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Coming Events
March 4
Maple Syrup Festival Hudson Highlands Nature Museum
Cornwall, NY
March 4
Little Stony Point Annual Clean-Up Day
Little Stony Point Park
Cold Spring, NY
March 11
Sap to Syrup
Taconic Outdoor Education Center
Cold Spring, NY
March 24
From Peas to Bees:
Raising Farm Fresh Foods in Your Own Backyard
Highlands Country Club
Cold Spring, NY
March 25
Maple Syrup Day
Llittle Stony Point Park
Cold Spring, NY
June 9
HHLT's 8th Annual
Family Festival
Claudio Marzollo Community Center of Philipstown
Garrison, NY
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Hudson Highlands Land Trust
P.O. Box 226
1180 Route 9D
Garrison, NY 10524
845/424-3358
info@hhlt.org |
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HHLT Hosts Community Forum on Backyard Farming
On Sat., Mar. 24, HHLT will host From Peas to Bees, a community forum on backyard farming, at the Highlands Country Club, Rte. 9D, in Garrison, NY. The free event, scheduled from 10:00am to 3:00pm, will feature two moderated hour and a half long panel discussions. Children's gardening education programming will be provided in a separate room during the panel discussions by members of HHLLT's education team. Participants will receive complimentary lunch and the opportunity to browse informational exhibit tables during breaks before and after the panels.
The panels, Fruit & Vegetable Growing at Home (in the morning) and Raising Farm Animals and Beekeeping (after lunch) break the subject matter into two defined topics and allow time for specific questions on each aspect of backyard farming.
The forum is open to the general public and free of charge, but registration is strongly recommended as space is limited. Walk-ins will be accepted on the day of the event on a space available basis. Call or email HHLT at 845/424-3358 or info@hhlt.org for more information or to make a reservation. |
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 HHLT Partners with Hudson Valley Farm to School Program
As an extension of HHLT's support of local farms and its education outreach program, we have entered into a partnership with Hudson Valley Farm to School (HVSF), headed by Sandy McKelvey.
HVFS offers a comprehensive resource for schools in the Hudson River Valley to promote student wellness by encouraging the use of fresh, local farm produce in the cafeteria as well as offering classroom-based nutrition and food system education. It is part of the national Farm to School network that connects schools and local farms. Sandy has been working with the Haldane School district in Cold Spring and the Garrison Union Free School, partnering with local farms and chefs to bring hands-on nutrition education into the classrooms. HHLT is proud to support her program's growth as it expands to other school communities in the Hudson Highlands region.
For more information, visit http://www.hvfs.org/p/about_23.html or contact Sandy at sandy@odara.com.
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 Enjoy the Tastes of Maple Sugar Season
Warm days and freezing nights, which allow sugar maple sap to flow and stop on a daily cycle, are ideal for sap collection. Trees are tapped throughout the Hudson Highlands as business and homeowners collect sap to make syrup for sale and personal enjoyment. Join the region's sugar maple celebrations and learn about the process which transforms tasteless sap to the amber-colored syrup. It's a real sweet deal.
Hudson Highlands Nature Museum: Maple sugaring season begins with a festival on Sun., 3/4, from 10:30am-3pm at the Outdoor Discovery Center, on Muser Drive, across from 174 Angola Rd, in Cornwall, NY. The festival is free, but tours are $10/adult, $5/child (members, $6 and $3). The tours continue weekends through March 25. For more info, visit http://www.hhnaturemuseum.org/ or call 845/534-5506 x204.
Little Stony Point Park: The Little Stony Point Citizens Association will host its Maple Syrup Day on Sun., 3/25, from 10am to 1pm. The free, fun family event includes pancakes with local maple syrup, raffles, live music, maple syrup and local tree saplings for sale and more. Little Stony Point Park is located on Rte. 9D, just north of the Cold Spring village limit.
Taconic Outdoor Education Center: The NY State Park facility hosts Sap to Syrup on Sun., 3/11 from 9:00am to noon. Enjoy a pancake breakfast and get a hands-on demonstration of tapping trees, boiling sap and producing syrup. And, don't miss the cross cut saw demos. Adults $7, children $5. Call 845/265-3773 for more information.
Niese's Maple Farm: Glen and Doreen Niese participate in the New York Maple Festival and Open House during the last two weekends in March each year. Tour their facilities, located at 136 Wiccopee Rd, Putnam Valley, NY, and you can enjoy maple syrup with breakfast or lunch. Visit http://niesesmaplefarm.com/, or call 845/526-3748 for more information.
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 Call for Volunteers
The Friends of Little Stony Point are looking for volunteers for the Annual Clean-up Day, Sunday, March 4, from 8:00am to 2:00pm.
The work of volunteers is vital to restore the beach and flooded portions of the forest after the deluges from last fall's hurricane and tropical storm. People should bring sturdy shoes, gloves and rakes. Trash pickers, garbage bags, and pails will be provided. Refreshments will be provided at the sign-in table located at the caretaker's cottage.
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 Young Poets Featured in the Poughkeepsie Journal
Poetry created by Garrison students during HHLT's River of Words in-school programs have recently been featured in two Poughkeepsie Journal Sunday editions. Published in the February 5th and 26th papers, they appear in a new section, My Valley, which focuses on environmental news from the Hudson Valley and the world.
The newspaper is looking for submissions of artwork, stories and poems inspired by nature created by local children and teens. Send them to My Valley Editor Dugan Radwin, dradwin@poughkeepsiejournal.com, or P.O. Box 1231, Poughkeepsie, NY 12602.
HHLT hopes to instill a sense of the importance of stewardship in the area's youngest residents through its educational outreach programs. To find out more River of Words in-school activities, contact Lisa Mechaley at 845/424-3358 or row@hhlt.org.
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Congress Agrees on Land Conservation
Three hundred U.S. Representatives, including Rep. Nan Hayworth, have co-sponsored the Conservation Easement Incentive Act (H.R. 1964). If passed, the act will make permanent a recently-expired tax incentive that helps organizations like HHLT work with modest income landowners to conserve important natural or historic resources in our community.
"The Hudson Highlands Land Trust is pleased that Representative Nan Hayworth has joined with so many of her colleagues to make this important conservation tool permanent," said HHLT Executive Director Andrew Chmar. "We have seen firsthand the dramatic impact the incentive has had in helping landowners permanently conserve their property, protecting natural resources and wildlife habitat in the Hudson Highlands, and across the nation. We look forward to working with Rep. Hayworth to get the bill passed."
The full list of 300 co-sponsors is available at www.lta.org/easementincentive/cosponsors. They include the Chairman, Ranking Democrat and 32 of 37 members of House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax measures. A broad coalition of sportsmen, outdoor enthusiasts, farmers, ranchers and national conservation groups are working together to make this incentive permanent in the 112th Congress.
Contact Rep. Hayworth to thank her for her support and let her know that the tax incentive is an important tool for protecting the natural resources and scenic beauty of the Hudson Highlands.
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