Volunteer staffer Kathy Ryba uncovers a sap-collecting bucket at Laurel Haven.

A bright yellow bridge over Laurel Run leads visitors up a gravel entrance road to the Laurel Haven Conservation Education Center. Located in the Bald Eagle valley 15 miles north of State College, the center rests on 50 acres of land donated to the University in 1991 by former College of Education faculty members Jane Madsen and her late husband, Harold Mitzel. During the past six years, Laurel Haven has blossomed into a hub of forest education activity, helping school groups, community organizations, and individuals increase their knowledge and appreciation of woodlands and wildlife.

In 1996 alone, nearly 4,000 visitors walked Laurel Haven's nature trails, viewed wildlife from one of its observation blinds, strolled along its half-acre pond, or helped with its annual spring maple sugaring. "We've hosted Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, 4-H clubs, Big Sisters, Big Brothers, and many other groups," says Madsen, the center's program director. "Our focus is on the forest and conservation as a whole, but we do all types of programs. We just brought out a class of middle-school students for an orienteering course, for example." Some groups have come from as far away as Harrisburg and Pittsburgh.

During the 1996-97 academic year, students enrolled in State College Area High School's Technology, Humanities, and the Environment interdisciplinary program visited the center several times. "We collected and identified leaves, studied the life cycles of trees, and observed animals in different habitats," says Alex Argo, a senior in the program. "We've increased our general scientific knowledge at Laurel Haven, which is really important, because it deepens our appreciation for natural things. We've also taken some great hikes in the woods and had some fun in the process."

David Klindienst, State College Area High School's science coordinator, often takes his classes to Laurel Haven. "The center is a great resource," he says. "We've studied just about all of the environments there–the soils, streams, ponds, and woodlands, and their interrelationships. Jane Madsen provides us with excellent teaching materials, especially about forestry."

Student visitors to Laurel Haven use stethoscopes to listen for maple sap.

Madsen, who is known as "Doctor Jane" to the students, volunteers hours of her time to make Laurel Haven's programs a success. A former professor of children's literature, she considers her work to be a labor of love. "I do almost all the light maintenance, I'm the program director, I'm the cookie maker, I'm everything," she says. On a recent spring morning, she set up a flip chart and led a group of fifth graders through a lively question-and-answer session about the history of maple trees in North America. She explained how to identify red maples and sugar maples and described the sap production process. She then took the group to a sugar maple stand at the lower end of the center's property to help the students collect sap for boiling into maple syrup. "Jane is a great example of what one volunteer can do," says Larry Nielsen, who oversees Laurel Haven as head of Penn State's School of Forest Resources. "She's put so much effort into the center that she's become like a full-time faculty member."

In addition to Madsen's contributions, forestry extension specialists assist with Laurel Haven's programs by serving as information resources. Several undergraduate forestry classes visit the center during the academic year, and the school distributes brochures about the center and organizes crews to help Madsen with maintenance work. To receive more information about Laurel Haven or to book an activity, contact Penn State's School of Forest Resources Extension Office at (814) 863-0401 or Jane Madsen at (814) 237-0242.

–Stacy Tibbetts