Earth's Classroom News

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Volume/Issue	Date
Volume 10. Issue 2	June 2010 - August 2010	Click Here	PDF (715KB)
Volume 10, Issue 1	March 2010- May 2010	Click Here	PDF (755KB)
Volume 9, Issue 4	December 2009 - February 2010	Click Here	PDF (854KB)
Volume 9, Issue 3	September 2009 - November 2009	Click Here	PDF (731KB)
Volume 9, Issue 2	June 2009 - August 2009	Click Here	PDF (590KB)
Volume 9, Issue 1	March 2009 - May 2009	Click Here	PDF (626KB)
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New News!

Updated: May 20, 2010

Golf Tournament Success

A record of 32 business hole sponsors and six businesses sponsoring 12 players is what tipped our fifth annual golf tournament (May 2nd) into the most successful yet!  This year’s tournament really helped EC pull through on financial needs.  Before the tournament EC was in the red, but after its success EC once again reached into its enduring color of green!  Decisions to invest in certain beneficial education equipment and assistance in liability insurance were two main factors weighing on EC.  But, since the golf tournament, with a following of huge supporters, that weight has been lifted.  Thank you to everyone that participated, and a very special thanks goes to Russell Blankenship for his determined spirit to make EC’s golf tournament as successful as it possibly can be.

Caving Gets Shut Down

EC has recently been able to conduct educational caving trips in Meramec State Park with different groups on three separated dates, the last being May 15th.  But after the 15th, EC will not be leading any can ecology programs while spelunking due to the devastating fungus, Geomyce destructans, which is believed to be the cause of a disease, white-nose syndrome (WNS).  Most all caves across Missouri, on public lands, are being temporarily closed in an attempt to inhibit the spread of WNS.  According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, WNS was first discovered in 2006 in a cave in New York State.  Since then it has spread across the Northeast and made its first identifiable appearance in Missouri in April 2010.  In five short years it has been known to kill well over one million bats.  According to Bat Conservation International, those bats killed by WNS would have devoured just under 700,000 tons of insects each year.  This is the same weight of approximately 175,000 elephants!  

Bats are essential to the balance of the ecosystems thus a depletion in their numbers is critical.  WNS appears to spread from bat to bat, however, the spores from the fungus can possibly spread by air or from cavers clothing and boots.  That is why EC will not be conducting our annual Caving Camp or day ecological caving trips this season until all agencies feel it is safe for us to return to the caves. The following is a short list of brief facts about WNS.  You can see more at www.mdc.mo.gov/nathis/caves. Photo (Left):  A little brown bat infected by WNS as seen on wing and nose.  Photo taken by US Fish and Wildlife Service.

-There is no known risk of WNS to other mammals including humans

-WNS easily exists in the moist, dark cave environments

-WNS makes hibernating bats arouse during the winter, making them lose fat reserves, thus freezing or starving to death

Pictured below is one of the three educational caving groups EC led through Mushroom Cave this Spring.  

Click on images for larger view.

5th and 6th grade field trip from Crosspoint Christian School. The passage to the second "door".	An immature Western slimy salamander, Plethodon albagula	An adult cave salamander, Eurycea lucifuga
Active and dormant calcit deposits	Eastern Pipestrille bat	A copperhead found in the "twlight zone" of the third door to Mushroom Cave.
The entire spelunking gang coated in wet cave clay at the first door or main entrance.

Work Weekend for EC

On Saturday, March 27th a small crew of EC friends got together on this cool day to accomplish a good deal of much needed projects.  The crew consisted of Russell & Ginny Blankenship, Bill & Jody Miles, Joe & Charissa Coyle and the wonderful Barry Bookout.  Accomplishments were:  priming and painting multiple picnic tables, priming and painting amphitheater benches and table, adding water breaks to trails, installing two 2’ X 10” oak benches, repainting the hand-washing barrels, re-installing drain tile for the hand-washing outer flow system , and constructing boxes for bulletin board improvements.   Sunday was a blow-out with rainy weather, thus we are highly grateful to the workers for their assistance in improving EC.  Thanks so much!

Busiest Spring Ever

In just nine weeks (End of March to 3rd week of May) EC will have worked with over 2,100 participants!!  We are incredibly happy to have had this much participation in a time when economics has been so low.  Many schools are cutting programs and funds to  do extracurricular activities, but according to some teachers, we were not only the “closest and cheapest” option but “the most uniquely educational too!”  EC educators have had their hands full, but have enjoyed every minute of it.  Thanks for your wonderful support!

EC Canoes/Trailer enhanced by BSA's Matt Bruton