ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, August 17, 1996 TAG: 9608190019
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
DATELINE: MOUNTAIN LAKE
SOURCE: |By KATHY LU STAFF WRITER
Perched on a log overgrown with moss, six children and two men observed the fungi and spiders around them in the Wednesday afternoon sun.
With legs dangling over the mass of branches and water below, Dave Deshler and Mike Rosenzweig pointed out the various organisms to their SEEDS expedition of 9- to 12-year-olds.
"See that spider over there?" Deshler would ask. Or "What kind of fungus do you think that is?"
SEEDS is the 2-year-old brainchild of Deshler, 29, and Rosenzweig, 33. The name is an acronym for Seek Education Explore DiScover and it is a nonprofit educational organization that stresses first-hand learning experiences.
"SEEDS is what we do," said Rosenzweig, who is also a full-time professor of biology at Roanoke College and an adjunct at Virginia Tech.
"We wanted to teach kids about ecology and give them an appreciation for nature in a way that is not brand new, but unique because of the way we teach."
SEEDS depends on contributions and material donations to keep the cost of its programs at a minimum. This summer saw the debut of the SEEDS full-day summer field camps, which will end Friday. Each week the children explore a different topic, including "Mussels and Mills" and "Mountains to the Valley."
This week's group of six focused on "Lichens, Logs, Lakes" - which brought them to Mountain Lake to study the area's ecology. The children collected plankton and algae samples and observed salamanders, tadpoles and spiders living in the wild.
"We try to teach them that if we pick something up, we pick it up once and let it go, because animals go through a lot of stress when they're held," Deshler said as a 4-inch long Northern Red Salamander crawled blindly through his hands and under the children's probing fingers. Deshler had taught educational programs for museums and schools both at home and abroad before starting the SEEDS program.
There are only three SEEDS rules that the children have to abide by during their week's outings: play, play safely and know your limits. As the children ran ahead, around and straight into him, Deshler said the freedom encourages them to make their own decisions and to respect others as well as the environment around them.
"This is fun because I like to learn stuff," said Garrett Severson, a 9-year-old from Pearisburg. "I've learned that lichens, fungi and even spores are symbionts," he said, using a word few 9-year-olds know to describe organisms that live interdependently and advantageously with others.
Garrett had attended a previous SEEDS camp on "Logs and Polywogs" in July. He also claimed the honor of having climbed the highest at Mountain Lake's Bald Knob on Tuesday, where the group did a little rock climbing and studied caves.
"The rock climbing was my favorite part because we went into caves and climbed a big cliff. I like to climb," said Christian Harry, another 9-year-old from Pearisburg. This is also his second camp with SEEDS - he learned about mountains and valleys the week before.
The program costs $100 per week per child, which mainly covers transportation costs and helps fund scholarships for other children to attend the summer camps. A maximum of 13 children are allowed in a weekly group and the age ranges from 7 to 12.
Activities are held outdoors rain or shine, although the group voted to go to Roanoke's science museum Monday because of the steady downpour. It was the only indoor activity of the summer thus far.
"I like hiking because we get to look at stuff and learn about different animals," said Emily Hughes, a 12-year-old from Blacksburg. "It also uses up a lot of energy."
Once summer ends and Deshler and Rosenzweig are not out in the sun wrestling with children, they begin working on projects for the community. The programs they offer for everyone from elementary school classes to college students to senior citizens range from one-hour lessons to all-day outing trips. The groups can study anything from mosquitoes to ducks to local history and culture. There is a minimal charge for the SEEDS activities.
"SEEDS utilizes community facilities and works with other organizations," Deshler said. "We're not out to create another center, we're part of the web that teaches people by taking them to places to learn first-hand."
The two partners met in Blacksburg in 1986 at Virginia Tech, where Deshler was working on a bachelor's degree in geography and Rosenzweig a doctorate in biology. Both wanted to start a nonprofit educational program, although each traveled separate ways after graduation.
The pair met up in Chapel Hill, N.C., where Deshler was working, and began researching the feasibility of SEEDS. A year later, they brought the program to Blacksburg.
Now, SEEDS has 20 community affiliations and a grant to work with Virginia Tech's biology department to develop a course to monitor a section of Stroubles Creek, which winds through much of Blacksburg. Students will be asked to develop activities and presentations for school children and community groups from their studies.
"We run SEEDS by the way we've always looked at the world," Rosenzweig said. "We like to have fun and people learn well when they're having a good time. We want them to know that we don't just hug trees, we hug people, too."
The SEEDS office is in Blacksburg. For information on programs, call 552-3914.
LENGTH: Long : 104 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: LORA GORDON/Special to The Roanoke Times. 1. Christianby CNBHarry (center), 9, returns a northern red salamander to Dave Deshler
as they and several other SEEDS participants talk about its habitat
along the edge of Mountain Lake. With them is Julie Haimann, 10,
who also had a chance to feel what the salamander felt like. 2.
Garrett Severson (below) looks over Mike Rosenzweig's shoulder as
they try to identify a salamander. color.