Music, treats part of program

By KYLE ODEGARD
Gazette-Times reporter

Philomath’s Science, Music and Marshmallows program begins its fifth season tonight with a nature walk and a presentation on climate change.

The series continues every Wednesday night in August at the old Clemens Mill site, at the east end of Philomath.

“This is a way to try and make science fun,” said Joseph Postman, president of the Marys Peak Natural Resources Interpretive Center, one of the event’s sponsors.

Every week, there’s a reptile display where kids can hold snakes and other critters, as well as the Davy Crockett Challenge, where participants try to win prizes by identifying bones, pelts and plants.

“We crown the winner with a coonskin cap,” said Jeff Mitchell, the lead organizer for the series and a Philomath High School science teacher.

The “science classroom” where presentations occur is a field underneath the stars, with hay bales set out as seats. At the end of each lesson, attendees roast marshmallows over a campfire.

Between 80 and 120 people showed up each week last year, Mitchell said.

Tonight, things start at 7 p.m. with a hike in the Newton Creek Wetlands, where attendees can learn the plants the Kalapuya Indians used for food, medicine, tools and shelter.

The Sambees are set to play music starting at 7:45 p.m.

At 8:30 p.m., Ron Nielson, a bioclimatologist with the U.S. Forest Service, is scheduled to discuss how a changing climate might impact Northwest landscapes, including forest canopies and root systems.

Nielson serves on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a scientific body set up by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environmental Program.

The Science, Music & Marshmallows program is sponsored by the Philomath School District and several other supporters.

To get to the event, turn at the Philomath Area Chamber of Commerce red caboose on Highway 20/34 and continue north to the old mill.

Representatives of the Marys Peak Natural Resources Interpretive Center hope to acquire 120 acres of the former mill site and create an educational center. It’s already used as an outdoor classroom for local schools, as well as a setting for Oregon educators to learn how to teach about wildlife.

“The more people we can get out to the site, the more people know this is a great place to learn and explore,” said Mitchell, the education coordinator for the Marys Peak Natural Resources Interpretive Center.

“To see an industrial site and log ponds that have been abandoned for 25 years, and how nature has taken over — it gives me hope of the ability of nature to recover,” Postman said.

One of the highlights on this year’s schedule is a visit by Philomath High School graduate Michael Bendixon, who now helps produce the popular Oregon Public Broadcasting television show “Oregon Field Guide.”

Those who attend will find it easier to return to their vehicles in the dark this year, thanks to a donation of solar lighting by individual members of the Philomath City Council. There is no electricity at the old Clemens Mill Site, so the sound system and projector are operated with a small generator.

Program schedule

Aug. 13

7 p.m. — Wildlife hike in the wetlands, including dedication of a study blind built by recent PHS graduate Kenny Secher. Also learn to identify wildlife by their tracks, scat and more. Bring binoculars.

7:45 p.m. — Music by Pete Ballerstedt.

8:30 p.m. — Michael Bendixon, Oregon Field Guide videographer, presents “Behind the Scenes at Oregon Field Guide: Chiseling the Message.” Learn how years of scientific work gets condensed into a 10-minute segment.

Aug. 20

7 p.m. — Fish for warm-water bass, crappie and catfish to help the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife determine what species live in the beaver ponds. Bring your pole, license and favorite bait or lure. No license needed for kids under 14.

7:45 p.m. — Rusty Strings Band.

8:30 p.m. — Bill Pearcy, OSU emeritus professor of oceanography, talks about the “Ecology of Ocean Fishes: What Goes on in the Big Pond.” Learn about how a changing climate affects ocean currents and food webs. Emphasis on salmon, trout and steelhead.

Aug. 27

7 p.m. — Extract DNA from your own saliva or from an onion. Build a DNA model and learn or review the parts of a cell in fun activities.

7:45 p.m. — Music by Alan Ede.

8:30 p.m. — Jon Moulton of Gene Tools will present “Knocking Down Genes in Philomath.” Learn how a complex molecule can turn genes on and off and how this could some day be used to understand embryo development and mechanisms of disease.

Kyle Odegard can be contacted at kyle.odegard@lee.net or 758-9523.