Report by Currie Marr – On a beautiful fall day, ADK joined forces with Girl Scouts to hike in Lower Riddell State Park. Participating ADK members were Linda Melchionne, Stephen Bonnell, Virginia and Currie Marr. The five participating Girl Scouts were mostly third-graders and members of Troop 707 led by Joy Zimmer. As an introduction to the hike we considered how to prevent and treat outdoor injuries. During the hike we paused to observe erosion damage done to the trail by Hurricane Lee. The flood-level was clearly marked by debris caught in the shrubs surrounding Schenevus Creek. Stephen cut open a Goldenrod gall to reveal the live larvae emerging from eggs deposited by a wasp. Some other animals seen were chipmunks, butterflies, a turtle, and a soaring hawk. Plants of particular interests were 5-needle versus 2-needle pines, plants with thorns (wild roses), seeds spread by wind (Milkweed), very weedy plants (Japanese Knotweed), a fairy ring of mushrooms, and cockleburs – nature’s Velcro. At a picnic table near Schenevus Creek, Joy Zimmer gave the girls nibbles and had them put leaves or feathers on photographic paper and expose it to the sun. The sun bleached the background leaving a shadow of the leaves and feathers. The feathers came from a bird-kill observed by Girl Scout, Jenifer Cookinham. We all enjoyed being outdoors.
Susquehanna Chapter 