German Travel Writers

Last time it was Disney Travel Writers and I didn't even get to see them, but apparently they actually showed up and wrote very nice things about our organization. Today it is the German Travel Writers. They got to pick just a few places to visit in this area, and Tanglewood is one of them! I am anxious again because I don't really know what to expect since I never got to meet the last writers. We have hosted a bus-load of tour guides, but this is kind of different because it is me with the travel writers, one-on-one. And bad weather is coming, so it won't be as pretty up here as it normally is. If we get a really nice lightning storm, then maybe... Anyways, I am trying to make sure the building is clean, which is no small feat with 17 young summer campers here. And I am wondering how to best entertain and dazzle them for 1/2 an hour. They don't want to hike, so I guess the inside tour will have to do. I will report back in a few days about how it went.

Hands Off!

I get phone calls this time of year asking me what to do with wild animals; bunnies, baby birds, salamanders, frogs, turtles, baby raccoons, fawns and the like. The calls usually come from well-meaning people that have either found a young animal that they think was abandoned by their parents or their kids have brought home an animal to try and keep as a pet. They ask me what to do with the animals, how and what to feed them, where to put them. My answer is always reluctant because I don't want to seem mean or harsh, but the best thing to do in most cases is put the animal back where you found it and leave it alone!! 9 times out of 10 if the animal is young, its parents know where it is and are taking care of it, even if you don't see them doing it. A lot of animal parents have a hands-off approach during the day so as not to attract attention to their young and then they do all their main care during the night.
If you are take an animal out of its natural habitat and try to make a "home" for it in your home- it's just not a good idea. Wild animals need specific food, water, temperature, moisture, etc. You cannot provide an optimal habitat for a wild animal in your home. I try and explain it to kids like this...How would you like some giant to come into your neighborhood, take the roof off your home and pluck you out of bed and take you to his home and put you in a container that looks nothing like your house? And then the giant throws some old stinky blankets in with you (not YOUR blanky from YOUR bed) and then tries to feed you stuff that he guesses you might like to eat like grass and leaves and rotten apples? (then I remind them there is no such thing as giants, I'm not trying to scare them, just help them relate).

The point it, wild animals should be in the wild and kept there if at all possible. They should be enjoyed by humans, but unless they need help (like the animals Tanglewood houses or ones that wildlife rehabbers work on), then HANDS OFF is the best policy.

A Nature Center and Natural Gas Drilling

Everyone that isn't half asleep who lives in this area knows what is going on. Trucks, tape, wires, helicopters, guys with Canadian accents- the natural gas companies are here and they are competing for serious amounts of natural gas and serious money. Landowners are being approached for rights to do seismic testing and sometimes to have a drilling rig (or rigs) on their property. Tanglewood is no exception. The Board allowed seismic testing when approached, then shortly after the really hard decision came. A company told us there might be gas here and that they found the "perfect" spot for a drill- on Tanglewood property. That is when everything went South here for awhile. Big dollar signs were tossed around, and maybe Tanglewood's financial struggles were coming to an end? But it wasn't just that easy. There were many factors to consider: our Mission, the environmental implications (known and unknown), the road they'd have to build, the millions of gallons of water that are dirtied in the process, the "odds" of actually striking gas and then the amount extracted, the newness of the drilling (we are talking Marcellus Shale formation here not Trenton Black River like most of the other rigs in our area). So much information to digest and dig up, but not a lot of time to decide.

Without giving all of the ugly details, we went through some real pain. We struggle financially, but we are here for a reason: our Mission and what we teach the children that come here. How do we involve ourselves in something like this without ruining our integrity? The Board, after many weeks of going back and forth and talking to many experts in the field (lawyers, engineers, gas men, land advocates) and after much research and after many, many emails between the Board and the staff, eventually voted to not allow drilling on Tanglewood property.

Money is necessary and the Community's support of what we do and the service we provide is always so appreciated. But money at the expense of our beliefs and what we teach the Community is not good money and I know the Board made the right decision.

Busy Limbo

I’m back! I was “gone” for the past month due to extreme business and due to I guess what you’d call “limbo” in my job. I know, lots of people are busy, but this time of year at a Nature Center is crazy busy. Kind of like Christmastime at The Christmas House. We just got done seeing loads of school kids from Elmira, Corning and the surrounding area and then we switched over to summer camps, which are ongoing. The thing that has been taking the most time for me personally at work is, ironically not something one would expect; natural gas drilling. This is what has put me into sort of a professional limbo, that is, until late last week. More on this in my next post…