Siskiyou Field Institute / News
SFI January/February E-Newsletter
Siskiyou Field Institute’s
January/February 2009 E-mail News
In This Issue:
· Past, Present and Future
· Teach Kids about the Wonders of Nature!
· Sneak Preview of 2009 Courses
· Story from the Field:
Wilderness First Responder at DCC
Dear Friends of SFI,
The new 2009 catalogs are here!
We hope you are having the happiest of new years and are looking forward to the budding trees and bird songs of early spring. The staff has used nature’s example, taking the wintertime to renew and prepare for the seasons to come. The fruit of this process is the production of our yearly catalog. We are all excited to get the freshly printed copies ready to be distributed near and far! If you’re interested in receiving a catalog by mail, please visit our website or click Request a Catalog to send us your information. Make sure to include your mailing address. If you’re already on the list, look for them in the mail in early March. We look forward to seeing you this coming field season.
Sincerely,
SFI Staff: Arnie Green, Karen Pleasant, CeCe Bowerman, Candy Gerrard, Andrea King, Andrew Englehorn and Cory Alvis
SFI Board of Directors: Craig Ackerman, Meadow Martell, Kathy Krauss, Kathy Burkey, Bob Litak, Bruce Gibbs, Lee Webb, Rick Levine and Kristi Mergenthaler
Past, Present and Future
2008 was a wonderful year full of transition, new ideas and appreciation of roots and community. During the field season more than 50 functions including courses, Speakers Series Events, an open house and banquet were held at the Deer Creek Center and around the Klamath-Siskiyou Bioregion. We are glad many of you could join us for the opportunity to snorkel with salmon, witness the flight of thousands of bats or spot a humpback whale while on a pelagic birding adventure. Without interested lifelong learners, the Siskiyou Field Institute would certainly not be where it is today.
The Board of Directors and staff at the Institute are constantly amazed at the support of the local community, and this year was no exception. The Institute saw a great response to the annual appeal letter in December, for which we are extremely appreciative. For all of you who were able to give of your time or funds during the year to make memorable learning experiences possible, we thank you and are grateful we live in such a generous community.
Staff and volunteers are readying the Deer Creek Center for upcoming 2009 Siskiyou Field Institute courses and events. Many new classes have been prepared and we can’t wait to share our 2009 offerings with all of you. There are more than 60 functions planned, along with Speakers Series Events and one of the biggest occasions of the year, the Third Conference on Klamath-Siskiyou Ecology, a 3 day symposium that will share some of the latest research and findings on climate change in our region.
Give the Gift of Learning
Unique gifts can be difficult to come by, but experiences often last longer than anything that comes in a package. SFI now has gift certificates available that can be used toward tuition for any SFI course. Send a loved one on a rafting adventure down the Klamath River, spelunking through the Oregon Caves or birding on the high seas! Simply call SFI or click here to visit our online store.
Teach Kids about the Wonders of Nature –
Volunteer at the Siskiyou Field Institute
Illinois Valley Boy and Girls Club Youth Volunteer their Brain Power
This Martin Luther King day 27 kids from IV Boys and Girls Club came out to DCC. But this project was not business as usual. They weren’t volunteering with their hands (which they often do!), they were volunteering with their brains.
Youth Coordinator CeCe Bowerman has been working on new interpretive signage on the property. “In order to create the best possible signs we needed to find out what kids already know about nature.” Each group toured the property stopping at the proposed education station sites and filled out a survey. Students were asked questions about their knowledge of natural history and how they might spend time at each location.
Although the first group was shrouded in fog, the afternoon brought gorgeous sunshine. With that came the highlight of the day, observing a Northern Harrier hawk hunting in the fields on the Deer Creek Center property. Kids celebrated their hard work with cookies and juice and had a blast selecting a thank you gift: one of many cool nature posters.
Thank you to the Boys and Girls Club of the Illinois Valley, and a very special thank you to Sherri Graham who volunteered her time as an educator with this program. Sherri brings a great attitude and a wealth of knowledge as one of our newest dedicated volunteers!
If you’re interested in volunteering with the Siskiyou Field Institute during youth programs, or in many other available volunteer opportunities, please contact Cory Alvis, Program Coordinator – cory@thesfi.org, or call 541-597-8530.
About the Deer Creek Center…
The Deer Creek Center is located in Selma, Oregon at the base of Eight Dollar Mountain and the gateway to the ruggedly beautiful Illinois River.
Home of the Siskiyou Field Institute, DCC also serves as a research field station and event center. We invite you to visit us in person or follow the link to find out more at http://www.thesfi.org/Page.asp?NavID=108 .
Interested in holding a company retreat, special event or conference at the
Deer Creek Center?
Contact us at 541-597-8530 for details!
Sneak Preview of 2009’s Courses
-
- Introduction to Lichens: Another World with Daphne Stone, PhD April 4th & 5th , at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR $100
- Naturalist Certificate Orientation with Cory Alvis April 17th , at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR - Free Event, starts at 6:30 pm
- Free Evening Program: Solitary Wasps & Bees, a book by Mary Paetzel with Lee Webb, MS - April 17th , at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR - Free Event, starts at 8 pm
- Day Hike: Illinois River Trail with Karen Pleasant, MS, MAT April 24th , at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR $50 (Transportation Provided)
- Extinction is Distinction with John Roth, MS April 25th, at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR $50
- Sketching Wildlife Images with Irene Brady May 2nd & 3rd, at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR & Grants Pass, OR $100
- Wilderness First Aid with the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS May 2nd & 3rd, at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR & Grants Pass, OR $196
- Free Event – Spring Wildflower Walk with Lee Webb, MS May 2nd, at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR
- Siskiyou Rocks, Part 1 with John Roth, MS May 3rd , at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR $60 (Transportation Provided)
- Klamath River Canyon Wildflower and Plant ID with Wendell Wood May 7th to 10 , Orleans, CA $270
- Free Evening Event – Seabirds and Marine Mammals with Keith Bensen May 8th , at the Crescent Beach Education Center, Crescent City, CA – Free Event, Starts at 7 pm.
- Seabirds and Marine Mammals with Keith Bensen May 9th , Crescent City, CA $50
- Day Hike: Oregon Coast Trail with Karen Pleasant, MS, MAT May 15th , at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR $ 50 (Transportation Provided)
- Free Evening Event – Bat Ecology with Anthony Kerwin, MS May 15th , at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR – Free Event
- Bat Ecology with Anthony Kerwin, MS May 16th, at the Deer Creek Center, Selma, OR $50
Check out the full course descriptions at www.thesfi.org.
You can register online or give us a call at 541-597-8530.
SFI and Deer Creek Center Wish list
SFI and DCC are ever changing and so are the supplies needed to offer programs and services for our guests. We have compiled a wish list of items that will help us further our work at the Siskiyou Field Institute and Deer Creek Center. You can find the complete list by clicking on the link SFI/DCC Wish List. If you are interested in providing items, or have any questions, please give us a call at
541-597-8530.
SFI Story from the Field:
Wilderness First Responder by CeCe Bowerman
“I crashed my snowmobile and it rolled on top of me”
“I have a history of chest-pain; I think my nitroglycerin is around here somewhere”
“I was ice climbing… got really dizzy…I think I fell about 30 feet”
These are just some of the phrases you may have heard at the Deer Creek Center this December. The Siskiyou Field Institute hosted the Wilderness First Responder course taught by the Wilderness Medicine Institute, part of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). 23 participants were trained to respond to medical situations in remote locations. The 9 day course provided a great combination of engaging lecture and realistic scenarios to practice assessing a situation upon arrival, examining a patient and providing treatment in remote locations.
Our instructors Ori Meadows and John Hovey were both awesome. Their extensive knowledge and entertaining personalities kept us all laughing while learning. Discussions about regional pronunciation for chest pain and the interpretive dance depicting torsion were some highlights of the course.
The course coincided with some of the first winter storms of December 2008. Although the power flickered on and off a few times there weren’t any genuine rescue situations to deal with. Snow added a breathtaking beauty to the landscape and made the patient care during our practical scenarios even more important. Exposing and looking for injuries underneath many layers of clothing while in six inches of snow was difficult task, but great practice!
During our night scenario we were divided into small groups. Each person was given a character description for the evening. As the surprise patient, I was instructed to pour water down my pants to simulate incontinence and thrash on the forest floor to mimic having a seizure. I quickly became quite cold after this action but thanks to the fantastic care of the rescuers I was warm and dry soon enough.
The evenings were particularly enjoyable with a fire burning in the Great Room at the Deer Creek Center as students studied their notes from the day, practiced skills and even conducted a talent show. The center was enlivened by all of these energetic and interesting people converging for this in-depth program. This class was extremely empowering and provided fantastic opportunities to learn about wilderness medicine, practice techniques and utilize our acting skills.
We look forward to seeing you this spring!
Let us hear from you…we love your comments and suggestions. And be sure to check our web-site at www.thesfi.org for breaking news about courses and other upcoming programs.
Contact the Siskiyou Field Institute at:
Phone: 541-597-8530
Fax: 541-597-8533
E-mail: institute@thesfi.org
Address: PO Box 207, Selma, OR 97538
Website: www.thesfi.org
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