2020 AMW Class Schedule – Alabama Audubon

FRIDAY AFTERNOON

Nature Painting en plein air with Timothy Joe
This class will teach students how to painting outdoors, or en plein air, with soft pastels and oil paints. Topics will include finding your painting subject, coming up with a good composition, discovering the power of the thumbnail sketch, avoiding common outdoor painting pitfalls, and knowing when a painting is finished.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: none

Folk Architecture of the Shinbone Valley with Joey Brackner
A brief introduction to cultural landscape features, primarily vernacular house forms (but also outbuildings and cemeteries) which developed on the American frontier and can still be seen in the Shinbone Valley at the base of Lookout Mountain. The field trip after the short introduction will partially retrace the steps of famed folklorist Henry Glassie’s mid-1960s fieldwork excursion while doing research for this groundbreaking book Pattern in the Material Folk Culture of the Eastern United States (1968).
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: light walking during field trip

Prehistoric Pottery Traditions of Alabama with Tammy Beane
This course will explore nature themes found in pottery created by prehistoric artists in Alabama. These effigies reflect what these people saw in their lives and through the lens of their belief systems. During the course, you’ll see reproductions of some of the pieces found here in the state, and enjoy hands-on instruction with clay and other materials to allow you to create your very own work of nature art.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: none

Rare Plants of Lookout Mountain with Chris Oberholster
Learn more about the many state and globally-rare plants that occur in the rich variety of habitats in the Appalachians of northeastern Alabama. The class includes a slide presentation to introduce participants to the physiographic regions, geology, and natural habitats of the area, as well as some of the rare plants species. We will also spend some time exploring the forests and sandstone glades in the vicinity of the camp.
What to bring: comfortable hiking shoes, hat, water
Physical expectations: moderate hiking

Rivercane Basketry of the Southeastern Native Americans with Jim Brown
History covered: a) biographical sketch of the instructor’s tutor, Carol Welch, basketmaker from Big Cove in the Qualla Boundary; b) researching the oldest dateable Cherokee basket in the collections of the British Museum; c) lessons learned about Cherokee basketmaking women from Sarah Hill’s Weaving New Worlds; d) rivercane basketmaking experiences with the Choctaw in Mississippi and the Chitimacha in Louisiana.
What to bring:stout pocketknife with non-serrated blade, leather glove for off hand (the non-knife-holding one).
Physical expectations: the ability to rive a stalk of cane to make a basket split or two.

Trees of Alabama with Stella Pfau
In this hands-on class, you will be able to identify twenty common trees found in Alabama. We will use characteristics such as leaf shape, bark texture, flowers, fruits, and seeds to help identify trees. This class starts indoors where we will review species-specific characteristics as well as play an identification game. We then will venture outdoors where we will use our newly gained knowledge to identify trees found at the Alpine Camp in Mentone, Alabama. Time permitting, we will learn to use keys and field guides to identify other tree species. Join us for this exciting class that will not only help you identify common Alabama trees but open your eyes to the beauty, importance, and wonder of them.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: easy walking

Alabama Wildflowers with Ellen W. McLaughlin
Last year, we found between thirty five and forty flower species within fifty feet of the entrance to Alpine Camp. This year, we’ll take an easy field trip to identify the common roadside wildflowers, then learn about floral structure through examining some of the more beautiful blooms using a dissecting microscope. The emphasis will be on the mint, composite, and parsley families. We will also learn how to use a sweep net to collect insects or spiders that live on the flowers, and will use the microscopes to identify these, as well.
What to bring: simple digital camera and walking shoes
Physical expectations: easy hiking through nature

Alabama Herps with Jimmy & Sierra Stiles
Join us for a large-scale overview of the reptiles and amphibians of our state, featuring live animal demonstrations.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: none

SATURDAY MORNING

Bird Banding Up Close with Lianne Koczur and Eric Soehren
Get an up-close-and-personal look at migrating passerines as Alabama Audubon chief scientist Lianne Koczur and Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources biologist Eric Soehren band birds on Lookout Mountain.
What to bring: nothings
Physical expectations: none

Appalachian Ballads: History and Sing-along with Jim Brown
This class covers the history of the “Child” ballads (the oldest English and Scottish ballads), their surprising survival in the southern Appalachians and the discovery of same, plus some addendum on later British Broadside and American ballads. Lecture, liberally interspersed with singalongs and the occasional reading of passages from key biographies and autobiographies, among them those of Cecil Sharp, Olive Dame Campbell, and Jean Ritchie, as well as the playing of a few recordings. If you’re interested in the topic, but concerned about the quality of your voice, be assured that from your first listen to the instructor’s singing, you’ll realize that 95% of you can do better; it’s a really low bar. But this is an attempted time travel back to when everybody in the community sang, so you have to try!
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: singing (from word sheets passed out; instructor will “line out” melody so sight reading musical notation is not required); reading an occasional paragraph to the class.

Building Bird Automatons with Dariana Dervis
Make a moving Bird Automaton from common household items and paper. We’ll create a hand-operated collage bird using cut papers for the body, wings and feathers and paperclips and clothespins for the movement mechanism. Bring your sense of wonder and creativity! All levels welcome.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: none

Beginning Birding with John Michael Imhof
An introduction to some of the skills, resources, and tools used in birding, presented through a short lecture, an interactive slide show, a question-and-answer session, and a moderate walk to apply knowledge from class to the observation and identification of a number of bird species.
What to bring: binoculars and birding guides, if you own them (additional binoculars will be available for those who can’t bring their own)
Physical expectations: moderate hiking on established trails

Moths of Alabama and Georgia with James K. Adams
This course will cover a variety of moths that can be found in the southern Appalachians. In the evening, we’ll set out traps to capture moths overnight; just before nightfall, we’ll set up a black-light sheet and participants will be encouraged to put their newly acquired identification skills to good use. Those with a photography background can also take photographs for later identification.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: none
Note: Participants are also invited to help the instructor set up moth traps on Friday and Saturday nights, and to check them on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

What to bring: Bring found paper ephemera if you want, but please don’t bring any natural materials—we will re-trace nature through a sustainability lens. Bring a ruler, pencil, awl or pushpin, eraser, tiny bowl and brush for glue, wax paper, scissors, needle and thread and cutting mat and X-Acto blade or utility knife, bone folder if you have them.
Physical expectations: nothing

Birding by Habitat with Paul Franklin
Birds are inextricably tied to their habitat niches. You can maximize the number and variety of birds you see by understanding the bonds between species and habitat. We’ll describe several habitat types, then visit example sites to sample the bird life found there.
What to bring: binoculars and field guides if you have them; comfortable shoes and clothing
Physical expectations: easy walking

SATURDAY AFTERNOON

History of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Alabama with Mandy Pearson
Once upon a time, you could roam for days and see nothing man-made. Now it is harder to find natural, scenic, wild areas. We all need a little wild wilderness in our souls. Wilderness is also important for clean air, clean water, plant, animals, and much more. This wilderness was nothing new to the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) boys. When the country hit rock bottom, they rolled up their sleeves and went to work over eighty years ago. Learn about the men who worked hard to preserve wilderness areas. For more information, email the instructor.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: easy walking

Riparian Ecology and Restoration with Henry Hughes, Michelle Blackwood & Jessi Miller
This program is about rivers and streams and the landscapes around them. Together, we’ll cover a) the flow dynamics of watersheds (water movement in soil; surface runoff under various conditions; causes of channel formation; erosion dynamics), b) bank and floodplain forests (stabilization by woody and herbaceous plants; soil development; water quality and quantity; nutrient cycling), and c) the details of development and storm-water regulation (community risks; avoidance, minimization, mitigation; permitting under the Clean Water Act). We’ll then walk to view several of these topics playing out on the West Fork of the Little River.
What to bring: outdoor walking shoes and gear for light rain
Physical expectations: easy walking to the river overlook

Climate Action for a Prosperous Future with John Northrop
A detailed look at the challenges—and opportunities—posed by the climate crisis, including immediate actions you can take to help.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: none

Bird Migration with Anne Miller
Where do birds go and what do they do when they travel to their northern nesting grounds, or when they depart for winter somewhere in the tropics? New technology provides fascinating insight into the lives of birds, especially the details of bird migration. The class will offer a chance to learn more about the lives of our Alabama birds, including some of our winter visitors who breed in the northern US and Canada, and also our summer breeding birds who winter in the neotropics. The class will include coaching on how to use eBird to enhance your ability to find and observe birds anywhere in the world. Sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society, eBird compiles records of bird sightings from birders and ornithologists around the world. The database is easily searchable, and can be used to find out where the birds are at any time of year.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: none

Turtles of Alabama with Andy Coleman
Alabama ranks first in the United States in turtle biodiversity, and in this class we will cover the factors that has lead to this diversity, as well as discuss some of our unique species. Participants will have the opportunity to view live turtles up close, and the class may check out local creeks to see if we can catch some.
What to bring: sturdy shoes and clothes that can get wet
Physical expectations: light walking and wading

Reading the Forest with Scot Duncan
Participants in this class will hike through the nearby forest to see six different natural ecosystems. For each, we’ll study how five key ecological factors create them. Students will also learn about why Alabama leads most of the nation in total biodiversity, and why Lookout Mountain’s ecology and biodiversity are so diverse. The hike will cover about one mile and be on the trails fringing Camp Alpine. Trails can be muddy and a few sections are steep.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: moderate hiking on the trails surrounding the camp

Geology of Little River Canyon with Larry Beane
Explore the principles and practice of geology in one of Alabama’s most striking landscapes.
What to bring: comfortable walking shoes, hat, water
Physical expectations: NOTE—this class features difficult hiking on uneven terrain

Paper-making/Nest-making with Doug Baulos
NESTS! This will be a lab exploring common nest identification. Participants will experimenting with paper-making, collage, printmaking, and book-arts. Come for one session or stay all day! We will discuss Alabama Audubon’s bird conservation projects, and focus on observing and heightening awareness of natural textures and patterns and structures in bird nests found in the Southeast. The processes will support discussion and reflection about extinction, habitat endangerment, and a platform for (mending) remediation and meditation.
What to bring: Bring found paper ephemera if you want, but please don’t bring any natural materials—we will re-trace nature through a sustainability lens. Bring a ruler, pencil, awl or pushpin, eraser, tiny bowl and brush for glue, wax paper, scissors, needle and thread and cutting mat and X-Acto blade or utility knife, bone folder if you have them.
Physical expectations: nothing

Nature Meditation with Jack Johnston
Learn meditation techniques for remaining relaxed and mentally alert, for stress reduction, and for mental focus. Together, we’ll examine the nature of consciousness and spiritual awareness, share brief sessions of meditation practice, and provide opportunities for feedback from participants.
What to bring: a cushion for sitting, if you have one
Physical expectations: the ability to sit quietly

SUNDAY MORNING

Bird Banding Up Close with Lianne Koczur and Eric Soehren
Get an up-close-and-personal look at migrating passerines as Alabama Audubon’s chief scientist Dr. Lianne Koczur and Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources biologist Eric Soehren band birds on Lookout Mountain.
What to bring: nothing
Physical expectations: none

Butterflies of Alabama with Vitaly Charny
Participants in this class will enjoy a butterfly-based field trip through several different local habitats, with plenty of opportunities to observe and identify Alabama butterfly species.
What to bring: binoculars and butterfly field guides, if you have them
Physical expectations: moderate hiking on established trails

Birding by Ear with Paul Franklin
Learn to identify birds before they’re seen. We’ll discuss song “families” and learn to differentiate the individual songs in those families. Learn easy-to-remember mnemonic devices to enable easy recognition of songs. We’ll tour the area around the camp, and visit several “hot spots” to listen and look for many of the region’s signature species.
What to bring: binoculars and field guides; comfortable shoes and clothing
Physical expectations: easy walking

A Poet’s Field Guide: Nature Writing Workshop with Josh Dugat
We all have our favorite guides for identifying birds, flowers, insects and the like. Verse should be no different! Equipped with a few taxonomical tools, we’ll be better able to recognize exotic species (zeugma, anyone?) in the wild, relish in their music, and apply that knowledge in our own writing. Bring a writing implement and paper, comfortable shoes, and a limber imagination. Absolutely no prior writing experience is required.
What to bring: something to write with
Physical expectations: none

Meet the faculty

James K. Adams lived for the first eighteen years of his life in Liberty, Missouri, northeast of Kansas City, and graduated from high school there. He attended the University of Kansas (KU) in Lawrence, completing his undergraduate degree in Systematics & Ecology (Biology) in 1983, then continued at KU for his graduate degrees, ultimately completing his doctorate in 1990, also in Systematics & Ecology. He came to Dalton State College in the fall of that year, and has been teaching Principles of Biology and Human Anatomy & Physiology since that time. He also teaches the Entomology course (Insect Biology) in the fall semester of each year. More recently, since the addition of the four-year degree in biology, he has been teaching Evolution in the fall and Ecology in the spring.
Douglas Baulos received his MFA from the University of New Orleans and Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He regularly teaches workshops and lectures on his research in book arts, drawing, and mixed media. In 2009, Baulos won the President’s Award for Excellence in Teaching at UAB. He currently serves on the Board of Alabama Audubon. Find out more at dougbaulos.com.
Larry Beane holds a BA in Anthropology and Archaeology, with a minor in Geology, from Catawba College (Salisbury, North Carolina). He is passionate about both the past and the present life of northeastern Alabama. Larry has been collecting rocks and knowledge for over fifty years, and has been interested in archaeology for almost as long. His current hobbies include kayaking, flint-knapping, botany, geology, nature, and sharing knowledge.
Tammy Beane is a member of the Southern Highland Craft Guild and the Mississippi Craftsmen’s Guild, a life member of the Southeastern Archaeological Conference, and a Dana Teaching Artist. Tammy has been reproducing prehistoric and early historic Southeastern Indian pottery for museums and archaeologist for twenty-seven years. During that time, she has worked with UNC and The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (North Carolina), The Cherokee Heritage Museum (Tahlequah, Oklahoma), and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (Durant, Oklahoma) to help in the revitalization of traditional Southeastern pottery. Tammy also produces Southern Mud Pottery, a line of nature inspired art pottery using the same prehistoric techniques as her reproductions.
Michelle Blackwood is President of the Friends of Shades Creek, an organization devoted to protecting and preserving the cultural and biological heritage of Shades Creek. Originally from Kansas, she is a graduate of the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She retired in 2018 as Marketing Specialist and Community Liaison at America’s First Federal Credit Union while serving as president of the board of the Cahaba River Society.
Joey Brackner is a folklorist and the director of the Alabama Center for Traditional Culture, a division of the Alabama State Council on the Arts. He has degrees in Anthropology from UAB and the University of Texas at Austin (MA). Brackner is the author of Alabama Folk Pottery, University of Alabama Press (2006) and is the host and co-producer of the Alabama Public Television series Journey Proud.
Jim Brown taught European, Asian, and World History at Samford University from 1971 to 2016. During that time, he took students to more than a dozen countries on five continents, usually in the company of a biologist with whom he could explore interactions between cultures and the environment. Jim began teaching a “Europe-to-America” folklore class in the mid-1970s.
Vitaly Charny is a butterfly-monitoring enthusiast who has conducted regular butterfly counts in Alabama for more than twenty years, accumulating more than 50,000 butterfly records and pictures of more than 130 species of Alabama butterflies. He co-authored the first book ofButterflies of Alabama with Samford University’s W. Mike Howell. Vitaly is a member of the Southern Lepidopterists Society. He is one of the initiators and creators of the Alabama Butterfly Atlas that include his observations and photos. His other interests include damselflies, lichens, cacti, lizards, tropical-fish breeding, philately, genealogy, and photography. Vitaly has a degree in Nuclear Physics from Belarus State University in Minsk, Belarus, and currently works in the information-technology field.
Andy Coleman is a herpetologist and Assistant Professor at Talladega College.
Dariana Dervis. Deeply inspired by nature and a long-time bird enthusiast, Dariana delights in mining beauty from the ordinary to create the extraordinary. Papers, found objects, ephemera, and thread are given new life and meaning as they are incorporated into mixed media collages. Her artwork explores the ways we are connected to the land- scapes in which we live and also to one another. With a BFA from the University of Montevallo, Dariana currently works as artist, graphic designer and reiki practitioner in Birmingham, Alabama. Find out more at www.darianadervis.com.
Josh Dugat is a poet and geographer, regularly seen backpacking his one-year-old son around Tuscaloosa. He has worked as a high school science teacher, park ranger, and wildland firefighter, and currently teaches with the Alabama Prison Arts + Education Project.
R. Scot Duncan is a Professor of Biology at Birmingham-Southern College, where he teaches ecology, conservation biology, and environmental studies. Dr. Duncan earned a BS in Biology from Eckerd College (1993) and an MS (1997) and PhD (2001) in Zoology from the University of Florida. His research experiences have taken him to Antarctica, Uganda, Costa Rica, Panama, Florida and Arizona. Currently his research centers on the ecology of endangered species (including the watercress darter) and imperiled ecosystems (including Montane Longleaf Pine) of the Southeast. He is the author of the award-winning Southern Wonder: Alabama’s Amazing Biodiversity (2013) and is currently writing a new book about the future of southeastern rivers.
Paul Franklin has photographed professionally for thirty years, during which time his work has appeared in major magazines and on websites, album covers, and television. He continues to work with private clients to produce professional images for magazines, modeling portfolios, commercial enterprises, and political candidates. Paul taught photography for over twenty-five years at UAB, Samford, and Montevallo, and continues to mentor and assist amateurs and professionals alike. An avid birder and an expert on Alabama’s birdlife, he has written and photographed extensively for the Alabama Birding Trails project.
Henry Hughes is Executive Director of Friends of Shades Creek. He has served on the boards of the Alabama Rivers Allicance and the Cahaba River Society. He is particularly interested in the ecological and aesthetic integrity of riparian forests. He studied Forestry and Botany at Sewanee: The University of the South and Plant and Soil Science at the University of Kentucky and at Texas A&M University.
John Michael Imhof has had a special interest in ornithology dating back to his earliest memories. As a child, he was fascinated by nature, and birds in particular, as he accompanied his father, Thomas Imhof (author of the classic Alabama Birds), on endless excursions into God’s Creation. For a number of years, John has served as a party leader for several bird counts conducted by Alabama Audubon, including Christmas counts and spring and fall counts. He is also an observer for the U.S. Geological Survey Breeding Bird Survey, and has been an instructor at the Audubon Mountain Workshop for many years.
Timothy Joe is a self-taught artist and instructor whose art reflects his deep roots to the Alabama Black Belt region. His art is fueled by the sense of preserving the rural landscape and scenery, which includes bird life. More at timothymjoe.com.
Jack Johnston is a naturalist who specializes in bird study and watershed biology. He grew up in northeastern Alabama, and has extensive field experience in the area. Jack’s interest in meditation began in 1985, at which time he began studying with Roy Eugene Davis. He has since provided numerous meditation workshops for health care professionals, at yoga retreats, and for other interested groups.
Lianne Koczur is the Science & Conservation Director at Alabama Audubon. A native of Massachusetts, she earned her BA in Biology from the University of Maine at Farmington, and her MS (in Range and Wildlife Management) and PhD (in Wildlife Science) at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
Ellen W. McLaughlin, Professor Emeritus, retired from the Samford University in August 2007 after forty years of teaching embryology, histology, and introductory courses in zoology and botany for majors. She currently coordinates and teaches courses in the Natural History Rewards program at Samford After Sundown. Even in retirement, Ellen continues to conduct studies on dandelions and aquatic habitat analysis, and is an active member of Alabama Audubon and the Alabama Wildflower Society. She enjoys her summer home on a lake in Maine, as well as traveling to more remote areas of the world. A Long Island native, she holds degrees from the State University of New York at Albany (BS), the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (MA), and Emory University (PhD).
Anne Miller founded and directed Alabama’s first wildlife rehabilitation program—the Alabama Wildlife Center—for thirty years. Since her retirement, she has continued teaching wildlife rehabilitators across the U.S. about returning ‘orphaned’ infant wild animals to their parents, as an alternative to raising them in captivity. For her leadership in this area, Anne received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Wildlife Rehabilitator’s Association in 2017. She’s also become an enthusiastic birder, and was involved in expanding the birding trails system throughout Alabama. Anne recently completed a two-year term as President of the Alabama Ornithological Society, and remains an active member of the AOS board of directors. She is a course instructor for Alabama Audubon, and also serves on the Field Trip and Programs committees.
Jessi Miller studied Biology at Lees McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, and at Eastern Washington University. She currently works for a federal agency in Frankfort, Kentucky, and is a board member of the Frankfort Audubon Society.
Chris Oberholster has more than twenty-five years of experience working to conserve the rich biodiversity of Alabama, including several years as Botanist & Community Ecologist for the Alabama Natural Heritage Program. He is currently the Development Director for Alabama Audubon.
Mandy Pearson is the Park Naturalist at Alabama’s Cheaha State Park.
Stella Pfau was born and raised in Birmingham, Alabama, and has always had an interest in the native flora and fauna of our state. She has a BS in Ecology and Biodiversity from Sewanee: the University of the South, and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her professional career has been spent at several nonprofits including Jones Valley Teaching Farm, Schoolyard Roots, and Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve. With over a decade of environmental education experience, Stella now supports Ruffner Mountain’s educational initiatives as their newly hired Programs Coordinator.
Eric Soehren is a graduate of  Jacksonville  State  University with both undergraduate and masters degrees in Biology. He has been a zoologist with the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resource’s State Lands Division since 1997, and currently manages the Wehle Land Conservation Center (WLCC), where he administers the Avian Conservation Center. Eric is actively involved with several conservation organizations including the Alabama Ornithological Society, Southeast Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation, and the Inland Bird Banding Association
Jimmy and Sierra Stiles are currently working on graduate degrees at Auburn University. Together, they’ve conducted studies on reptiles and amphibians across Alabama, with current projects surveying Black Warrior River Waterdogs, conducting herpetofaunal surveys of watersheds of Alabama’s high-conservation-concern watersheds, and exploring the reintroduction of Eastern Indigo Snakes into Conecuh National Forest (which they also call home).