By SARA POGGI-DECKER
A StoryWalk featuring the children’s book “Mister Karner Blue” is currently on display in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.
“A StoryWalk is a children’s book that is deconstructed and the pages are laminated. The pages of the book are then posted along a trail so that people read the story as they are walking along the trail,” explained Sara Poggi-Decker, education program manager.
Walk, jump or skip from page to page as you read along the trail. The StoryWalk is currently set up along part of the Karner Barrens blue trail located behind the Albany Pine Bush Discovery Center at 195 New Karner Road in Albany.
“A StoryWalk is a great way to explore the trails” said Poggi-Decker. “It is also an exciting and different way to read a book.”
The StoryWalk Project was originally created by Anne Ferguson of Vermont and developed in collaboration with the Vermont Bicycle and Pedestrian Coalition and the Kellogg Hubbard Library.
“Mister Karner Blue” is a children’s book, published by the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission, written for kids by kids, and features the federally endangered Karner blue butterfly. “Mister Karner Blue” is the result of a unique collaboration between the Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission and the Farnsworth Middle School in Guilderland. Although the book was a group effort, the primary author is a student named Natasha Permaul, who was a seventh-grader at Farnsworth Middle School when she submitted a scrapbook presentation on the life cycle of the Karner blue butterfly for science teacher Dr. Fiero’s final Pine Bush Project assignment. The production of the book was a team effort of fellow students, her teachers, adult volunteers and Commission staff. The book tells the story of Mister Karner Blue and his dependence on the complex and rare habitat of inland pine barrens. It features artwork by the children and their teacher as well as photos by adult volunteers from the Albany Pine Bush Preserve.
The Storywalk will be on display throughout the summer of 2020. For more information about the Storywalk, trails and other Pine Bush programs call 518-456-0655.
