Photo U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

“The drama of the sky dance is enacted nightly on hundreds of farms, the owners of which sigh for entertainment, but harbor the illusion that it is to be sought in theaters. They live on the land, but not by the land.”    – Aldo Leopold, A Sand County Almanac

By Celeste Prussia, Missouri LEP Coordinator

Finally. I’ve been listening for years. I even shot one 20 years ago from the daylight sky of an eastern Connecticut woodland when I knew very little about the “Timber Doodle” tumble. My self-imposed, lifetime bag limit for that species ended with that bird.

Last month, while Janice Greene (former Missouri LEP state coordinator and my current boss) was at the Bull Shoals Field Station with her Winter Ecology class for an overnight, I stepped outside my home just after sunset and heard the peents, twitters, and twips that always turn my head with eyes skyward. After trying to spot the elusive “Big Mud Snipe” for about five minutes, I thought to call Janice and suggest she get the class, about 50 miles away to the southwest, outside to listen and watch for “Big-headed Snipe.” Neither of us saw “Woodhen” in flight although I heard at least eight “Hookum Pake” being quite vocal during my half-hour vigil. Since that night, February 20, 2010, I’ve continued to hear numerous “Wood Snipe” every few nights when I happened outdoors near dusk. I’d hear “Whistler” continue to peent on these moonlit nights during the waning-to-full and now-waxing moon.

“Tonight’s the night” played in my brain as my eyes and ears feasted on the music and sky dance of the “Labrador Twisters” that are making Possum Ranch their haven and dance hall. Once I saw the first “Bog-bird” streak across the rosy-peach glow above the sunset horizon and through the filigreed silhouettes of intervening walnut trees, I understood the beginning pattern of the upward flight. It was much more horizontal than vertical which I didn’t expect. The first flight I saw was magnificent and, oh, so exciting! I caught a couple more flights before losing about every-other “Bogsucker” beyond the tangle of the overhead branches. As each “Whistling Snipe” began its wide upward-curving flight, I found that if I lost sight of the flyer on its first turn through the walnut branches above me, I could not again pick up its path even though I could clearly hear and believed I’d pinpointed its vocal location. Just try making a sound map of these babies!

At least four male “Night Partridge” were taking turns in the air, sometimes synchronously at different locations. On one occasion, a pair of “Night Peck” passed by me within 20 feet and about four-to-five feet above the ground heading for the horses’ pasture. Wow! Two other “Big-eyes,” independent of one another, passed in a similar manner from different directions. Wow, squared! Just as I started to rise from my garden seat to call it a night, another flight plan was filed and undertaken. Like a good passenger, as advised by the captain, I took my seat and fastened my seat belt for the duration of the flight. Wow, cubed!

Thus I mark this calendar day, not only that of my brother’s birth, but for 2010 I shall count today, March 3rd, as the first day I ever saw the sky dance. Had Aldo Leopold not described the flight of the American Woodcock as seen through his eyes in the frequent company of his family, I might not have been so compelled to persist in my pursuit of the sky dance vision as performed by the “Blind Snipe,” Though my ears have frequently perceived the music, only tonight have I conjoined my senses of hearing and sight to behold the beauty of the Sky Dance.

Chris graduated from Iowa State University in 2005 with B.S. in Animal Ecology and a minor in Forestry. Soon after graduation, he joined the Pheasants Forever team as a Farm Bill Biologist in Northeast Missouri. It was during that time that Chris got involved with LEP by attending his first Educator Training at the 2007 National Workshop and the newly opened Leopold Legacy Center in Baraboo, WI. From there, Chris attended both 2007 and 2008 Pheasant Fests where he helped in the Youth Village.

After nearly three years with PF, Chris moved on taking a job as Natural Resources Manager with Des Moines County Conservation back in his hometown. Wanting to stay involved and wanting to see Leopold’s Land Ethic expand throughout Iowa, Chris agreed without hesitation to serve as Iowa’s State LEP Coordinator.

“Leopold has been my hero from the moment I first read ASCA. I took special pride in being from the same town as he was. Now, being in a position to grow LEP in Iowa…well, I can’t think of anything I’d rather be involved with,” said Chris.

Chris will be working hard to grow LEP in Iowa beginning with helping to host a Facilitator’s Workshop at the beautiful Hole N’ The Wall Lodge in Akron, IA from Feb. 20 through Feb. 22.

Besides Michigan PF/QF chapters, the Michigan position was funded by a generous three-year donation from the Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn and the William Jr. “Tiny” and Dorothy Zehnder Family Foundation. The Illinois position is funded through cooperative efforts and vision of the Dubage, Kishwaukee, McHenry, South Cook and Tall Grass County PF chapters, and the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation.

Roxberry and Brentzel will work with PF/QF chapters, volunteers and partners to introduce the organization’s No Child Left Indoors® initiative. This new initiative is part of a national movement aimed at getting youth unplugged from electronics and turned on to the outdoors, nature and wildlife. The No Child Left Indoors® initiative is carried out through youth habitat projects, youth and family community events and youth outdoor education programs hosted by PF/QF chapters and volunteers across the country. “We’re very excited about the addition of Liz Roxberry and Alison Brentzel,” said Cheryl Riley, PF/QF Vice President of Education and Outreach, “These two talented women will help Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever connect youth to the outdoors like never before.”

Roxberry is a recent graduate of Central Michigan University where she obtained her degree in Earth Science and Biology Education. She gained experience working most recently at the Chippewa Nature Center, and she is also trained as a Michigan Leopold Education Project facilitator. “I am excited about having a more direct role of educating the youth of Michigan in stewardship, conservation and active engagement in the natural world and strongly believe in the grassroots model that Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever represent,” Roxberry said. She will be working out of the Lansing, Michigan, area, and can be reached at ERoxberry@pheasantsforever.org.

Alison Brentzel will join PF/QF on January 5th of 2009, following the completion of her degree in Park & Recreation at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Alison has worked previously as an Outdoor Naturalist for the Nebraska State Parks as well as a Retail Associate for Cabela’s. She is also a certified Aquatic Education Instructor, Hunter Safety Instructor and Boat Education Instructor. “With a father who is a Conservation Officer for the State of Nebraska, I’ve been interested in conservation my entire life,” said Brentzel, “I am enthusiastic about the opportunity to work to get kids outdoors.” Brentzel will be based out of the Max McGraw Wildlife Foundation offices in Dundee, Illinois, and can currently be reached at (308)379-5234 / brentzelac@unk.edu.

Christine Jacobsen - Nebraska State Coordinator

Christine Jacobsen is a conservation and environmental educator with over 10 years experience teaching workshops and youth and community groups with the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District, in Omaha, Nebraska. She has been state coordinator of LEP in Nebraska since 2000 and trained in LEP in 1999.

A native of Iowa, Christine has a Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology from Iowa State University, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She has done public relations assignments, educator workshops on conservation education, started nature day camps, planned school gardens, and chaired community events, often combining information about Aldo Leopold and his philosophies in the process.

Currently, Christine is heading up the Metro Omaha Resources for Exploring Nature; a community forum to promote the importance of outdoor play.

Professional memberships include: Groundwater Foundation, North American Association for Environmental Education, Pheasants Forever, Nebraska Association for Environment Education

How are you using LEP?

I use LEP in several different facets; small group programming, teacher trainings, community events, and nature night sessions. The biggest LEP project I am working on right now is editing the new GPS curriculum.

What are your goals for the coming year?

My primary goal for this next year is to see the GPS curriculum printed and out in circulation.

Why is LEP important?

It’s nice to have a classic piece of literature that helps get individuals and communities outside. In addition to the literacy component of these activities, it’s a great set of ethics based curriculum.

Anne Lewis - South Dakota State Coordinator

In addition to the Leopold Education Project, Anne is the state coordinator for Project WET (Water Education for Teachers) and administrates the 319 Information and Education Project for the state of South Dakota, 319 being that section of the Clean Water Act which addresses non-point source pollution. Anne is the current president of Environment Education Connections of South Dakota, the environmental education association for the state.

Anne graduated from the George Washington University where she studied education and is currently working on her Master’s in Natural Science and Environmental Education at Hamline University in Minneapolis. She lives in Pierre with her husband and a rapidly emptying nest which, when full, contains three sons.

How are you using LEP?

I use the LEP as part of our teacher training program to equip educators to teach about the environment. LEP activities also are used in outreaches to students and youth and will shape our programming for our new outdoor investigation program.

What are your goals for the coming year?

During 2009, I would like to see our outdoor outreach program successfully piloted. My goals are also to develop the facilitator network, and train at least 20 educators in the LEP.

Why is LEP important?

The LEP is important because it builds a land ethic, challenging people to think about our responsibility for flora, fauna, water and soil. The issues and concerns Aldo Leopold wrote about in the 1930′s and 40′s are relevant to today.

Celeste Prussia - Missouri State Coordinator

Celeste Prussia is an outdoor girl born, raised, and schooled in New England where she maintained close contact with the woods, fields, wetlands, and hills of that region. She graduated magna cum laude with a BS in environmental biology at Eastern Connecticut State University and achieved her MS in botany from the University of Rhode Island by studying the ecology and chemistry of lichens. Celeste directed the forest education program of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and served as vice president and president of the Connecticut Outdoor and Environmental Education Association. She spent the next ten years directing the Litzsinger Road Ecology Center for the Missouri Botanical Garden during which time she helped establish the Missouri Environmental Education Association and served as its first full-term president. Celeste became an LEP facilitator in 1997 and has helped deliver facilitator training in other states. In 2003 she joined Missouri State University to manage the Bull Shoals Field Station and now lives happily ever after with her husband, labs, and horses at Possum Ranch in southwestern Missouri.

How long have you been a coordinator?

I have been co-coordinating LEP in Missouri for 2 years and am taking the reins in 2009 as the state coordinator.

How are you using LEP?

I use LEP lessons and ASCA with adult audiences who wish to explore their personal land ethic and in college classes to help students to “see the land”. The new activities will help me expand to younger and family audiences.

What are your primary goals for the coming year?

Two primary goals include the statewide expansion of LEP in MO – particularly in light of the new activities and LEP-GIS units coming on line – and locally, to include LEP in our summer youth environmental leadership program.

Why do you think LEP is important and how would you like to see people get involved?

LEP has helped me personally to consider, reflect, and revisit my own relationships with the land community around me toward the goal of being a more gentle and tolerant land community member. If LEP has worked for me in that capacity, then I believe it can serve other people too. I love the idea of using ASCA as a reading focus for a social community and the Ohio project can serve as a useful model of how this can be done in other areas. I’d like to see more of these endeavors.

Tony Esposito - North Carolina State Coordinator

I make my living working in the media business. Because of my love of nature, I decided to volunteer and became involved with the National Wildlife Federation.

I first became a Habitat Steward and then shortly there after trained to become a Host. As a Habitat Steward you give talks to groups and help people create wildlife habitats in their yards as part of the Backyard Habitat program. As a NWF Host, I hold workshops to train people interested in becoming Habitat Stewards.

At first I volunteered in North Carolina with the North Carolina Wildlife Federation. I worked with seven schools in creating their habitats and was part of the team that created the 2000th Schoolyard Habitat at Park Road Montessori School in Charlotte NC.

I have since moved to South Carolina and volunteer with the South Carolina Wildlife Federation.

While training to become a Habitat Steward I had read A Sand County Almanac and loved it. During the Steward training I would highly recommend reading A Sand County Almanac.

When I heard about the Leopold Project I knew it would be a wonderful opportunity to add a new element to the habitat programs I work with. Aldo Leopold had such a wonderful view of nature especially how deeply man and nature are connected.

I signed up for both the Educators and the Facilitators Workshop in Atlanta Georgia.

The State Facilitators position came open and I jumped at the opportunity.

Terry Bedford - Texas State Coordinator

Terry Bedford works at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, Texas as an education specialist for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Terry has a B. S. in geology, M. S. in wildlife science (both from Texas A&M University), and 8 years experience as a secondary science teacher teaching earth science, physical science, biology, chemistry and physics. She has been the Texas State Coordinator for Leopold Education Project since 2006.

How are you using LEP?

I use LEP with school and youth groups visiting the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, campers attending the Texas Chapter of The Wildlife Society’s Wildlife Conservation Camp, and teachers participating in the various environmental education workshops that I facilitate.

What are your goals for the coming year?

My goals are to increase awareness of the Leopold Education Project in Texas by continuing to conduct workshops and assisting those who are already trained in LEP to use the curriculum and/or present their own workshops.

Why is LEP important?

LEP is important because it introduces, establishes, or reinforces the ideals of good land ethics and stewardship, through activities based on Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac.