WVDA and Bayer CropScience Join Forces to Protect Cathedral State Park From Invasive Pest

This article will be of interest to our group regarding steps being taken to protect against an invasive species threatening the virgin hemlock trees at Cathedral State Park:

WVDA Treats Hemlocks Threatened by Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

Collis P. Huntington in Herald Dispatch

One of our guest speakers for the Timber & Rail Project, Jim Casto, has a great article in the Sunday edition of the Herald Dispatch.  This article is on Collis P. Huntington and his legacy in Huntington, WV.
The article is a great read - http://www.herald-dispatch.com/features/x15588764/CSX-city-both-Huntingtons-legacies

Video from Summer Trip

The video of our experience across West Virginia to learn first-hand about the science and history of the timber and rail industries in the state is available HERE.
Throughout the course and the summer we learned how the timber and rail industries not only influenced each other but how those industries shaped our state.

Fall Follow-up - Sutton, WV

Because there were so many places in the state that are important to the forest products industry, it was impossible for us to visit every place on the week-long summer trip.  Therefore, we took a follow-up trip to the Sutton area to tour the Weyerhauser Sutton OSB plant and Appalachian Timber Services.

We drove to from the Cabell County Board of Education office at 4:30 and arrived at the Sutton Day’s Hotel by 6:30.  After checking in, we went to Café Cimino for an excellent dinner.  Everyone was pleased with the meal and enjoyed getting back together.

Our first visit was to the Weyerhauser Sutton OSB plant where we saw oriented strand board being manufactured.  We were impressed that wood going into the Sutton OSB facility is otherwise not usable for many other forest products uses.  Many of the logs are the tops of trees that had been felled for dimensional lumber or veneer.  On entering the plant, the logs are debarked, shredded then dried.  Energy for the drier comes from burning the bark and other wood waste.  The shreds are blown into mats with the fibers at alternating right angles.  Once compressed, a mat of fibers that is about seven inches thick will yield a half inch thick OSB board.  The OSB is formed into sections that are 12 X 24 feet then cut into 4 X 8 sheets. We were impressed at the environmental friendliness of the Weyerhauser Sutton OSB plant.  Most of the energy for drying and heating the wood fibers comes from burning the waste.  Water used to wash the logs is filtered and recycled.  Most of all, the plant’s raw material is wood that would otherwise go to waste following logging in a forest.

A nice lunch at the Flatwoods Shoneys prepared us for the afternoon visit to Appalachian Timber Services where treated wood products are manufactured.  This plant produces all of the treated lumber of the New York City Transit.  Rail ties and landscape timbers are common products.  They also produce a great deal of wood support structure for mines and rail bridges.  Like many other facilities that we have toured, much of their energy is provided by burning wood waste.  Wood waste not used to provide heat is sold to nearby wood pellet manufacturers. Appalachian Timber Services pressure treats hard and softwoods with creosote which makes it rot and insect resistant.

While it was great to see everyone again and to follow up on the spring and summer work, we are already thinking about the 2013 project on glass and ceramics.  While plans are very incomplete at this time, the model will follow the prior years’ president with a spring course on the history and science of glass and a culminating summer trip to the glass producing regions of the state.  More information will be announced as plans develop.  First announcement of the project will be made on this blog.

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Update to Fall Follow-up Trip Plans

Plans are continuing for the fall follow-up to the Forestry and Rail Transport project.  On Wednesday, September 5, we will leave the Cabell County Board of Education Central Office at 4:30pm.  We will be taking two vans to the Days Inn at Flatwoods, WV.  We will have a very special dinner at Café Cimino taking time to reflect on the summer trip and how we can implement the lesson plans in Cabell County classrooms.

On September 6, we will tour the Weyerhaeuser-Sutton OSB plant where oriented strand board is manufactured and Appalachian Timber Services to observe the manufacture of railroad ties and mine timbers.

For these tours, you will need long pants, closed toe shoes, safety glasses, hard hat and ear protection.

We will return to Huntington on the evening of September 6.

Fall Follow-up Plans

The fall follow-up for the Forestry and Rail Transport project  has been scheduled for Thursday, September 6.  We will leave the Cabell County Board of Education Central Office after work on Wednesday, September 5 and drive to Flatwoods, WV.  On arrival, we will have dinner and reflect on the summer trip.  We will spend the night at the Day’s Inn at Flatwoods.  On the morning of September 6, we will tour the Weyerhaeuser-Sutton OSB plant where oriented strand board is manufactured. 

Following a fast food lunch, we will tour the nearby Appalachian Timber Services to observe the manufacture of railroad ties and mine timbers.  We will return to Huntington on the evening of September 6. 

 For these tours, you will need long pants, closed toe shoes, safety glasses, hard hat and ear protection.

 You will only miss one day of work from your school, Thursday, September 6.  The county has approved a substitute for that day.

Please let Karen (kmcclana@access.k12.wv.us) know whether you can go.  Her telephone number is 304-528-5011.  She will need to know your availability no later than noon on August 22.  Karen needs to make arrangements for van rentals, lodging and food as well as informing our hosts at Weyerhaeuser and Appalachian Timber Services of an expected number of visitors.

The Last Day of an Outstanding Experience

Our stay at the Holiday Inn Express in Lewisburg, WV was pleasant as always.  After an excellent breakfast at the hotel, we left for the Greenbrier River at 8 am.

The first stop was across the Greenbrier River from the Greenbrier Military Academy’s summer camp, also known as Camp Shaw-Mi-Del-Eca.  Assessment of the water quality shows it to be consistent with measures taken at other locations along the river throughout the week. 

From there, we drove to the C & O Historical Society Museum in Clifton Forge, Virginia.  The helpful staff gave us an informative tour of the museum and the historic railroad artifacts there.  Of particular interest to many in the group was the antique steam locomotive (C & O Engine 614) that has been restored for the Greenbrier Resort.  When in use, this locomotive was documented to exceed 100 miles per hour in ideal track conditions. We enjoyed lunch in the restored historic club car when diners once enjoyed elegant meals in the golden age of rail travel.

We left Clifton Forge a little before 2 pm and traveled toward Cabell County.  With everyone pitching in, the vans were quickly cleaned out and prepared for return to the Enterprise rental agency.  We were all very tired and happy to be home but anxious to put the newly acquired knowledge into place in classrooms. 

Many in our group have already submitted lesson plans that incorporate the timber and rail industries in the state.  As these lesson plans come in, they will be made available from links on the right side of this blog.

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