CNYLT Journal - Central New York Land Trust

JOURNAL
Summer 2015
Celebrate the Solstice with CNY Land Trust at the
Stunning Sycamore Hill Gardens!
A
fter an exceptionally harsh and long winter, help us
usher in the official start of summer by taking a
leisurely stroll through one of Central New York’s
most stunning gardens in late June—and know that you
are simultaneously taking steps to preserve important
natural areas throughout the region.
In addition to the tour and plant sale, visitors can enjoy
live music performed throughout the afternoon on the
grounds by two groups—Folkstrings, and Genesee Ted.
Visitors are encouraged to bring their own picnic lunch to
enjoy on the grounds either before or after (or as a
respite in the middle of) their exploration of the
extensive gardens at Sycamore Hill. Lunch items will also
The CNY Land Trust presents its annual Summer Solstice be available for sale, as Chicken Bandit Food Truck &
Garden Tour on Saturday, June 20th. The Land Trust Eatery returns this year bringing their delicious fare.
will again mark the Summer Solstice with its annual
fundraiser—a Garden Tour and Plant Sale at Sycamore In conjunction with the garden tour, CNY Land Trust will
Hill Gardens (11 a.m. - 4 p.m.) at the Hanford Family’s also hold a plant sale. The plants available for sale do
private gardens at 2130 Old Seneca Turnpike in Marcellus. not come from Sycamore Hill Gardens but instead come
These extraordinary gardens, spanning more than 25 from area gardeners who have made donations from their
acres of landscaped gardens, paths and ponds, were own local gardens. The items for sale consist primarily of
established, expanded and maintained through a labor of perennials and native plants, trees and shrubs. The plant
love by owners Karen and George Hanford and are not sale will be held across the street from the garden tour
usually open to the public. However, a few times each and there is no admission fee for the plant sale. If you
year the Hanfords generously share with the public the would like to donate items from your garden to the sale,
natural beauty that surrounds them.
please use the contact information below to notify CNY
Land Trust.
Key features of the gardens include several large ponds
with fountains and colorful koi (large Japanese goldfish) Several talented crafters will also be available this year
which the children can feed, statuary from all around the featuring products and items pertaining to the garden or
world, an exotic bell garden, evergreen maze, thousands the outdoors. Please check them out.
of flowering bulbs and perennials, and hundreds of
flowering trees and shrubs. A network of paths enables This event is held rain or shine. Tickets are $5 in advance
visitors
to (last day for advance sale tickets is June 15) or $10 at the
e x p l o r e door (no charge for children 12 and under, and group
t h e s e rates are available). All proceeds support the work of
treasures at the CNY Land Trust. Your participation in the Garden
their
own Tour and Plant Sale will help support the year-round work
pace. The of the Land Trust to protect important natural areas and
setting
is to steward them properly.
t r u l y
spectacular, For more information, including locations to buy tickets in
b e a u t i f u l advance, or to purchase tickets online, go to
and
very cnylandtrust.org/news. Questions? Call (315) 575-8839.
Big Smiles at Sycamore
whimsical.
Crafts, music, food, plants, beautiful gardens – all we
Hill Gardens
need is you! See you on June 20th!
Protecting Nature’s Gems - One Acre at a Time
Spring at the Preserves—Students and
Stewards Kick-off a Season of Land Care
CNY Land Trust made the most of late April sunshine, with an April 18th
Stewardship Workday and an April 25th Stewards’ Workshop.
For April 18, the land trust extends a thank you to everyone who
volunteered their time at Woodchuck Hill Field & Forest Preserve in Manlius
and Camillus Valley Natural Area. Students from SUNY College of
Environmental Science & Forestry and Syracuse University, plus volunteers
from the Stewardship Committee, Woodchuck Hill neighbors and CNY Land
Trust board accomplished
invasive plants management
and fence repair - while
having fun and getting outside
- we could not have asked for
a better day or better people
- thank you!
For April 25, a special thanks
goes
to
Stewardship
Committee volunteers Robin &
Rick Kulibert, Fran Lawlor,
and Syracuse University
Geography professor Jane
Read. Robin, Rick, and Fran were instrumental in planning CNY Land
Trust’s first knowledge-sharing workshop for preserve stewards, called
“Know Your Boundaries.”
Stewards brushed up on fundamentals of
preserve care, like identifying and monitoring property boundaries. Dr.
Read demonstrated hand-held global positioning system devices (GPS) to
practice way-finding and boundary-marking. Best of all it was a chance for
stewardship volunteers to convene and learn from one another!
The next Stewards’ Workshop, “Principles of Basic Ecology” will be in
late July, at Riverwalk Preserve in Clay. All are welcome! For details,
check cnylandtrust.org or call (315)575-8839.
Good-looking, Green
and Single: Seeks
Caretaker-type
Me: quiet, attractive, peaceful, natural.
You: outdoorsy, enthusiastic, respects
boundaries, and can relate to the wild,
natural type…or willing to learn. Let’s
go for a walk in the woods, pull some
weeds, and enjoy sunsets, together. ;)
Wait a minute! Can a preserve without
a dedicated volunteer steward write a
personal ad? Or post a photo on an
online dating website? Well, if so, some
of CNY Land Trust’s 49 preserves would
be “on the prowl” for volunteer stewards!
Stewardship of CNY Land Trust preserves means caring for the land in perpetuity, in other words, forever. Care
can mean joining a group to maintain a
trail, marking and monitoring boundaries, or just keeping an eye on things—
but what it takes most is volunteers!
If you want to connect with the
land, or belong to an organization seeking a hands-on project, join CNY Land
Trust. A good place to start, and meet
other volunteers, is the Stewardship
Committee.
For the next event or meeting date,
check cnylandtrust.org or email [email protected].
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Power of Membership
Rick Smardon, President
Chris Sandstrom, Vice President
Steve Kulick, Treasurer
Kate Jwaskiewicz, Secretary
Kathleen Bennett
Richard Brickwedde
Gail Calcagnino
Bernie Carr
Jane Field
Jack Gramlich
Catherine Landis
Joe Livingston
Kathy Schwab
Steve Schwab
My first year with CNY Land Trust has taught me that land trust work is “forever
wild,” just like the preserves! There are many priorities, but not everything can
happen all at once. With the great stewardship work going on this spring, it means
CNY Land Trust owes members an annual membership renewal notice. If you have not
renewed your membership since early last year (or before!), please renew for 2015.
I am learning the basics (with a lot still to learn), working with a dedicated
Board of Directors, and meeting phenomenal volunteers. This experience leads me to
a fundamental truth—CNY Land Trust will only be a powerful local force for land
conservation based on the level at which it receives community support. Support
materializes in many ways (e.g., stewardship, Garden Tour), but the most basic, easy
means to support CNY Land Trust is through membership, which starts at just $35 per
year. A website revision this past winter makes it possible to renew online with a
credit card at cnylandtrust.org/donate/, or detach and mail in the form on the back
of this newsletter.
Your membership provides CNY Land Trust a reliable source of funding, yearafter-year, to protect natural areas, right here in this beautiful place we call home:
Central New York. But we can’t do this without our community—I encourage you to
“exercise your power” for conservation and renew your membership today.
Yours in perpetuity, Meredith
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Meredith Perreault
CNYLT Journal Summer 2015
Please share this newsletter.
2015 Central New York Land Trust, Inc.
Contributors: Jack Gramlich, Steve
Kulick, and Meredith Perreault
A note from the Executive Director
CENTRAL NEW YORK LAND TRUST SEEKS TO PRESERVE AND PROTECT NATURAL AREAS IN ORDER TO PROVIDE OUR
COMMUNITIES CLEAN WATER, CLEAN AIR, WILDLIFE HABITAT AND A CHANCE TO CONNECT WITH THE LAND.
Central New York Land Trust, Inc. is a membership-supported not-for-profit organization. CNY Land Trust is a 501(c)(3)
tax-exempt organization as determined by the Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and donations are tax-deductible.
Stewardship at the Old Fly Marsh in Pompey
Stewardship comes in many forms. Sometimes a neighbor does what is necessary…cuts up a tree that has
fallen across a trail, picks up some trash, unclogs a drainage pipe, etc. Sometimes a group of people weed
gardens, mow lawns, and repair trails. Sometimes a member of the Central New York Land Trust attempts
to control the spread of invasive plants.
Well, on May 2nd over 25 people spent 65 hours working at the Old
Fly Marsh. Zac Kogut planned the work party as part of the requirements to earn the rank of Eagle Scout. The parking lot was
repaired, the west trail was resurfaced, the trail was rerouted
around a wet spot (thanks to the beavers), the trail was raised and
drainage pipes were installed, benches were repaired, and a sign
was fixed. This is a partial list because a lot more was done on a
trail that has been overgrown for the last 10 years. It is once again
a trail! Yeah.
This is not the first time scouts from Troop 115 have worked there.
An overlook, an outdoor classroom, and an observation blind were
other projects for Eagle candidates. Also, Cub scouts regularly
resurface the trail. The Land Trust is lucky to have these stewards
in Pompey.
CNY Land Trust efforts to improve the facilities at the Old Fly are
going to continue. The next item on the list is putting some information on the Bulletin Board so people will be able to read about
the Old Fly Marsh and the CNY Land Trust.
Stewardship at the Old Fly, and at other preserves, is now a priority. CNY Land Trust is always looking for
help. If you are interested in helping, give us a call at (315)575-8839. You, too, can be a steward.
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors
Sometimes. Actually, this spring Robert Frost was
wrong. Good neighbors make good fences. Bernie
Schneider, a neighbor of the Woodchuck Hill Field &
Forest Preserve didn’t like the broken fence along
Woodchuck Hill Road. Being a good neighbor, he let
the Land Trust know and helped repair the fence.
With the help of neighbors and student volunteers,
we replaced 40 of the 200 rails in the fence, and we
plan to replace 10 more every year. The fence looks
better, but the work will never be completely done.
This cooperation with neighbors ties in directly with
the Land Trust’s plans for “constituency building.”
CNY Land Trust recently held a meeting with the
neighbors of the Woodchuck Hill Preserve to meet
them in person and to discuss this preserve’s challenges and opportunities. We think that meeting will
set the stage for ongoing dialogue about other concerns as well as their interest in the preserve. Maybe we will need to mend some more fences. Including neighbors in our planning will lead to more participation and better stewardship of the preserve.
Woodchuck Hill Field & Forest Preserve neighbors and Syracuse
University students do a stellar job of fence repair in April. Find
directions to this special 95-acre “diamond” preserve, with
marked trails, at cnylandtrust.org/nature-preserves
Don’t forget to sign up for CNY Land Trust email updates
You can sign up to get timely email updates on events, stewardship activities, newly protected lands and more.
On the CNY Land Trust website, cnylandtrust.org, add your email next to “Join Our E-Newsletter List” on the
homepage.
CNY Land Trust is on Facebook—
“friend” us if you are too! www.facebook.com/CNYLandTrust
Is it time to renew your membership? Check the address label to see if your membership has lapsed
Name:_______________________________________________________
Address:_____________________________________________________
City:_______________________ State:____ Zip + 4:_________________
Phone:_______________________________________________________
Email:_______________________________________________________
Mail to:
Central New York Land Trust
P.O. Box 9417
Syracuse, NY 13290
A copy of Central New York Land Trust,
Inc.'s latest annual report may be
obtained, upon request, from the Office
of the Attorney General, Charities
Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY
10271 or at www.charitiesnys.com
$35 Individual*
$50 Family
$100 Sponsor
$250 Sustaining
$500 Benefactor
$1000 Life Member
Other _________
*Minimum amount for membership
Please make checks payable to Central New York Land Trust, Inc.
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Make this a gift membership.
Summer 2015
Summer Solstice Garden Tour & Plant Sale, June 20
Central New York Land Trust
P.O. Box 9417
Syracuse, NY 13290
(315) 575-8839
[email protected]
cnylandtrust.org
SYRACUSE, NY
PERMIT NO. 1818
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