The Summit Learning Center’s walls are adorned with colorful images of nature and there is a distinctive woody smell like tree bark soaked in sunlight. Kokanee salmon fry swim in a large tank, newts crawl in a mossy sanctuary and pictures of native birds are everywhere.
“They are so cute,” says one tourist as Justin Hull shows off the newt’s bright orange belly.
Hull, a summer intern, is one of the many staff members and volunteers running the newly opened Summit Learning Center. It is located at the top of the Mt. Constitution, a 2,409-foot-high peak that is an international travel destination at Moran State Park.
The center opened Memorial Day weekend after the Friends of Moran noticed, over the years, that visitors wanted to know more about the park, said Michel Vekved, president of the non-profit.
“The learning center gives us the opportunity to reach out to visitors and have a place to invite them in to learn more,” she said. “The Summit Learning Center has been incredibly successful. We are thrilled because part of our vision was to educate visitors and have them spend more time at the summit.”
And due to this year’s park budget and recent staff cuts, Friends felt the need, more than ever, to provide extra information and assistance.
The center offers maps, books, souvenirs and a place to experience the magic of island nature. A live rough-skinned newt habitat gives visitors a chance to observe these large salamanders in action and learn about this critter’s toxins used as a defense against predators. The toxins are only fatal if you ingest an entire newt, said Hull, which doesn’t happen very often.
One of the center’s most popular activities is the treasure hunt – 350 have been handed out – to help kids explore and learn about the environment at the summit. When youths identify a majority of items in the park, such as spider webs, slugs and animal droppings, they get to choose a prize. One young visitor from Oregon said his favorite part was finding animal prints after a long hunt.
In the future, Vekved said, more lectures will be held at the center, including “Creatures of the Forest,” a program for elementary classes, which consists of five classes: kokanee salmon, rough-skinned newts, birds, mammals, and biodiversity. Kids learn that all animals and plants are connected by the web of life, that there is a great variety of plant and animal life in Moran State Park and the world, according to the Friends’ website.
Hull is working on future lesson plans for young and old, but said outdoor education is crucial when it comes to youths because it gives them an opportunity to see how they fit into the bigger picture of the Earth’s ecosystem.
Hugh and Lynn Fulton, from Pasco, Wash., are the center’s full-time volunteers and live on Moran State Park for the summer. Vekved describes them as being able to “make you laugh” and ensuring you “leave knowing more about the park than you expected.”
The Fultons were recruited to be summit hosts because of their experience in parks and extensive teaching backgrounds.
Since early June, the couple has spent about 25 hours a week working at the summit. Hugh spends his days as a naturalist at the summit and Lynn runs the nature shop.
Hugh learned about the history of the islands in a four-week, self-taught crash course. He said people enjoy the dynamic qualities of oral history.
And the far reaches of the world that visitors travel from may surprise island residents – two researchers from Antarctica made the trip to the summit this summer.
Lynn said the experience is rewarding, especially at the end of the day when she checks the guest book and reads pages of “Thank you,” “This is awesome,” and “Thanks for being here.”
“There has been a lot of positive feedback, it makes us feel pretty good,” Lynn said. “It’s great for people to see all the islands and trails and other places to go on the island. For many this [Mt.Constitution] is the first spot they head to straight off the ferry.”
The center is the physical structure that embodies the Friends of Moran’s mission to provide substantive information and hands-on activities in the great outdoors in the hopes that kids will grow up to be adults that take care of the environment.
“The learning center is important to Friends because we are supporting the park, helping visitors make connections and memories that will draw them back to the park and remind them how important our state parks are and why they need to be funded,” Vekved said.
For more info, visit http://friendsofmoran.com/.
