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Wallkill Valley Land Trust
E-Newsletter
Esopus, Gardiner, Lloyd, Marlborough, New Paltz, Plattekill, Rosendale, and Shawangunk
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Why Here? Why Now?By Christie Ferguson, WVLT Executive Director
Kellar Easement, Esopus, NY
As the holidays are upon us, I am reminded of how special this area is to me. Five years ago my husband and I moved here. We chose it for its bucolic and diverse landscapes, from the Hudson River, to the cliffs of the Shawangunk Mountains. We chose it because of a certain unspoken value system shared by its community members. We chose it because of the range of experiences that we knew would be available to us as members of this special place.
This month the Wallkill Valley Land Trust has embarked upon a new strategic planning process with consultant Beth Hershenhart (funded by the Dyson Foundation and the Land Trust Alliance). As part of this course, we have been given homework to grasp the impact that this place has on its community. The first assignment was for Board members to ask five people "What is it about this place that matters to you?" The answers have ranged from "It is a beautiful place to live" and "I am here for the nature" to "It is an ideal place to raise a family" and "I liked the breed of kind, open, knowledgeable and creative people that are drawn here."
In my new role as the organization's Executive Director I have undertaken my own exploration of our community. I have had the exceptional experience of accompanying our Land Steward Lynn Bowdery on her monitoring trips and visiting the vast array of protected habitats, farms, and views. I have met the landowners who are caring for the conservation easements on which they live, and heard from them why it is important to nurture and protect that which surrounds them.
Speaking to Norman Kellar, a longtime Land Trust supporter and the current owner of an 88-acre conservation easement in Esopus, I asked him what was so special to him about this place where he has grown up and decided to remain. He simply said, "Look around!" He is right.
I am thankful for the dedication and vision of my elders, who had the foresight to protect this area while still creating places to live, raise families, grow crops, and enjoy what this landscape has to offer. I am thankful to be part of an organization whose sole purpose is to protect these precious resources forever. And I am thankful to the community supporters whose investments has helped to make Southern Ulster County one of the finest places to live today - and for generations to come. |
Celebrating Local Pioneers
of Land Preservation
On
Sunday, October 25, 2009 the Wallkill Valley Land Trust hosted its 4th
Annual Conservation Awards celebration honoring the Town of Rosendale
for their recent commitment to restore the Rosendale extension of the
Wallkill Valley Rail Trail.
The
day's celebration was a great success! Town Supervisor Patrick
McDonough was presented with the award, and guests shared wine and
gourmet hors d'oeuvres from local eateries in the setting of the
elegant historic Bell Tower on Main Street in Rosendale, among Louis
Sclafani's original glass sculptures. All enjoyed the locally-grown
acoustic folk music of the nationally known Jay Unger and Molly Mason,
with their heartrending "Ashokan Farewell" as the closing song.
Speeches were given by WVLT's new Executive Director, Christie
Ferguson, Open Space Institute's Vice President and General Counsel,
Bob Anderberg, and WVLT's Board President, Bob Taylor. Supervisor
McDonough spoke last upon being presented with the award about the
importance of collaboration to this project and the many individuals
and organizations that have come together to make this restoration of
the Rail Trail possible.
Rosendale Town Supervisor, Patrick McDonough
A
big thank you to our attendees, Ruth Elwell President of the Wallkill
Valley Rail Trail Association, the WVLT Board of Directors, and to our
sponsors: Louis Sclafani and Bell Tower Glassworks, Jay Ungar and Molly
Mason, Debbie Lan, Brian Gunn, Bywater Bistro, Rosendale Café, the Big
Cheese, Village Tea Room, Main Course Caterers, Bridge Creek Catering,
Main Street Bistro, Wiltwyck Golf Club, Rapid Tool Rental and Shop
& Stop.
Jay Ungar & Molly Mason live!
It is true - it takes the coming together of many individuals and organizations to make grassroots work possible! |
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We invite readers to submit their favorite quote to Nature Quotes !
Board of Directors
Robert E. Taylor,
President, New Paltz
David Rossetter,
Vice-President,
Gardiner
Allan G. Bowdery,
Secretary,
New Paltz
James H. Ottaway Jr.
Treasurer, New Paltz
Bradford Barclay,
New Paltz
Seth Hollander, Gardiner
Carol B. LeFevre, Gardiner
Angela Sisson, Shawangunk
Raymond D. Smith, Jr., Gardiner
Johanna Sokolov, Gardiner
Advisory Board Peter Ferrante, Jr.
Farmer
Judy Gueron
Social Science Researcher
Cara Lee Environmentalist
Ray Rice
former Town Supervisor
WVLT Staff
Christie Ferguson,
Executive Director
Amy R. Poux,
Development Associate
Yinmei Lin,
Office Manager & Development Coordinator
Consultants
Lynn Bowdery,
Land Steward
Barry Tunkel, Bookkeeper
John Wadlin, Attorney | |
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NOVEMBER'S GARDEN
By Lee Reich, PhD
Dry leaves upon the wall,
Which flap like rustling wings and seek escape,
A single frosted cluster on the grape,
Still hangs - and that is all.
Susan Coolidge, "November"
All is not over in the garden. A few hardy vegetables and flowers hang on through November with no signs yet of giving in to the increasing cold. The star among those vegetables is kale: lush, green, frilly, delectable, and healthful. A whole bed of it awaits a skillet where it will be married with spicy peanut sauces, and a large, deep pot in which, along with water, onions, herbs, and a variety of other ingredients, it will make its contribution to hearty winter soups, and . . .
As everything quiets, I attend to some of the more mundane details of gardening. Before the ground freezes solid, I fill buckets, one each, with compost and garden soil to use in potting mixes for starting seedlings and renewing soil around roots of potted gardenia, feijoa, citrus, and other plants in the months ahead. I scrape shovels and other gardening tools clean of debris and apply oil to their metal parts, and oil or varnish to their wooden handles. In anticipation of winter, I finally turn off and drain outdoor spigots, and turn watering cans upside down on their assigned posts in the garden.
Mostly, though, I'm spreading mulch these days: wood chips, autumn leaves, wood shavings, any organic material with few or no weed seeds on which I can get my hands or can convince road crews to deposit in my holding area. (That often repeated assertion such mulches will "rob the soil of nitrogen from garden plants" is myth. Temporary tie-up, but not robbery, by these high carbon materials only occurs when they are mixed into the soil and so decompose faster; the responsible microorganisms re-release the nitrogen they have borrowed from the soil as they expire.) I haul cartload after cartload of mulches over to the flower beds, the new blackcurrant bed, the paths in the vegetable garden, the areas beneath apple and pear trees, and the dripline circles beneath chestnuts and filberts.
Hauling all that mulch is a lot of work, but there's no rush and it's a perfect antidote to an overcast, chilly day, warming me up even as it changes my outlook both from within and without. These mulches will smother small weed seedlings attempting to grow in spring even as they now keep the soil warm to promote some late season root growth. As they decompose, these mulches will enrich the soil with humus and nutrients. Over time, they will nourish myriad soil microorganisms which, in turn, will feed growing plants.
These blankets of mulch also knit everything together into one neat scene. As Charles Dudley Warner wrote in 1889 in his wonderful little book My Summer in the Garden, "The closing scenes are not necessarily funereal. A garden should be got ready for winter as well as for summer. When one goes into winter-quarters he wants everything neat and trim ... [the] garden in complete order before the snow comes, so that its last days shall not present a scene of melancholy ruin and decay."
GREAT GIFT IDEAS!!For book orders, consulting, and Lee's garden blog, go to: leereich.com
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Butternut Squash Soup
(from Real Simple)
Serves 4
Ingredients
4 leeks, rinsed and chopped (3 cups)
1 3-pound butternut squash, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 bay leaf
¾ teaspoons kosher salt
5 cups chicken broth
¼ cup raw shelled pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons olive oil
Directions
- Place the leeks, squash, bay leaf, salt, and broth in a large
saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer gently until the
squash is tender, about 12 minutes.
- Let cool for at least 10
minutes. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Puree the soup in batches
and warm over medium-low heat.
- Meanwhile, place the pumpkin
seeds (if using) and rosemary on a cutting board and roughly chop.
Heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the seeds and
rosemary and heat, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 2 to 3
minutes. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle with the seeds and
rosemary.
Phillies Bridge Farm Project
For the last fifteen years, Phillies Bridge Farm Project has worked to promote Hudson Valley agriculture that is ecologically sound, community oriented, and economically viable through its working farm, educational programs, and outreach efforts. Located on 65 acres just south of New Paltz, the farm includes six acres of sustainably-grown fruit and vegetable production, an enchanting children's garden, greenhouses, an historic farmstead, pastured farm animals, inspiring views of the Shawangunk Ridge, and a nature trail that winds through a forest and wetland. In partnership with the Wallkill Valley Land Trust and the Open Space Institute, the Project's land has been preserved for future generations as an historic site, working farm, and natural area.
As a working farm, Phillies Bridge sells most of their produce through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). In the CSA model, community members buy a share at the beginning of the year. Each week during the growing season, shareholders visit the farm to pick-up an array of freshly harvested, sustainably grown produce. This system allows the farmer guaranteed income for the season and provides customers with a direct connection to the farm.
Phillies Bridge has a robust educational program which includes Farm Camp, Growing Together, adult programs, and internships. Farm Camp is geared towards 6-11 year-olds and integrates hands-on farming and food activities, cooperative games, music, storytelling, farm arts & crafts, and forest and stream activities on our nature trail. In the spring and fall, Growing Together offers parents and toddlers an opportunity to learn and play side-by-side as they celebrate the seasons on the farm through harvesting, cooking, eating, gardening, stories, songs, crafts, and movement games. Lastly, our adult programs include films, lectures, hands-on workshops, tours, and discussions on topics relating to sustainable agriculture and building a local farm and food community. Each farm season, Phillies Bridge Farm Project trains four to five interns that learn about sustainable farming and assist with our educational programs. The internship program helps train the next generation of small-scale farmers to ensure the communities around the country have healthy, locally grown food into the future.
Lastly, through partnerships with social service agencies in Ulster County, their Farm to Families Program shares their produce with over 1,000 low-income residents each year. Program participants are provided with a farm experience and part of the farm's bounty. In 2009, Phillies Bridge Farm Project and their Farm to Families Program was honored with a "Friend of Extension" award at Cornell Cooperative Extension's annual dinner.
Phillies Bridge Farm Project invites you to come take a walk on our nature trail, participate in our educational programming, and to partake in the bounty of our fields.
Please visit their website to learn more about their CSA, educational programs, and other ways you can become involved with and support their efforts at www.philliesbridge.org
To join their CSA please contact anne@philliesbridge.org or call (845) 256-9108.
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Now it is more convenient than ever to donate to Wallkill Valley Land Trust! Just go to www.wallkillvalleylt.org and use our 'Click and Pledge' program, or you can send contributions to: P.O. Box 208, New Paltz, NY 12561
Thank you for your support and interest. The preservation of our rural surroundings depend on it! |
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