The trail will start at the Yurt - now painted yellow. A roof and floor repair are in the works. Inside the yurt, traditional Native American stories and laws of the stars will be explained in displays. As you leave the yurt (which represents the Sun,) you will hike a distance to a sculpture of Mercury. You can read the sign post for information about Mercury and consult your activity guide for some simple demonstrations. Leaving Mercury, you'll travel the relative distance to Venus, then Earth, Mars, the Asteroid Belt, and beyond!
The Educational Wharf will be open to recreational boaters, hikers, and campers. It will also be able to host river sampling for lessons in water chemistry, ecology, invertebrates, and more. A demonstration water turbine will be available to show the conversion of energy from the current of the river into electrical energy. Students can take their samples to a newly renovate Lloidl Chemistry Lab to analyze the pH, oxygen content, phosphate levels and more. Additionally, the lab will be utilized to assist workshop participants in making salves and other biologically-derived products. Thanks the the Brushy Fork Flex-E Arc grant, ASPI will be completing all of these projects at the Rockcastle River Site this summer and fall! Veggies and Volunteers Day on July 26th will be our big Kick-Off to these projects. Bring your family, friends, a water bottle, and a sandwich - we'll provide the veggi
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The month of June has some great summer-related special days and an important historical environmental regulation milestone. June is Great Outdoors Month, National Fresh Fruits and Vegetables Month, American Rivers Month, Aquarium Month, National Rose Month, National Zoo Month, National Soul Food Month, National Candy Month, Black Music Month, Home Safety Month, and Perennial Gardening Month.
June 1st is National Go Barefoot Day. Undoubtably, frontiersman Daniel Boone walked barefoot when he first saw the forests and valleys of present-day Kentucky in 1769 (Boone Day, celebrated on June 7). Nothing connects one to the earth like the literal experience of walking barefoot outside; get in touch with the sun-warmed soil and feel the landscape that you live in (Global Wind Day, June 15). That you can do this safely is somewhat due to Clean Air Day (June 4) and World Environment Day, established by the United Nations General Assembly on June 5th, 1972, the day the U.N. Conference on the Human Environment began. Since then, it is hosted every year on June 5th by a different city with a different theme. 2014's theme is 'Small Islands and Climate Change', and the official slogan is 'Raise Your Voice, Not The Sea Level'. The first Saturday of every June is reserved for thought flexibility - Change Your Mind Day, and National Trails Day, no doubt a good day to ramble on your local trails. Don't fret if you happen to be far from the mountains, because June 8 is World Oceans Day, to raise awareness of the challenges we face to protect the world's oceans, source of food, oxygen and medicine, and home to innumerable grand water creatures. You'll have plenty of time to bicycle in the second week in June (Bike Week), because of the upcoming Summer Solstice on June 21 - the longest day of the year. You might use these extra hours to contemplate the mystery and wonderfulness of your dear Rad-Dad on Fathers' Day, 3rd Sunday in June. If you need help with this, consider reading Plato, who documented the dialogs of the Philosopher Socrates (born June 5, 468 BCE). While you contemplate, be sure and keep your hands busy in honor of Worldwide Knit in Public Day (2nd Saturday in June) and National Handshake Day (Last Thursday in June). In any case, bring him along for an outdoor feast on June 18 -International Picnic Day, using produce produced from National Gardening Exercise Day (June 6) and Weed your Garden Day (June 13); and make sure he follows the dictates of Eat Your Vegetables Day (June 17). A few important birthdays in June: Socrates (see above), Frank Lloyd Wright (born June 8, 1867), and the indominable Helen Keller Day (born June 27, 1880). If we could learn to see like she did, the world might be an even more beautiful place for all to live! We have published our summer schedule of activities at the Rockcastle River Demonstration Site! (About 6 miles south of Livingston, KY, 2 miles from I-75 exit 49).
ASPI is excited to host the inaugural event of the new Rockcastle Natural Wonder Series - a monthly program to enrich us with knowledge and the experiences of all of the nature of Rockcastle County. The Kick-Off will include guided hikes of the Zalla Trail - focussing on the mesophytic cove forest, information from several conservancy programs, an interactive display about wild edibles, and ecology and family fun activities. June 21st - from 10:00 - 2:00 - we'll have the Mary E. Fritsch Nature Center open, as well as the Cordwood House for tours. Other activities this summer include: Reading in the Woods Series for young children (pre-school to early elementary) Fairy Houses and Eleven Forts Native Pollinators for home gardeners and backyard naturalists Arthropods! We are also hosting a volunteer day - Volunteers and Veggies - help us maintain the site - trails, buildings, grounds (wherever your talent lies), bring a sandwich and a water bottle, and we'll provide lots of veggie sides! See Workshops, Classes, and More for the details of each program. Finally May has arrived, with rising temperatures and rapidly greening forest understory, all eagerly anticipated. In conjunction with this general rebirth, May's calendar has many week-long celebrations and spring-related special days. Be Kind to Animals, National Pet, and Wildflower Weeks all occur annually on the first week in May. Working on the ASPI nature trails during this first week, I noticed an incredible variety of wildflowers peeking through just before the trees fully leaf-out (note Tisha Weaver's wildflower photographs on 4/10/14). The Dwarf Crested Iris (Iris cristata), a native of North American woodlands, is plentiful along all our trails, forming gorgeous carpets of 6-inch tall plants in a wide variety of purple shades with white and yellow markings. Within 20 steps I saw at least 3 color varieties of this iris, and it certainly merits an upclose on-your-knees examination to enjoy the intricate details. Interspersed with these are Mayapples (which will produce a dangling "apple" later in the spring), Trillium sessile, Daisy Fleabane, Rue Anemone, Crooked Stem Aster, Twinleaf (Jeffersonia diphylla - named for Thomas Jefferson), Black-eyed Susan, Virginia Bluebells (especially down on the river plain), and many, many more. Beneath our largest limestone outcropping I was happy to discover several patches of Red or Eastern Columbine, a beautiful, native wildflower that blooms with striking 1.5 inch red and yellow flowers held on long stems. Unless one experiences it, it is hard to describe the surprise, wonder and joy of discovering wildflowers. Feels like a gift from the universe!
Notable May birthdays marked on the Simple Lifestyle Calendar are Mary Harris Jones, called "Mother Jones", born May 1st, 1837. She was an American labor and community organizer; Florence Nightingale, born May 12, 1820 was an English social reformer celebrated as the founder of modern nursing. During the Crimean War, she and a team of nurses improved unsanitary conditions at a British base hospital, reducing the death count by two-thirds. She spent her night rounds giving personal care to the wounded soldiers and thus became known as the 'Lady with the Lamp' and 'The Angel of Crimea.' Her writings sparked worldwide health care reform; Ralph Waldo Emerson, born May 25, 1803, wrote poems and gave lectures afterward published in essay form. These essays, particularly “Nature” (1836), embodied his newly developed philosophy which became known as the Transcendentalist movement; Rachel Louise Carson, born on May 27, 1907 was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings, particularly the book Silent Spring, helped promote the global environmental movement; Walt Whitman, born May 31, 1819, worked as a journalist, teacher, government clerk, and volunteer nurse during the American Civil War. His poetry was controversial in its time, but he is now considered a major American poet and is called the father of free verse. We also note assorted spring-related special days, such as Bike-to-Work Day on the third Friday of May; World Migratory Bird Day is a two-day event annually held on the second weekend of May; May 13 is Tulip Day; May 16 is Endangered Species Day; May 22 is World Biodiversity Day, and World Turtle Day is May 23. And of course the final Monday of May is Memorial Day, a holiday much celebrated by families in Appalachia by cleaning up and decorating family gravesites. Be sure to spend time out-of-doors during this month of renewal! The solar batteries and panel at the Mary E. Fritsch Nature Center were installed in 1981. Thirty-three years later, we got new batteries! The solar panel is still working just fine! With new batteries and new bulbs, we are designing field experiences for high school physics and environmental science classes and incorporating the technology into elementary and middle school field trips. Next fall physics students will be able to measure and calculate watts, voltage, amperes and compare different loads and filters. Environmental Science students will compare the sustainability of solar energy with other energy capturing/producing technology.
In addition to the new batteries, we also installed long-lasting, bright LEDs in the nature center. Not all of the new bulbs are super-efficient, though. We did put in a fluorescent and an incandescent bulb - to demonstrate the difference in energy use between the three types of technologies. The incandescent is for demonstration use only, though. We can look at the meter to see the how much energy it utilizes - a lot - compared to the fluorescent and LEDs. ASPI extends a great big Thank You to MACED and Josh Bills who assisted with obtaining and installing the batteries! Grandma called them "woods flowers." They take advantage of the bees coming out of hibernation - and bloom early, before the blooms that aren't so frost-resistant can survive. Don't think you have to travel too far to see a good diversity. I stayed within 50 feet of the Mary E. Fritsch Nature Center and saw these lovelies. The Zalla trail (1.7 miles with a nice climb at the beginning - my 5 year old loves it!) will be awash in blooms in a week or two. Pack a picnic and wander around the picnic pavilion on the relatively flat Rockcastle River flood plane. Or pack a water bottle and hike the Zalla trail. Be sure to pick up a wonderful interpretative brochure on the first level of the Nature Center. Go 5 miles south of Livingston on Route 25. Turn right onto Lower River Road (just before you cross the Rockcastle River). Go one mile. Take Exit 49 east on 909 from I-75. Go one mile North, just across Rockcastle River. Turn left onto Lower River Road. Go one mile. April is Keep America Beautiful Month; Humor & Guitar Month; Month of the Young Child; Appreciate Diversity Month; National Poetry Month; National Stress Awareness Month; Child Abuse Prevention Month; World Habitat Awareness Month; and National Recycling Month. These month designations fall within the purview of the Simple Lifestyle Calendar, centering around simple lifestyle, social justice and general spiritual issues, but there are many, many others.
Falling in this month are many special days celebrating our newly awoken planet in the Northern hemisphere; chief among these for us, of course, is the relatively recent celebration of Earth Day. Here is a brief history of this day from Earth Day: The History of a Movement, from Earth Day Network website: "Earth Day 1970 capitalized on the emerging consciousness, channeling the energy of the anti-war protest movement and putting environmental concerns front and center. The idea came to Earth Day founder Gaylord Nelson, then a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin, after witnessing the ravages of the 1969 massive oil spill in Santa Barbara, California. Inspired by the student anti-war movement, he realized that if he could infuse that energy with an emerging public consciousness about air and water pollution, it would force environmental protection onto the national political agenda. Senator Nelson announced the idea for a “national teach-in on the environment” to the national media; persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair; and recruited Denis Hayes as national coordinator. Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote events across the land. As a result, on the 22nd of April, 1970 20 million Americans took to the streets, parks, and auditoriums to demonstrate for a healthy, sustainable environment in massive coast-to-coast rallies. Thousands of colleges and universities organized protests against the deterioration of the environment. Groups that had been fighting against oil spills, polluting factories and power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife suddenly realized they shared common values." Other spring-oriented celebrations occurring in April are: Garden Week, National Park Week and Keep America Beautiful Week, generally held the last full week of April; Wildlife Week, held the third week; Sun Day, held on the Sunday closest to Earth Day, and Arbor (or Bird) Day, celebrated on different days in different States depending on the best tree planting season in their area. April 19 is National Hanging Out Day, a holiday encouraging communities to learn about the financial and environmental benefits of line-drying laundry. The religious observance of Easter celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ (a moveable feast not fixed in relation to the civil calendar, the first Sunday after the Paschal Full Moon following the March equinox) is also a spring celebration, still retaining some early fertility and rebirth symbols such as rabbits and eggs. We here at ASPI encourage all In April to spend time out of doors, soak up the sunshine, and plan, plant and celebrate in the garden! Solstice has passed. The light lasts longer than the dark. Green things are popping out of the ground, budding out of bark, and creeping along stones. As much as I have longed for this, this winter, it is a bit overwhelming - all of the plans made during the cold days must now be implemented. Here at ASPI the gardens are gently tilled, mulch has been applied, seedlings are reaching for the light in the greenhouse and high tunnel, some seeds and starts are reaching up through the still cool Earth, the calendar is being drafted, summer classes and activities are being scheduled, and we are booked for Earth Day celebrations. At home, some of the same garden-work is being done (but without the scores of volunteers ASPI has, it goes a little slower). We have determined that our outdoor clay oven needs more than just repair, and the rain barrels are getting a more thorough cleaning and in one case, repair, this year. It's also the year we are moving the chicken run around the garden. It's been there for three years and we want to incorporate all of that good compost from leaves, kitchen scraps, chicken poo, and massive amounts of chicken-composted weeds from the garden back into the garden. Plus, the chickens need more security from the dogs in the neighborhood. We took out some trees that will provide too much shade for the expanded garden (their trunks and limbs will be repurposed in the new chicken run) and rejoiced that with a lot of woods, we did not have to feel too badly about cutting out trees. Today will be a gorgeous day to move stones, plant a little, add bucketsful of compost to the strawberry beds, but there are still the cold, rainy days left. Too wet to work in the garden or make a clay oven. On those days, we take inventory. What do we have? What do we need? Three growing children - at least two will need new winter boots next year. How will we meet the needs of our family? Are there sustainable means (and cost-efficient)? We carry garage-sale/thrift store/construction seconds lists for the summer season, just in case we find something we need. Dehydrator finally started smoking last fall. Do we want another electric one - or can we build an efficient solar dehydrator? Do we have a farm? No, even though some of our town friends tell their children that they are visiting our farm. It isn't really big enough - at least we aren't willing to cut out the acres of trees to make it so. Recently, as we planted blueberry bushes, I mentioned the homesteading trend to my husband. He really liked that term for what we do and was interested in urban homesteading, because the truth is - all of things we are planning this spring, can be done almost anywhere. There are some urban environments that do preclude chickens (but you might be surprised if there is a bit of backyard and you do a bit of research before approaching the landlord), but rain-capturing systems, gardening, and even outdoor ovens are all within the means of most folks and communities. Do a little research about feasibility and sadly, most important to most, the aesthetic and cleanliness factors of what you want to implement, and you may find towns, cities, landlords, and neighbors not only allow, but encourage your homesteading efforts. Our Spring Break Service Learning students from Loyola and Notre Dame have jump started our growing and education programs - as well as helped ASPI assist our Rockcastle County community. Beds at the Mt. Vernon offices, Rockcastle River Site, and the Mt. Vernon community garden are ready for spring planting! The high tunnel is fitted with seed trays and hanging baskets sprouting deliciousness and beauty. The Mary E. Fritsch Nature Center has received a new coat of paint and the picnic pavilion a new roof. The Appalachian Challenge Academy sent platoons of 50 cadets each Wednesday when the college students were here. The college students led smaller groups of cadets, cleaning, repairing, and painting at the Rockcastle River Demonstration Site - and in one day accomplished a major rejuvenation. The National Challenge Academy sends one more platoon Wednesday, April 2 - and we'll finish up by mulching the grounds, digging out an overrun drainage system, and creating a new display for the Nature Center. Notre Dame students cleaned an illegal highway dump site with James Renner, director of Rockcastle Solid Waste Management. Loyola students removed the ceiling from the old Livingston school in preparation for more renovation to the new community center. Catholic Varsity members will join us in May for trail and garden work. If you have a group that could use some old-fashioned bonding time for an hour, a day, or a week, consider a service-learning project with ASPI. We have a little everything, building, trail work, garden jobs, and office work. Contact us at naturecenter@a-spi.org. We cannot thank our volunteers enough!!!!!! I have added a facebook group for our 2014 Grow Appalachia participants to add pictures, questions, recipes, and etc. so that everyone can see those. Check out what everyone is doing. https://www.facebook.com/groups/815982615081839/
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