2014 Adirondack Classroom Class Photo

We have now all come down "off the mountain."

Here's a class photo of the participants:

Here's a photo of most of the participants (one had to leave a bit early to appear as part of the bridal party in a wedding) and also appearing is "Andy the Intern" who is a most excellent fire builder and sauna operator:

Friday, July 11, 2014 - Last Day

After an evening of music at St. Williams Church, we returned to Camp Huntington for an evening of conversation at the fire ring on the main boat dock.

After a surprise breakfast this morning of breakfast pizza, we had camp cleanup and the final presentations of the course projects.

There will be one final blog entry by the course participants and then the course will conclude.

We will be having a final meal together in the Glass Dining Hall on the shores of Racquette Lake.

Here is a link to a short Flickr album with select photos of the week:
Course Participants and NY State Master Teachers

Thursday, July 10, 2014 - A Day For Hiking

We awoke to a more typical cool Adirondack morning.  After breakfast of eggs and sausage, we took our packed lunches and hit the road to the nearby Ferd's Bog where we had an excellent guide, former DEC Park Ranger Gary Lee, who gave us lots of good information about the wonders of the bog and the region.

After the bog slog, we headed down Uncas Road a short distance and climbed up the back side of Black Bear Mountain.  It was a perfect day for hiking and even though it has rained quite a bit recently, the bugs were nearly non-existent and we had a great view from the top and near top.

In the evening we are anticipating attending a concert at the most carefully restored, St. Williams Church at the former site of the Village of Racquette Lake, just off the college property.

Gary Lee at Ferd's Bog

Wednesday, July 9, 2014 - Museum Day and Sauna

After a hearty breakfast the entire troupe Master Teachers and Graduate students set out for our visits to two of the best museums in the area.  Our first stop was The Wild Center in Tupper Lake where we saw many exhibits and live animals.  It's great to go there each year because there is always something new and this year they had replaced some of the technology-based exhibits in the center core of the museum with an art exhibit  It's great to see how some artists can capture even the finest details nature's beauty here in the Adirondacks.

Our second stop after a delicious bag lunch was The Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain.  The cultural history of the region is fascinating and a visit to this museum always reminds one of how tough those early settlers in the region had to be to survive the rigors of nature and climate.

At the museum we were treated to a lecture about the origins of the Adirondack Park and how difficult it is, even today, to figure out how to actually operate the for the benefit of all the creatures who live there - human and all the others.

Moose Antlers at The Wild Center

Tuesday - July 7th Master Teachers Arrive

We awoke to a cool morning, but the sun was shining.  Sort of.

After a hearty breakfast, we spent the morning class time talking about the broad issues of sustainability and what it means and how might we arrange our lives in support of humans living more sustainably - especially from the perspective of our descendants looking back on our western lifestyles.

Then we watched a presentation about the resources issues facing us and then how two Cortland faculty members are trying to arrange their lives to live lighter on the planet.

At lunch a group of award winning New York State teachers arrived and we all went canoeing and then had a lesson by another SUNY Cortland Professor who presented a lesson on using the aquatic life found literally right outside our door to determine the general water quality level of Raquette Lake.

So far, at this point the weather has cooperated very well, but the forecast for this evening is for some potential rough weather to pass through.

Hopefully, it will not limit our planned evening activities.

While in Camp,  You Are Usually Never Far From a Comfortable Seat

Monday July 6 - Course is now in Progress

Everyone has arrived safely at Camp Huntingdon despite passing through some rainy weather on the way.  The boat ride across the lake was fun but there was evidence of changing weather with the choppy waves.

After lunch we met, got acquainted,  and talked about the course goals and objectives and the expected course outcomes.

In the evening we spent some time talking about the pre-course readings and assignments and had a nice discussion about the materials.

The Intern for the summer, Andy, prepared a great campfire for us we enjoyed a nice evening chatting around the fire.

Your Adirondack Chair Awaits Your Presence

Welcome to the 2014 Adirondack Classroom!

As June 2014 winds down (hard to believe this is happening already - it seems like winter just left us), the faculty and staff for The Adirondack Classroom are gearing up for another iteration of this course.  If you are seeing this, it's probably because you have decided to join us for this adventure.

This is a fantastic way to obtain 3 graduate credits from SUNY Cortland and also experience something completely different than most classrooms.

We are looking forward to spending most of a week with you and we hope that you will find the experience to be a unique and professionally invigorating experience.

As you may know, Camp Huntington/Camp Pine Knot is on the National Historical Landmark list of significant places and you will have the privilege and pleasure that few people get to experience.  You will be spending nearly a week at a place that most of the public will never get to see.  So, please take advantage of every opportunity to look around and see what surrounds you in this most beautiful and significant New York treasure.

Every Adirondack Classroom session is different because of the weather, staff, resources and other factors, but for a taste of what to experience, you can scroll through earlier blog posts here and see what has happened in the past. In addition, when we get together we will ask you to create your own blog for the week and these will be put where the earlier student blog links are.

Again, welcome to the course and we can't wait to see you in person!

Beth and Karl

Sunset at Raquette Lake Looking Across the Back Bay

Dr. Beth S. Klein

Lacey Slekar (daughter of one of the course originators, Dr. Tim Slekar) and Karl Klein

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Day 5 - The Last Day

We hope that everyone arrived home safely and during the trip home had a chance to reflect on the events of the week.  Beth and I had a great time with you and it was a delight to get to know you all.  I know that John Slade enjoyed meeting you and we had a great discussion about important things with him on Thursday evening.

We did not really go over this yesterday before departing, but Beth and I would like you to do one final blog post as a sort of wrap-up for the week and a course evaluation.  We know that many of you are returning to very busy lives, but we hope that you have taken away some things of value from the course.  Of course, we will also take private feedback on the course and any thoughts you may have.  You can send them to my kleink@sunyocc.edu address if you wish.

As you continue your professional preparations, we hope that you will ocassionally drop us a note letting us know what you have been up to.  As we watched your presentations yesterday, we were inspired by what we saw and we hope that you can make them become a reality.

Finally, as we departed the ADKs yesterday, a few of us travelled up Bobcat Mt. (McCauley Mt.) and rode the chairlift to where the wind turbine might have been placed.  In honor of John Slade, we created a human wind turbine on the site.  Here's the image:

Best wishes,

Beth and Karl

Day 4 - Touring Great Camp Sagamore and John Slade Visit

We awoke to a brisk morning with bright blue skies and mist blowing across Raquette Lake.  After breakfast, it was off to Great Camp Sagamore and a wonderful tour guide.  Thanks Erin!

I especially enjoyed seeing the indoor/outdoor bowling alley!

Later in the day, our textbook author arrived to have dinner with us and after dinner John Slade entertained us with tales or renewable energy around the world.

We are very fortunate to have had the support of John over the many years of this course.

After his chat, John very graciously signed copies of his book for the class.  He has been a good friend of the class and we greatly appreciate that he took the time to connect with us and shared stories with us showing that there ARE people - especially young people around the world acting to address the energy and climate challenges facing all of humanity.

John specifically asked the students to visit this web site for news about energy success stories from around the world:

http://www.rechargenews.com

Day 3 - The Black Bear Mt. Experience

Another great day in the ADKs.  After a great bacon-fueled breakfast, we hit the trail to ascend Black Bear Mt. (~2500 feet above sea level).

Afterwards, a brief stop in Inlet for ice cream.

After a stir-fry supper, a video chat with one of the absent founders of the course, Dr. Tim Slekar, now of Edgewood College in Wisconsin.

Here's a shot from the top of Black Bear Mt.:

Day 2 - Natural and Cultural History Day

Most of the day was devoted to exploring the two fantastic museums located in the Adirondacks.  First we travelled to Tupper Lake and visited the The Wild Center which has some great exhibits, trails, and demonstrations about the natural history of the region.

Then we travelled to Blue Mt. Lake and learned about the cultural history of the region.

After this, many of the students took advantage of the time just before supper and hopped in the kayaks for a quick paddle around Raquette Lake.

After supper, we had some great discussions about the day, schools, and other things.  Next we met Ed Kanze, an Adirondack Guide, in a pretty good PBS video about life in the Adirondacks.

Finally the day was finished off with s'mores around a campfire.

Nice.

Bonus Entry - Day 1

One of the class assignments is to create a blog.  Please post your class blog address as a "comment" to this entry.

As a bonus, here's a link to some of the photos from today's class:

http://flic.kr/ps/216Mgg

Great Week Shaping Up!

Everyone has arrived safely and we had some great discussions after a delicious spaghetti dinner last night.  There is fog on Raquette Lake this morning, but it is lifting and it's quite cool.  With the cool front that arrived over the weekend, it's a lot better for sleeping.

Here's a photo from just a few minutes ago (7:15 AM):

First Post - Adirondack Classroom Summer 2013

2011 ADK Classroom Participants at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, NY

Greetings Course Participants and Ships At Sea!

Here is my first blog entry for this year's experience at Raquette Lake for the SUNY Cortland Adirondack Classroom.

One of the pre-course assignments is to post a follow-up comment to this post to let us know you have begun the pre-course work.  Your comment can just be something to let us know who you are and if you have any expectations for the week.

Important Note for Summer 2013 participants....  This is the first year we are working out of the Antler's Facility, so if you read previous blog posts you will see that all the prior year courses operated out of the Camp Huntington side of the SUNY Cortland facility.

Beth and I are looking forward to meeting you and spending the week together.  If you have any questions, please send an email to kleink@sunyocc.edu and put ADK Classroom Question in the Subject line.

Adirondack Green textbook author, Dr. John Slade

Beth, Tim, and I hope that you all returned safely home to your family and loved ones.  Take a couple of days and get some rest and we hope you will take some time to reflect on the ideas and activities we all shared and took part in during our days together.

Jake's video finally uploaded from the iPad here at home (must have been a problem with the SUNY Cortland network) so here is the link to his kayaking video:



For your final post, please post any closing thoughts you have (and remember to post any web links from your projects that you think others may find helpful.  Please post them as a followup comment to this post.

Finally, we want to say that we definitely enjoyed our time with you all.  As teachers with many years of experience, it helps us in our professional practice to interact so intimately with younger teachers who can help us see many things with new eyes.  After years of often battling bureaucracies and obstacles, it energizes us to be with you for the week in such a beautiful place and seeing many things through your eyes helps remind us about the beauty that we have around us, both in the natural world and in the young minds we encounter.

In closing, do keep in touch and do let us know of your successes. We wish you all the best as you grow and enjoy the successes that being a teacher brings and we hope that you will look back fondly on our time together at Camp Pine Knot on Raquette Lake.

Best wishes,

Karl, Beth, and Tim

July 19, 2012 - How Low (Ropes Course) Can You Go

We spent the morning looking at ways that the faculty were "walking the talk" about sustainability and living lighter on the land and building community where they lived.

Here are two links demonstrating two of their efforts:

Sustainable Cortland  http://www.sustainablecortland.org

Sustainable Cortland on Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/groups/sustainablecortland/

In addition, here is a link to a video shot by the Public Affairs Office at Onondaga Community College.  It is a more detailed look at their homestead and their efforts to reduce their impact on the planet.

For today's post please let us know what you are thinking about after all the information and activities we talked about and participated in this most beautiful day in the Adirondack Mt. region of NY.

If you care to, you can also post some things you might be able to do in your "regular" life.

July 18th - It's a Bog's Life

We began the day with a stop at Ferd's Bog near Camp Huntington.  Found a lot of wildlife and enjoyed seeing the plants in this unique area.  Luckily nobody fell through the mat!

Then, a trip up the back side of Black Bear Mt. for a lunch with a spectacular view.

Please post a reaction or an observation or any insight you that may have occurred to you today.

Late Edit (9 PM)....  Here is the address of my photo site for the class:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/56693583@N08/sets/72157630644511452/with/7600596950/

July 17th - Museum Day

Well it was a hot one today and hopefully everyone managed tot stay hydrated.  It was nice to get a break from the heat by visiting the two museums.  After taking a look around The Wild Center in Tupper Lake and The Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain, please post a short message telling about any interesting "finds" or things you learned.  Comments about the museums are also welcome.

July 16th - Day 2 - (Re)Localized Living and Outdoor Adventure

For today's ADK Classroom, in the morning session we considered several ways that American life will likely be changing (living arrangements, different ways of obtaining life's necessities, education, etc.).  Up till now, technology has been a given in the American lifestyle, and James Howard Kunstler thinks that, in the future, we will likely be making other arrangements, willingly or unwillingly.  Then we completed a bit more of the Camp Pine Knot tour and visited the Chapel Durant built for the workers near the site of the original village of Raquette Lake.   In the afternoon, we spent time on Raquette Lake proper learning canoeing and kayaking skills and observing bits of the natural world.  For example, when Beth and I were sitting in a quiet cove, we saw an otter and he/she was also watching us.  Finally, we talked about some of the assigned readings/viewings for the class.

For today's comments, please write a brief reflection (1 paragraph on any of the above) and post as a followup comment.

2012 ADK Classroom Has Commenced!

The students have arrived and we are now starting our time together!  Beth, Tim, and I are delighted to have such an enthusiastic and engaged group with us for the week.  The weather is looking pretty good and we are expecting to learn a lot.

Stay tuned for updates and posts from the students.

- Karl