

themselves in the sand,

water, and sunshine

has surely been my

greatest memory.”

Tom Stone

With the change of

season comes the

memories of our

own children and how we created

fun, inexpensive, and educational

outdoor family time.

We took advantage of our back

yards, arboretums, natural areas

and state parks to absorb the

beauty of the changing season

during family hikes. Oh, how

clearly we remember the joyful

look on a young child’s face when

they found that one special leaf,

perfect in formation and color,

and presented it to one of us.

On a fall afternoon, we would

make short work of the task of

picking up fallen pine cones in

the yard. Each child had a bucket

in tow, with an eye toward gather-

ing enough to make a decoration

for Thanksgiving or Christmas or

a homemade bird feeder.

The U-pick apple orchards and

cider mills of Michigan—to the

delight of our children—provided

our families with opportunities

to ride on tractor-driven wagons

to the trees and back. As we’d

pick, the children would make

comparisons and engage in

squabbles over who had found

the roundest, reddest, biggest and

juiciest apple on the tree.

Area farms also offered wagon

rides, which were often necessary

for transporting the hernia-pro-

ducing pumpkins that each child

selected after scouring the patch

to find the perfect specimen.

(continued)

Making Fall MemoriesWinter clothes began to make their appearance in the malls right after

the 4th of July. Halloween costumes and candy materialized in August.

Now, along with the cooler temperatures and shorter days, hints of

changing leaves, slowing down of our garden plants, and the advent of

Michigan apples in local markets, it is officially here: FALL!

Explore Ebersole!

Fall Open HouseSaturday, October 4Noon to 4:30 p.m.Admission: FREE

Fall is a glorious time of year!

It’s time to get out there and

embrace nature, and to make

memories – on your own or, if

you prefer, with your kids and

grandkids.

If you were lucky enough to live

in an area that permitted, the

best thing about fall was the

bonfire in the cool evenings.

In our jackets or sweatshirts,

the whole family would

gather around the fire pit.

Extended family sometimes

participated too. Maybe we’d

roast hot dogs on a stick

or make sandwiches or

pizzas in our pie irons,

but the children will

tell you the BEST

part was toasting

marshmallows and

making their own

gooey delectable

s’mores.

While our children

enjoyed these visits to

the parks, orchards and

farms, they also received

valuable insights without

realizing it. They were able to

better understand and appreciate the

vocations associated with nature, ecology,

agriculture, farming, and food production.

Ebersole Foundation | P.O. Box 4802, East Lansing, MI 48823

Autumn Fires

In the other gardens

And all up the vale,

From the autumn bonfires

See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over

And all the summer flowers,

The red fire blazes,

The gray smoke towers.

Sing a song of seasons!

Something bright in all!

Flowers in the summer,

Fires in the fall!

—Robert Louis Stevenson

TidBits

Make Your Reservations Today!

EBERSOLE 2014-2015 PROGRAM DATES ARE FILLING UP FAST

Join the elite group of educators that have found the value of an outdoor environmental education program at the Ebersole Center. If you haven’t gotten your reservation for next year, give us a call or send us an email, we still have dates available. If you have never experienced an environmental education program with your class or school and would like to learn more please visit our website at http:/ebersole.lansingschools.net or contact us at (517) 755-5000, (269) 792-6294 or [email protected].

Ebersole Center is for everyone and every school district. It is a great program at a great value. Don’t be left inside, get outdoors at the Ebersole Center.

Winter Wonders DaysForthesixthyearinarow,EbersoleCenterwillbeofferingWinterWonderDaysonselectSaturdaysinthemonthsofJanuaryandFebruary.TheseeventsareFREEandopentothepublic.Allequipmentisprovidedbutparticipantsare welcome to bring their own. This is a great time to enjoy exploring the Center trails on snow shoes and cross country skis. Visitors can even bring a picnic lunch and enjoy eating by the warm fire in the fireplace.

Keep your eyes on your e-mail for more information on 2015 dates. Hopefully winter will continue to bless west Michigan and we will have plenty of Winter Wonder Days to choose from!

Amazon.com Wish ListEbersole Center has a wish list on the popular site Amazon.com! You can view the wish list online by going to:

http://www.amazon.com/registry/wish list

Locate the box where it says “find someone’s list” and type in Ebersole Environmental Education Center. Make sure to spell it all out correctly or you won’t get to the right page. On the wish list you will find all sorts of items, big and small; everything from bags of birdseed to washers and dryers. Check it out and see if there are any wishes you would like to fulfill. Thanks in advance for any and all support!

Donors to Ebersole CenterDonors of the Center are a big part of our scholarship offerings every year. Thank you so much to our friends and supporters—you really do make a difference in our student’s lives! If YOU would like to donate to the Ebersole Center we can always use funds to support our scholarship program and other projects that our outside of our normal budget.

Please LIKE Ebersole at www.facebook.com/EbersoleCenter.It’s a great way to stay in touch and be alerted to the manyupcoming programs and special events at the Center!