Naturalists open great outdoors to local students
Date: 11/7/2012
By Lori Szepelak
lori@thereminder.comWEST SPRINGFIELD — Nancy Condon is on a mission to open up the outdoors to fifth graders across the region.
Condon, of Russell, and her husband Tom, were recently awarded the 2012 Naturalists of the Year Award from the Springfield Naturalists' Club. Condon also serves as vice president of the organization.
Since her youth, Condon has enjoyed the great outdoors and welcomes every chance to share her passion with young people. Working in collaboration with the West Springfield Environmental Committee, Condon has teamed up with Juanita Martinez, also an environmental educator, to present a curriculum on ponds, forests and streams to fifth grade students in town.
School districts across the region are also encouraged to consider similar programs under the watchful eyes of Condon.
Currently, local fifth graders receive classroom instruction then spend a half-day exploring Bear Hole Watershed. Now a town reservoir that is used for passive recreation, the site was once known in the 1890's for the Bear Hole Family Resort on Paucatuck Brook.
"The resort included a waterfall and the locally famous Massasoit Spring, a source of 'water of unusual purity,'" Condon said during an interview with
Reminder Publications. "In fact, water bottled at the spring was sold from a wagon which featured paintings on its sides of a man wrestling with a bear."
Condon noted that books and newspapers of the time described the resort in "glowing" terms. In its heyday, the resort included a pond for fishing and boating, a pavilion with a dance floor built over a brook, a restaurant, and a caretaker's house and sheds where people could stable their teams of horses or, a few years later, park their automobiles.
"Of course, there was always the pure water of nearby Massasoit Spring," Condon said.
By 1906, the town took over the property by eminent domain for use as a town water supply, according to Condon.
"Today we just have Bear Hole Road and a handful of photographs to remind us of a golden era during which people dressed in their Sunday finest, hooked up their horses and wagons, and spent a quiet summer afternoon enjoying nature at one of the Northeast's most beautiful locations," Condon said.
Diane Crowell of the West Springfield Environmental Committee joined Condon on the recent hike and noted that walking and biking is encouraged along the paths and trails located within the watershed area. A half-mile down Bear Hole Road, beyond the gate, is the remains of the resort.
"We want to get children more involved in Bear Hole," Crowell said, adding that young people who care about the environment at an early age will respect the land and nature. A goal of the committee is to extend the environmental curriculum to fourth grade students in the near future.
"Children need hands-on experience to appreciate open space," Crowell said, adding that the committee has no affiliation with town or state government, but works closely with town officials as needed so that issues can be addressed.
Condon echoed those sentiments.
"Kids and teachers are very enthusiastic about the program," Condon said.
The curriculum includes water cycles, life cycles of plants and animals, and activities that allow young people to explore various ecosystems, like a pond, forest or a stream.
"It's not just fun and games," Crowell said. "The instructors stay on task but make the experience rewarding for the children."
Condon added, "Every school should have an environmental program. Children need to have hands-on experience in nature."
Condon has a bachelor's degree in biology from Hope College in Michigan, where she took every biology class time permitted before graduating in 1982. She has been an environmental educator ever since, having taught at various venues including a residential environmental education center in Texas, a nature center in New York, and a science museum and zoo, both in Massachusetts.
Condon encourages young people to take "life by the horns and be adventurous."
For more information on Condon's programs and options that school districts have using the watershed, visit www.naturepods.com to email her.
NaturePods, co-founded by Condon and her husband, features eGuides for national park travelers and nature enthusiasts.
For more information on the West Springfield Environmental Committee, visit
www.wsenvironmentalcommittee.org.
Crowell noted that volunteers are always needed for an array of events that include nature walks, birding walks, recreational hikes, clean-ups, hiking trail maintenance and environmental research.
