July 2010
Dear Friends:
Community gardens have taken root in our three cities with many families and young people tending their vegetable and herb plots! Volunteers from each community have helped us build and prepare almost 100 raised beds! Many thanks to our local partners for supporting this urban green project, providing healthy homegrown produce and increased green space for our city residents – Healthy Orange and OC Dept of Health, Port Jervis Community Development Agency, Middletown Industrial Development Agency, OC Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board, City of Newburgh, Port Jervis Department of Public Works, Urban Farmers League, Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners, Middletown Housing Authority, and Grace Episcopal Church, First Presbyterian Church and St. Peter Lutheran Church, all of Port Jervis.
| Scoutmaster Joseph Critelli and Boy Scouts from Middletown Troop #300 (l-r) Joey Critelli, Kevin Predmore and Chris Warren, build raised beds last month in the community garden at David Moore Heights housing development in the City of Middletown. |
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The 2010 summer is heating up and our calendar of summer events is filing up! Please join us for one or more of these exciting upcoming events, or visit any one of our nine nature preserves on your own for a day of outdoor enjoyment. Information on each of our preserves, as well as directions, can be found on our website at www.oclt.org.
- Sunday, July 11, 1 pm: “Kids’ Exploration and Nature Walk” at Hunter Farm Preserve. Led by naturalist Gary Keeton this walk winds along The Tadpole Trail and throughout this 60-acre preserve in Wawayanda. The preserve has an abundance of wildlife and two ponds that are home to beaver, blue and green herons, wood ducks, turtles, frogs and dragonflies. Numerous species of birds are found here, as well over 28 documented species of butterfly- one of the largest concentrations of butterfly in the eastern United States! Call (845) 343-0840, x12 to register for this FREE children’s walk!
- Saturday, July 24, 2 pm: “Singles Walk and Wine” at Lower Bashakill Preserve and Bashakill Vineyards. Meet at Lower Bashakill Preserve for a hike through this 138-acre natural area, and then relax by sampling award winning local wines at nearby Bashakill Vineyards, Sullivan County’s first commercial winery. A great way to meet other singles interested in enjoying and protecting our natural areas! A donation of $5 per person to the OCLT is suggested with all proceeds benefitting land preservation. Wine tastings are free, with wine by the glass available for purchase. Bottles of wine will also be available. Live music performed by Sarah Morr. Registration is required and space is limited. Call (845) 343-0840, x12 or e-mail caroline@oclt.org.
- Ongoing outings, free and open everyday: Visit The Tadpole Trail, our children’s exploratory nature trail at Hunter Farm Preserve in Wawayanda, or try to find our hidden letterbox at Moonbeams Preserve in the Town of Wallkill! Information and directions for both can be found on our homepage at www.oclt.org.
We’ll have some new and interesting outings next month. Join us in August for “An Evening of Stargazing” or our “Wild, Edible and Medicinal Plant Walk”, both at Moonbeams Preserve.
Also check our website at www.oclt.org/volunteer for this summer’s scheduled volunteer activities - our 2010 Stewardship Projects: from Earth Day to National Public Lands Day. Help us build trails, clear out invasive plant species, repair and build riparian buffers and more!
Become a member of the Orange County Land Trust! Information coming soon!
Enjoy these beautiful summer months outdoors!
For the Land,
Your Friends at Orange County Land Trust
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